#schlankwald

[man-i-just-really-like-plants]

Der Großmann

🦋 Translation: The Tall Man 🦋 Other names: Fairy of the Black Forest 🦋 Location: The Black Forest, Baden-Württemberg, Germany 🦋 Appearance: A tall, disfigured man with white spheres where his eyes should be

[Image ID: Der Großmann wood cuttings]

Origin

Der Großmann originated in the 16th century in Germany with woodcuts carved by an unknown artist. Der Großmann was often described as a fairy of the Black Forest who abducted bad children that entered the forest at night, and would stalk them until they confessed their wrongdoings to a parent.

Alongside one of the wood cuttings in the New York Library there is a note that says "Steigen sie nie in seinen wald ein" which roughly translates to "Never enter into its forest"

Translated 1702 journal entry

“My child, my Lars… he is gone. Taken, from his bed. The only thing that we found was a scrap of black clothing. It feels like cotton, but it is softer… thicker. Lars came into my bedroom yesterday, screaming at the top of his lungs that "The angel is outside!" I asked him what he was talking about, and he told me some nonsense fairy story about Der Großmann. He said he went into the groves by our village and found one of my cows dead, hanging from a tree. I thought nothing of it at first…But now, he is gone. We must find Lars, and my family must leave before we are killed. I am sorry, my son… I should have listened. May God forgive me.”

Schlankwald

The following is the English translation of a German poem describing the Schlankwald which may be linked to Der Großmann. Not just because Schlankwald translates to 'slim forest' but the two have other similarities. The poems origin date is unknown.

“They say that monsters come only at night,     That light will drive them away.     But not all creatures follow this rule,     Safety not certain during the day.     He hides on the fringes of your vision,     Brief glimpses of the distorted.     He slithers and writhes behind your eyes,     Reaching for you, limbs contorted.     Before you know it your children are taken,     And now it's come down to you.     His breath is oppressive, his presence acidic,     He feels pity is undue.    Suddenly, trapped in his grasp so tight,     You struggle to break yourself free.     He laughs and he gurgles and he screeches with glee,     He turns your head for you to see.     Your children are crying though their eyes are removed,     They collapse, still and silent.     His arms and legs bend pulling you closer,     The man's eyes dark and violent.     He strikes and he cuts, your skin flays open,     Your soul to weak to resist.     This should not have happened, if only you had listened,     Never go into his forest.”

Other information

🦋 Der Großmann is one the inspirations for Slenderman created by Something Awful user, Thoreau Up in 2009

[neerasrealm]

YOU DIDNT CALL HIM MISTER SLENDERWOOD EOJKFVDFNM;

AGFSHSHAGA I FORGOT THAT IT TRANSLATED TO THAT HAHHAHAHAHAHSBSHA

[jacky-littlecrow]

Schlankwald

They say that monsters come only at night, that light will drive them away. But not all creatures follow this rule, safety not certain during the day. He hides on the fringes of your vision, brief glimpses of the distorted. He slithers and writhes behind your eyes, reaching for you, limbs contorted. Before you know it your children are taken, and now it's come down to you. His breath is oppressive, his presence acidic, he feels pity is undue. Suddenly, trapped in his grasp so tight, you struggle to break yourself free. He laughs and he gurgles and he screeches with glee, he turns your head for you to see. Your children are crying though their eyes are removed, they collapsed, still and silent. His arms and legs bend pulling you closer, the man's strikes and he cuts, your skin flats open, your soul too weak to resist. This should not have happened, if only you had listened, never go in his forest.

[slendermanlore]

Slender Man Mythos + Folklore

Original Mythos, “Der Großmann”:

There are woodcuts dated back to the 16th century in Germany featuring a tall, disfigured man with only white spheres where his eyes should be. They called him “Der Großmann”[Sic], the tall man. He was a fairy who lived in the Black Forest. Bad children who crept into the woods at night would be chased by the slender man, and he wouldn’t leave them alone until he caught them, or the child told the parents what he or she had done.

Original Mythos, “The Tall Man”:

I know of an old Romanian fairy tale, highly unpopular even in its earliest iterations. It might be based on a particular event, or perhaps it is an extrapolation from existing Slender Man stories.

Original Mythos, “Schlankwald”:

They say that monsters come only at night, That light will drive them away. But not all creatures follow this rule, Safety not certain during the day.

Original Mythos, “Mississippian Mounds”:

Photographs of these earthwork monuments routinely develop unusual dark artifacts not visible at the time the photo was taken. In this picture, the artifacts areas appear to be slender, vaguely humanoid shapes (see inset detail). Note the scale in inset A: the railing in front of the “figure” is approximately three feet high, so the figure would be in the range of 8-9 feet tall. According to local legend, these are the ynirono or “tomb guardians”.

Original Mythos, “Der Ritter”:

Many theories have been discussed as to what Freckenberg wanted to symbolize with this character; some say it is a personification of the religious wars that raged in Europe at the time, others say it is a personification of the mysterious plague that has been believed to be the reason for the mysterious abandonment of the Halstberg castle and the nearby village in 1543.

Original Mythos, “First Appearance”:

This next image was found in Egypt, believed to be a depiction of the Slender Man. Referred to as in the text “Thief of the Gods” or “Thief of Kuk” (Kuk is the Egyptian Deity of Darkness, depicted as female, perhaps why the Slender Mans victims are mostly women). The carving dates back to roughly 3100 BCE in lower Egypt. It is most commonly mentioned around Pharaoh Wazner, and it is theorized that he had some sort of encounter with the Slender Man, but it has never been determined.

Original Mythos, “Fear Dubh”:

In Scotland there is the legend of the Fear Dubh (The Black Man). This creature is said to haunt solitary footpaths at night, generally those that pass through woodland. It is reputed to be entirely malevolent.

Original Mythos, “Small Findings”:

The only thing I've ever seen that is similar to this is one children's game I ran across, that is practiced in a small village near the Retezat Forest in Romania since the 1920s. In this game, all of the children line up in a line, and one is appointed the "leader." The leader walks behind the children's backs and lightly taps one. That one is the "Mare Barbat" (tall man). The children then hold their arms out in front of them and the first child closes their eyes and begins walking down the line through the extended arms. The children in line brush the walking child lightly with their arms and hands as if walking through branches and leaves. When the child gets to the "Mare Barbat" that child suddenly grabs them. It usually causes a great fright in the walking child and all those nearby as well, which is fun for them.

Original Mythos, “Padre Flaco”:

Anyone ever heard of Padre Flaco? A friend of mine who used to live in Mexico told me a campfire story about him when we were camping a while back. It was mostly the generic forest monster stuff about creatures stealing children and stuff. Do you think a Mexican legend about a tall man wearing black robes like a priest who lives in the forest is a coincidence or part of a pattern?

Original Mythos, “Atlantic Historical Review”:

One such example of these Gallic “monster” tales can be seen in a correspondence dating back to the first century B.C.E. G. Polonius, a Roman citizen serving under Julius Caesar, writes back to his wife in Rome detailing what seems to be a reconnaissance mission gone horribly wrong. It is unclear as to what extent Polonius’ account represents truth. However, my assertion is that Polonius murdered his friend for a personal reason, and this story is Polonius’ creative way of justifying it to himself and to others.

Original Mythos, “Swamp Stories”:

I’ve even heard tell of a giant spider that rises from the depths and drags victims to the bottom. I say it’s just a rottin’ tree stump. The roots resemble spidery legs. The gasses from the rot float it up to the surface, then it sinks again. Sure, you could get drowned in the bog if you somehow got stuck on it, but that don’t mean it’s a monster.

Original Mythos, “Ghost Stories of the American South”:

Only obvious motif is R10.3 “Children abducted.” Other relevant motifs may include E275 “Ghost haunts place of great accident or misfortune” and E402 “Mysterious ghostlike noises heard”; more tenuously, one might also apply D940 “Magic forests” or F990 “Inanimate objects act as living.”

Original Mythos, “Of the Slender Man”:

We’ve been trying to collect as much literature as possible on this “Slender Man”, the ancient god of death and despair. So far all we’ve found are stories throughout the ages of people being put to death while being forced into the very depths of madness. No matter what culture he descends on though, the outcome has always been the same. For in the wake of the Slender Man all that is left is a cold, dark road covered in corpses with agony on their distorted faces.

Original Mythos, “Ceiba Trees”:

Mayans considered the ceiba tree to be sacred tree. Ceibas, are huge, with long breaches, and always the main part of many scary legends in the South of Mexico. Where I used to live(Tabasco) old people kept telling stories about the Devil coming out of those trees or how some evil spirit disguised as a Ceiba that lured drunk men and made them disappear to never be seen.

Original Mythos, “Withering Walkers”:

According to him, in old old times, people used to blame the walkers whenever somebody disappeared in the woods, close to the black mounds of earth known as faerie mounds or close to the mountains. They were thought to be “svartalfar”, or black elves/faeries, and that doesn’t mean they were anything like tolkienesque or D&D elves. They were the dark people, monsters that lived underground and only ventured out to steal children and abduct travelers.

Original Mythos, “The Green Man”:

There are countless tales of the miraculous deeds of the Green Man. But not one mentions what ultimately became of him. During the middle ages, churches carved images of his face into their buildings. He was more and more often seen by the people as an evil thing, something that did not fit into their daily lives.

Marble Hornets, “Entry #38″:

How much do you know about this area? When I first moved here, I remember hearing a story that back in the 1800s they thought this place was blessed because everything would grow so fast. They would take their worst criminals, murderers, child molesters, and they would put them on trial before God out here. They would tie them up to the trees, and the idea was that they would get stretched out, kind of like a rack. They never fed or gave them water though, so they would just die of dehydration. They never cut down the bodies. They would just burn the whole tree with them still on it. They stopped doing it, though, after a kid went missing, and he finally turned up in the area where they would do the trials. He had been dismembered and strung up.

Just Another Fool, Journal of Matthew Selby:

Yggdrasil shivers The ash is as it stands The old tree GROWS and the giant slips free

See also: Connections

[silentslender]

Schlankwald

The words spelled out Schlankwald. More research led me to a poem. Below, is a roughly translated version of it.

They say that monsters come only at night,

That light will drive them away.

But not all creatures follow this rule,

Safety not certain during the day.

He hides on the fringes of your vision,

Brief glimpses of the distorted.

He slithers and writhes behind your eyes,

Reaching for you, limbs contorted.

Before you know it your children are taken,

And now it's come down to you.

His breath is oppressive, his presence acidic,

He feels pity is undue.

Suddenly, trapped in his grasp so tight,

You struggle to break yourself free.

He laughs and he gurgles and he screeches with glee,

He turns your head for you to see.

Your children are crying though their eyes are removed,

They collapse, still and silent.

His arms and legs bend pulling you closer,

The man's eyes dark and violent.

He strikes and he cuts, your skin flays open,

Your soul too weak to resist.

This should not have happened, if only you had listened,

Never go into his forest.

...The forest. Slenderman sightings are often in the forest. His targets are often children. The eyes removed part is curious. It may have connection to certain supposed satanic rituals that have taken place in forests, in which children's eyes are removed with spoons. It could be a coincidence. 

[camazettz]

So I found this translation of an old German poem called Schlankwald on the Slender Wiki

They say that monsters come only at night, That light will drive them away. But not all creatures follow this rule, Safety not certain during the day.

He hides on the fringes of your vision, Brief glimpses of the distorted. He slithers and writhes behind your eyes, Reaching for you, limbs contorted.

Before you know it your children are taken, And now it's come down to you. His breath is oppressive, his presence acidic, He feels pity is undue.

Suddenly, trapped in his grasp so tight, You struggle to break yourself free. He laughs and he gurgles and he screeches with glee, He turns your head for you to see.

Your children are crying though their eyes are removed, They collapse, still and silent. His arms and legs bend pulling you closer, The man's eyes dark and violent.

He strikes and he cuts, your skin flays open, Your soul to weak to resist. This should not have happened, if only you had listened, Never go into his forest.

[thefoofylion]

Schlankwald

Schlankwald is a poem (author and age unknown) discovered and translated by researcher James Rossi, which many believe to be referring to the Slender Man. Rossi, himself, has declined to comment on his personal interpretation.

They say that monsters come out at night,

That light will drive them away.

But not all creatures follow this rule,

Safety not certain during the day.

---

He hides on the fringes of your vision,

Brief glimpses of the distorted.

He slithers and writhes behind your eyes,

Reaching for you, limbs contorted.

---

Before you know it your children are taken,

And now it's come down to you.

His breath is oppressive, his presence acidic,

He feels pity is undue.

---

Suddenly, trapped in his grasp so tight,

You struggle to break yourself free.

He laughs and he gurgles and screeches with glee,

He turn your head for you to see.

---

Your children are crying though their eyes are removed,

They collapse, still and silent.

His arms and legs bend pulling you closer,

The man's eyes dark and violent.

---

He strikes and he cuts, your skin flays open,

Your soul too weak to resist.

This should not have happened, if only you had listened,

Never go into his forest.

[neerasrealm]

Union

Final part of the trilogy! there is more to do regarding Rachel and the role she plays in the grand scheme of things, and I’m going to write more of her, but these three fics were more to just set up her story and her role. Word count: 1220 Part One Part Two

‘’By taking this you agree to the dangers of fighting against Zalgo and assisting me. You accept the risk to your life, and vow to help those targeted by Zalgo.’’

‘’Mmm…’’’

‘’Do you accept?’’

‘’Mmm...whu…? Yeah…’’ 

She shifted where she lay, blinking against the light. 

‘’Oh? Oh I fink she’s wakin’ up!’’

‘’Is she?’’ 

She groaned. She felt groggy. Like she had a hangover. Did she actually drink that much? No- no she hadn’t. Probably. ‘’Mmngh…’’

‘’If we ‘ad a doctor ‘ere i’d be so much easier…’’ that voice...deep, gravelly. Unfamiliar, but it had an english cockney twang that reminded her of holidays spent in London. 

‘’I’m sure that’s not necessary...she isn’t bleeding. Only unconscious, the poor thing…’’ the second voice was deeper. More refined and elegant. A posh cunt, she’d describe the voice’s owner as. She shifted where she lay and blinked her eyes open. Her vision was blurry, and all she could see was a black and white blur. There was a second figure leaning over her. Completely white- no sign of a face. She screwed her eyes shut, hearing surprised gasps. She shook her head and rolled over onto her side. Her eyes slowly opened again and she looked in front of her. It was a blur of pink and brown for a few moments until her vision focused.

Standing in front of her was...a little girl. Only about ten. She had long brown hair and wore a pink dress. She looked up at her with big green eyes, then smiled. ‘’Hi.’’ she greeted softly. ‘’How do you feel, miss?’’ 

Rachel grunted and rubbed at her face. ‘’...Like shit.’’ she heard someone click their tongue disapprovingly and turned her head to look at them. Standing by the couch were two people. One was tall, dressed in a monochrome outfit. Their- his-? Hair was long, black and wavy. his eyes were a bright icy blue, and his face was completely white. Like makeup. His nose was cone shaped, and striped black and white. Part of the costume? It had to be a costume. Next to the...clown, Rachel assumed, was a shorter man. His skin was deathly pale, almost white, with blonde hair. Also near-white. He wore a suit, with a red tie. The man stepped toward her.

‘’You’re awake,’’ he murmured, sounding relieved. He crouched down to her. She looked into his eyes. They were a dark brown colour, almost black. ‘’Are you alright? Does anything hurt?’’

She grunted. ‘’Head’s groggy.’’ she murmured. ‘’Nothin’ hurts though.’’ 

The man nodded. ‘’Can I get you anything?’’ he asked. Rachel ran her tongue along her teeth. Her mouth felt dry as all hell.

‘’Water.’’

The man nodded and looked over at the clown. ‘’Jack, dear, get some w-’’ he stopped when the clown pulled a water bottle out of one of his puffy sleeves. He held it up, like he was silently asking ‘does this work?’. The man nodded and Jack tossed the water bottle over to him. The man opened the bottle and handed it to Rachel, who quickly chugged down about half the bottle.

‘’Thanks.’’ she grunted. 

‘’It’s nothing,’’ the man replied softly. ‘’What’s your name, sweetheart?’’

Her name? Rachel didn’t answer for a moment. She didn’t give away her name often. She had to hide her identity, lest the cops come chasing after her again. But then she remembered last night. 

‘’He has a home, hidden away from humans. You won’t have to worry about the police finding you. It’s comfortable there too, you’ll like it.’’

She looked at the man. ‘’I’m Rachel.’’ she finally said. She took a moment to glance down at her hand. The golden ring was still there. 

‘’Rachel,’’ the man replied softly. He smiled at her. ‘’It’s good to meet you.’’

‘’You too,’’ she looked at him for a moment. ‘’What’s your name?’’ she asked. She was hoping he’d reply with a simple ‘I’m Slender’, but instead...the man’s eyes widened, seemingly panicking. He coughed.

‘’O-oh um-’’ he glanced away. ‘’I'm...Guy…’’ he replied anxiously. ‘’Guy...sc-schlank...wald...’’ he replied like he didn’t know his own name. Rachel squinted.

‘’Guy...Schlankwald…?’’ 

‘’Yes.’’

Oh great. Not Slender. She’d probably have to wait to meet him then...she glanced at the girl standing behind him, still looking at her innocently. ‘’Who’s the kid?’’ she asked bluntly. Mr-I’m-A-God-By-The-Way had mentioned Slender having a family. His daughter perhaps? 

The girl grinned. ‘’I’m Sally.’’ she replied softly. She held out her hand. ‘’It’s nice to meet you, Rachel.’’ Rachel smiled a small bit. She’d never really liked kids but- Sally gave off this friendly, cheerful aura. It was nice. 

Rachel shook her hand. ‘’Nice to meet you.’’ she replied as she sat up. With some water in her mouth, she was starting to feel less groggy. She took the opportunity to look around the room. It was large, with a grey carpet over the floor. There was a big boxy TV across from her with a couple gaming consoles. She squinted. Was that a playstation? Wow- those things were like...brand new. Not that she played video games but still. Apparently they were fun. There were some bookshelves along the walls, and some pictures hung up around the room. Though, none of them seemed to contain Guy in them. Odd. ‘’So where am I?’’

Guy seemed a bit unnerved by the question. ‘’Oh, well- this is our home. We live...out in the forest. Jack found you laying against a tree when he was heading out for work. You were unconscious, but...you don’t seem harmed, luckily enough.’’

‘’An’ I wasn’ g’nna jus’ leave ye lyin’ there, ye know? So I took ye back ta le’ Sle-’’ he caught himself. ‘’Ta- ta le’...Guy...look a’ ye.’’ the clown shifted on his feet. Guy looked back at Rachel.

‘’He took you back so I could look you over.’’ he repeated. Rachel squinted.

‘’I can understand him, calm down. It’s just a cockney accent.’’ she murmured. Guy seemed surprised and opened his mouth to reply to her, but was cut off by Jack laughing across from him. His laughter was- surprising. Still as gravelly and deep as his voice, but it was also light, and almost infectious. Rachel glanced at the clown and a smile curled up her face, and before she knew it she was snickering to herself. She could hear Sally giggling too. Guy sighed and rolled his eyes before standing up. 

‘’Right, right...I won’t have to translate for once.’’ he muttered. He dusted himself off and looked at her. ‘’Do you remember getting here?’’ he asked.

Rachel paused. Getting here? No- she remembered talking to the...god? Last night- then going to bed. They didn’t answer a ton of her questions. They explained what they did as a god...some of what ‘Zalgo’ had done, and a bit more about what she’d be doing. But then when she went to bed...well she was in her hotel room. ‘’No...I don’t.’’ she finally answered. She hesitated for a second before speaking again. ‘’Where uh- where am I? Like...statewise.’’

Guy smiled. ‘’Louisiana.’’ he tilted his head at her. ‘’Where else would you be?’’

Rachel swallowed and forced a smile. ‘’Nowhere.’’ she said quickly. ‘’Louisiana is...exactly where I wanna be.’’

[neerasrealm]

just imagine this: slender and jack are going out and bc all the responsible pastas are out they hire a babysitter (y/n) to look after slendra. she’s rlly shy at first but eventually she and y/n become best friends (and they steal slender’s gramophone to play some music while they make cookies and maybe wreck the kitchen in the process depending on y/n and slendra’s combined skills)

I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THIS REQUEST AND I HAD A BLAST WRITING IT sorry it took so long school murdered me plus I was jumping from draft to draft and just. A lot happened ok. I didn’t get all the prompts in because I couldn’t work em in but I feel like I did good. I loved writing y/n just subtly noticing that this house Is Not Human and it- it was a fun dynamic to do gshdjdshj Also new hc this is the origin story for y/n in the poly slenjack fics

You're starting to have regrets about taking this babysitting job. Maybe it was that you'd seen too many slasher movies, or maybe you were just paranoid. Or maybe it was the fact that you were dragging your bike through the woods in order to get to the address you'd been given. The sane part of your brain is saying that this is dangerous and you should turn back, but the broke millennial part of your brain is saying that the $500 paycheck is too good to pass up. I mean- $500? For babysitting for one night? That's insane! It’s gotta be a joke right? Maybe it is. Maybe you are going to be murdered horribly tonight in the middle of the woods. 

You’re broken out of your thoughts by the sight of- a house. Presumably the house you’re supposed to be babysitting in. It’s gigantic- more of a mansion than a house. The outside looks refined and welcoming. There’s even flowers planted around the place. Cute pink pansies and blossoming bushes of roses. You look around hesitantly, then wheel your bike along up to the front door. You very carefully lean it against the wall and look around some more. How come you never heard about this place? I mean- a giant house in the woods? Why has that never come up? You’d think someone would talk about it, right?

As you’re looking around this odd place you realise something. It’s sprawling with cats. At first you only noticed a couple, and assumed they were pets, but now your counting has hit the double digits. Why do cats hang around here? Are they all pets? Is the owner of this mysterious house a cat person? Or do they just- kidnap cats? What if you’re babysitting a cat…

Okay no that’s dumb. You turn around again and knock on the front door. It’s silent for a moment, and out of awkwardness you look down at your feet. You’re standing on a fancy doormat that reads ‘welcome’ in elegant cursive. The door opens and your head shoots up to attention. 

Standing in the doorway is a tall man. Far taller than you. His skin is deathly pale, almost white, and his hair is neat and blonde. He’s wearing a suit, and as he looks down at you you realise his eyes are the brightest blue you’ve ever seen. 

‘’M-mister Schlankwald?’’ you ask, stepping back and away from this strange man. He nods and smiles.

‘’That’s me.’’ he holds out a hand to you. ‘’You must be y/n, yes? The babysitter?’’ he smiles gently, and you realise he actually- looks kind of nervous. That’s a tad reassuring. You take his hand and shake it. You nod.

‘’Yeah, that’s me.’’ you say. He steps aside and you cross the threshold. As you take your coat off you look around. Past the small entryway is a large living room. There're three whole couches, and a few more armchairs scattered around. There’s a large TV surrounded by cabinets full of DVDs and videogames- it looks like a very luxurious place. And also there’s more cats just- hanging around in various places, but you’re not really paying attention to them. Your attention is grabbed by the person standing in the living room. He’s- insanely tall, with long black hair, striped socks and sleeves, feathers on his shoulders for some reason and- bandages. Just wrapped around his torso. He’s also wearing a grey crop top, and what you assume to be white face paint. His nose is striped too, and cone shaped. Everything he’s wearing is either black or white. You stare at him in surprise and just- disbelief. He raises a hand in greeting.

‘’Ey.’’ his voice is deep and rough. ‘’Ye’re th’ si’er?’’

You blink for a moment, not sure what he- even just said. ‘’Y-yes?’’ you say, hoping that’s the right answer. Apparently it was, because he smiles at you.

‘’Ah!’’ he steps towards you and leans down, holding out his hand. ‘’Me name’s Jack. pleased ta mee’ ya!’’

You shake his hand and nod. ‘’I’m y/n.’’ you murmur. Jack stands back up and you look over your shoulder at Mr Schlankwald. He gestures to the other male.

‘’This is Jack, my husband,’’ he explains. ‘’Do excuse the makeup. He’s a performer, you see.’’ 

‘’Ah.’’ you relax a bit. A performer...that makes sense. I guess. You look around a bit. ‘’So uh- where’s the kid?’’ In all this strangeness you almost forgot why you hiked into the deep dark woods. 

‘’Righ’ ‘ere.’’ You turn to look at Jack again and watch him step aside to reveal a small girl who’d apparently been hiding behind him before. Her eyes widen as she comes into view and she stares at you. Her skin is a dark, almost reddish-brown colour. Her face is peppered with freckles and her hair hangs around her shoulders. It’s bright blonde, like Mr Schlankwald’s, but a bit more yellow. She quickly skitters back to Jack’s leg and hides behind him again. You frown. Jack looks at you. ‘’She’s a bi’ shy.’’ he murmurs. He crouches down to the girl. ‘’Ey, luv, i’s okay. Th’ si’er isn’ gonna ‘urt ya.’’

‘’Wh-wha’ if I scare ‘em or say somefink?’’ she mumbles. She has the slightest hint of her father’s accent, but more- refined almost. And a lot easier to understand.  

‘’Ye’re no’ gonna, ye’re a smart girlie, ain’t ya?’’

Mr Schlankwald taps your shoulder and you look over at him. ‘’We- haven’t gotten a sitter before, so she’s a little nervous about the whole thing.’’

You nod. ‘’That’s alright, I’ve had shy kids before.’’ you smile at him. He seemingly brightens up. 

‘’Righ’,’’ Jack’s voice interrupts you two. You look at him as he stands up. The girl shyly steps out from behind him and Jack lightly pats her head, ruffling her hair. ‘’We’d be’er ge’ goin’, luv.’’

‘’Of course.’’ Mr Schlankwald says. He shakes your hand once more and then looks at the girl. He holds out his arms and she quickly runs over, hugging him tight. ‘’Be good now, won’t you my dear?’’

‘’I will.’’ she mumbles. Her parents step away, with Jack heading for the door. Mr Schlankwald looks at you again.

‘’Her bedtime is at nine thirty, snacks are in the kitchen,’’ he nods towards a door behind you. ‘’Feel free to help yourself.’’

‘’Got it!’’ you chirp back as they leave. Once the door has closed it’s just you and the girl. She turns slowly and looks at you. You smile at her and lean down to her. ‘’Hiya.’’ you greet. ‘’I’m y/n. What’s your name?’’

She gulps and steps towards you. The tiny child looks you dead in the eyes and holds out her hand to you. ‘’I’m Slendra. Slendra Jackson.’’ she says with all the authority of a business CEO. you almost, ALMOST, crack up laughing but force yourself to take her seriously. You shake her hand.

‘’Well nice to meet you.’’ she retracts her hand. ‘’How old are you, Slendra?’’

‘’Fo-’’ she stops. ‘’Eigh'. I’m eigh'.’’ she folds her hands behind her back, just like her father did. You smile at her. She takes after her father, you suppose. It’s cute. 

‘’So what do you like? Got any hobbies?’’

‘’Uhh…’’ she toys with the sleeve of her striped shirt. ‘’I like...music...and bakin'...I like readin' too and uh-’’ she shrugs. ‘’That’s abou' it, I guess.’’

You nod. ‘’I see.’’ you smile at her. ‘’So what do you wanna do? We got…’’ you glance down at your watch. ‘’Three and a half hours to kill.’’ She shifts on her feet and shrugs again. You tilt your head at her. ‘’We could watch TV...maybe draw something? Are you hungry?’’

She seems to perk up a little bit. ‘’I have drawin’ stuff in my room,’’ she says. ‘’We could do tha'.’’ there’s a glint of excitement in her eyes. ‘’I-if you want to.’’

‘’Of course I do,’’ you stand up and smile at her. ‘’Lead the way.’’

Slendra smiles a little in excitement and turns, heading quickly up the stairs. You follow after her, looking around curiously. This place is massive. Upstairs is a hallway with doors running all along the right. Each one is decorated differently. One is striped, with ‘laughing jack’ written on it, another is pink with a castle-shaped sign on it that reads ‘Sally’ and under it ‘& Dina’ is written in what looks like sharpie. The one right across from the stairs that Slendra climbs up has a metal sign on it, decorated with a skull and crossbones, that reads ‘Kate’s room, keep out!’

You follow Slendra up the staircase and arrive on the third floor. Slendra leads you to her room. Her door is also decorated, with flowers and butterflies and bowties. Her walls are purple, and the room kind of reminds you of...and office. She has a large desk covered in boxes and papers. Shelves are piled high with toys and trinkets, and she has a massive bookcase stuffed to the brim with- well, books. Fairy lights hang over her bed, which is large and round and covered in pillows and plushies. Glow in the dark stickers decorate her ceiling and walls.

Slendra grabs a large plastic tub from under her desk and drops some paper sheets onto it. She picks up the tub and smiles at you. You frown. ‘’Isn’t that heavy?’’

‘’Huh?’’ she looks at the box. ‘’I guess- I’m kind’ve strong though.’’

You smile a bit. ‘’I bet you are.’’ you step towards the door and open it. ‘’C’mon. If you need help with that I’ll take it.’’

Slendra shakes her head and walks past you. ‘’I got it.’’ she says, holding her head up proudly to show off how big and independent she is. You smirk a bit and follow after her. You walk past the hallway of odd doors and through the living room into the kitchen. Slendra places her box on the dining table and smiles over her shoulder at you. You glance around the kitchen. it’s- well, a normal kitchen. The fridge is covered in children’s drawings and magnets, but oddly no photos. Thinking about it now, you haven’t seen a single photo up on the walls. Odd.

‘’So you like drawing, huh?’’ you say to Slendra. She pulls out a chair, which has a big ginger cat sleeping on it. She pets it and nods.

‘’My brother Helen is an ar'ist. He lets me join 'im sometimes, and he teaches me a lo'.’’ she smiles over at you.

‘’Your brother’s name is Helen?’’

‘’Yeah.’’ she tilts her head. ‘’It’s a unisex name innit?’’

You- don’t really have the heart to say no, so you just nod. ‘’How many siblings do you have?’’ you ask, watching the ginger cat roll over. Slendra scratches its stomach. 

‘’Ten.’’ she replies without batting an eye. You freeze for a second. You blink. Huh- so- Mr Schlankwald, the strange gay man who lives in a mansion in the woods, apparently has eleven children. You slowly tilt your head.

‘’How many people live here…?’’

‘’Fourteen, though my uncle Ivan sometimes comes to visi', so maybe fifte- oh!’’ she’s interrupted by the ginger cat suddenly jumping down off the chair and wandering off somewhere. She climbs up onto the now empty chair and looks over the table at you. "Dad left snacks for us," she points over at the counter by the fridge. "Do you wanna grab some?" 

"Oh uh- sure." You walk over to the counter Slendra pointed to. There's some plates and a bowl covered in tin foil, probably to keep the cats from eating whatever's been left for you. You grab one of the plates and peel away the tin foil. You're greeted by a plate that's sectioned into thirds. Each third contains...snacks? Of some sort. One section is miscellaneous coloured potato chips, one is full of little black squares that look like...seaweed? Maybe? And the third section looks like- thin slices of various vegetables. Dried out to a crisp. You slowly glance over at Slendra.

"What're uh- what're these?"

"Oh! Dad's healthy snacks. They're real good." She smiles. "Try one!"

You hesitate, then reach to grab one of the potato chips. They're all different colours. Orange, red, yellow- even a couple purple ones. You grab a yellow one and very carefully bite into it. Your eyes widen as you chew. It's...good. really good. A nice balance of cheese, onion- are those chives? Yeah! Chives. Fancy. You pick up a second, orange one and toss it into your mouth. It's a bit sweeter, but still just as good. 

Pulling aside the foil on the bowl you're greeted by popcorn, nuts, and various shaped potato chips that also appear to be homemade. You grab one and toss it into your mouth, and get hit with soy sauce and spices. Surprising, but still really good. It reminds you of asian takeout. You take the foil off the last plate and- "Oh! Cookies!"

"Yep! Dad made 'em especially for you." Slendra says as she opens the box she brought down and pulls out a few things. "He always tries to make sure we have food for guests. Every time we ge’ a visitor he tries to feed 'em."

"Huh…" you grab the plates very carefully and carry them over to the table, setting them down between you and Slendra, who's already begun her drawing. "What is your dad like anyway? How'd he afford a giant place like this?" You ask as you wander back over to grab the bowl you left.

"Oh uh- well-" she suddenly seems nervous. "He said tha’…" she pauses for a moment, like she's thinking. "He invested in stocks b'fore the economy wen’ bad." She finishes, speaking like she's reciting a line. You smile a bit.

"I see." You put down the bowl of various snacks and grab another potato chip. Slendra reaches over and grabs one of the black squares of seaweed, biting into it and crunching on it happily. "Weird that I never heard about this place, huh? Giant mansion in the woods…’’ Slendra stares at you, eyes wide. ‘’...That’s full of cats for some reason…’’

She nods and smiles sheepishly. ‘’Heheh, yeah…’’ she puts down her pencil and grabs a thin, dried out tomato slice, crunching on it quietly. ‘’Dad feeds 'em. He loves cats.’’

‘’Huh.’’ you grab a cookie from the plate and bite into it. It’s soft and crumbles in your mouth. Like shortbread, but with deliciously sweet chocolate chips. Without thinking you reach for a second one before you’ve even finished your first. ‘’So what’re you drawing?’’ you tilt your head at her. 

‘’Fairies.’’ 

‘’Oh yeah?’’ you lean over to get a look. You were expecting to see friendly, childish drawings of little people with wings, but instead...you’re greeted by creatures with odd proportions, eyes in odd places, sharp teeth and mean expressions. ‘’...oh.’’ you regain your composure quickly. Kids sometimes draw scary things, it’s normal- probably. ‘’You’re really good at drawing.’’

‘’Ehh…’’ she shrugs. ‘’I guess. I’m still learnin'. Helen says I’m gettin’ better though!’’ 

You smile a bit. ‘’Keep practicing. By the time you’re ten I bet you’ll be amazing.’’

Slendra laughs a bit. ‘’I only really draw when Helen asks me if I want to.’’ she murmurs. ‘’I mostly like to sing.’’ 

‘’Oh yeah?’’

"Uh-huh. Dad taugh’ me to play piano, and pops taugh’ me the accordion." She grabs a handful of popcorn, chips and nuts from the bowl and calmly grabs a single nut, putting it in her mouth and crunching on it softly. "I'm learnin' ukulele right now."

"Wow," you tilt your head at her. "Guess your parents can afford a lot of tutors for you, huh?"

"Nah, we're all homeschooled."

"Oh." You blink in surprise. "Does your dad do all of that?"

"Uh-huh. He's real smart." Slendra puts down her pencil and neatly puts her page aside. She delicately grabs a couple more snacks. She has awfully good table manners. A thing that comes from her father, you guess. ‘’He makes learnin’ fun too. My brothers say school is real borin’.’’

‘’Huh…’’ 

You spend a couple hours sitting there with her, watching her draw odd creatures and talk about her even more odd family. The cookies have been eaten, and most of the other snacks are gone completely. Including the seaweed squares, which weren't actually all that bad when you tried them. And now you're lounging back in your chair, petting a chubby chausie cat that's apparently named Brian. 

"So...he covered up...the hole in the wall...by making more holes."

"Yep."

"...No offense but this Jeff guy sounds pretty dumb." You say. Slendra laughs a bit as she puts away her coloured pencils, dropping them back into the large box of supplies she brought down. 

"Jeffery is a good boy, he means well." She murmurs. She grabs the last of the dried out tomato slices and crunches it down. "Wha’ now?"

You shrug. "I dunno. Whatever you want." you smile at her. She frowns in thought, then suddenly perks up. 

"Oh! I could practice my music," she looks suddenly excited. "Dad has a lo’ of records in ‘is office. Could we listen to those? And I can play along with my ukulele."

You shrug and smile at her. ‘’Sure, I don’t see why not,’’ you tilt your head. ‘’Where’s his office?’’

‘’Downstairs.’’ Slendra hops off her chair and grabs the box. ‘’I’ll grab my things! You go wait.’’ she adds before quickly leaving the room. You laugh a bit and grab the last couple potato chips, then the half-empty bowl, just in case. After nudging Brian off your lap you walk down to the basement and look around. There’s a few rooms, but the thing that catches your attention the most though is the lounge area that’s full of comfy looking chairs and cabinets stuffed with videogames. And also the cats, there’s even more down here, but you’re kind of used to them by now.

You glance around at the doors down here. There’s three doors on the left, and none of them are really decorated. There’s a couple other doors, and one of them has a large padlock on it for some reason. The one next to it, surprisingly, is decorated. Fish and deep sea creatures are painted onto it. You’re pulled out of your thoughts by footsteps on the stairs. You look towards them and see Slendra running down them with a ukulele in hand. She grins at you as she walks up to you. You notice she has a small concertina accordion hanging off her waist from a shoulder strap. ‘’Dad has the door locked,’’ she says as she walks past you towards the last door on the left. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out...a cat claw…? You frown. ‘’I can ge’ it open though.’’ 

You watch her attempt to pick the lock with the claw. ‘’uh...I don’t think that’s gonna-’’

‘’Click!’’ the door opens as if to spite you. Slendra grins over at you. 

‘’Told you!’’ she chirps. She walks into the office and you follow her in, bemused. Inside the office is...odd. Grey walls and carpet, lots of bookshelves, a cat tree in the corner, and comfy looking wicker chairs in front of the desk. On the walls are photos of Slendra and other kids who you assume to be her siblings. There’s an...odd painting hanging on the wall across from the door. It contains two faceless white beings, a similar being with black eyes and no mouth and a strange creature with similar black eyes and a wide smile. You frown at it. Abstract art, you suppose. The creatures remind you of Slendra’s drawings. 

‘’Here we go!’’ Slendra catches your attention again. She’s knelt on the ground, looking through a drawer stuffed with records. You glance over at a table in the corner of the room. To your surprise, it isn’t a record player, it’s a gramophone. An old looking one at that. Must be an antique. It honestly wouldn’t surprise you if Mr Schlankwald was a collector or something like that. Slendra gets up and very carefully places a record on the player and drops the needle. It’s silent for a couple moments and then a delicate piano starts playing. Slendra strums her ukulele and begins to sing.

‘’I know...you belo-o-ong to so-omebody ne-ew…’’ her voice is almost...mesmerising. You relax despite yourself as she sings along. ‘’But tonight, you belo-ong to me.’’ Maybe you’re imagining it, but you swear you can hear multiple voices coming from her. Or maybe it’s just the vocals from the record. You’re not really paying attention. Instead you sit down in one of the wicker chairs and watch her. ‘’Although…’’ she smiles a bit. ‘’You’re a apa-a-art, of my he-e-a-art,’’ her eyes catch yours. They seem to glint a moment and something- odd, passes over you. You suddenly feel extremely relaxed, all tenseness leaving your body. You lean back in your chair. ‘’And tonight, you belo-ong, to me.’’ 

-------

You don’t remember much else from the evening after that. Just that Slendra continued singing along to the greatest hits from the fifties and sixties. Things start to become a bit less fuzzy around nine thirty. Her bedtime. You read her a bedtime story, told her goodnight with a wide smile, and took a seat on the couch downstairs. Which is where you are now, watching a movie in the dim lighting. You feel...good. Really happy for some unknown reason. Not that you’re complaining.

The front door opens and you glance over as Mr Schlankwald steps inside. He closes the umbrella he's holding while Jack shakes himself off, kind of like a dog. Mr Schlankwald looks over at you and smiles. 

"Ah, hello." He steps towards you, with Jack following after. He strides past the blonde and collapses himself in one of the armchairs. Somehow his makeup is still flawless despite the rain outside. "How were things?" He asks, tilting his head. He seems nervous, slightly. Jack opens one eye and looks over at you.

"Good," you sit up. "No trouble at all. She behaved excellently, we just sorta...chilled." you smile a bit. "She's the most well behaved kid I've ever looked after honestly. She didn't even complain when it came to her bedtime."

"Oh!" Mr Schlankwald smiles a bit. "I'm glad to hear that- we were worried, eheh." He reaches into his pocket, pulling out his wallet. He frowns. "Hm...Jack have you got three hu-"

"Righ' 'ere luv." Jack reaches into his striped sleeve and pulls out a small wad of notes. Mr Schlankwald smiles and takes them, folding them up neatly before holding them out to you. 

"Five hundred, as agreed." He says as you quickly count the money. You knew you'd be getting that amount but still, actually holding the money now you can hardly believe it. You stand up quickly.

"Thank you." You barely manage to get the words out. "I had a great time babysitting her- I uh- I've babysat some real demons before so uh- heheh-" you're just rambling now because of the sheer elation of actually being given five hundred fucking dollars. Mr Schlankwald smiles, as polite as ever.

"Well, if we ever need another sitter we'll call you." He says, walking over to the door. He grabs your coat from the coat rack and holds it out. Quickly, you walk over to him and take it. He opens the door while you put it on. "Do get home safe," he murmurs. "Does your bike have a light? Do you need an umbrella?" He frowns at you, apparently worried. 

"No, no. I'll be fine." You give him an anxious smile while you pull your hood up and step outside. You grab your bike, flicking on the light on the front of it. Mr Schlankwald smiles at you, pleased to see that you won't be in the dark going home. You walk off towards the forest path you followed earlier and wave over at him. 

"Get home safe!" He calls as he waves back.

"I will!" You turn away from him and smile wide.

That's the best babysitting gig you've ever had. 

You really, really hope they call you back for another night...

[neerasrealm]

AMD THE FUCKING SCHLANKWALD IS BACL I CANT

You can't escape him

[slendermanlore]

Original Mythos - Pages by Medium/Content

I made the following edit to the Original Mythos page on Slender Man Arkive for the sake of easier reading.

Pages by Medium

The Original Mythos can also be organized by putting a given page in any of the following categories (with multi-category pages in italics):

News Media: Stirling City Incidents, Jake Greenwood, Found Photographs, Radio Newsroom, Disappearance of Boy, Missing Family, Inhuman Handprint, Carvings, Dorothy Birch, Jessica Samson, Remains of Missing Camper, Josef Franz

Confidential Information: Stirling City Incidents, Wilks Estate, Jake Greenwood, Steinmen Woods, Henderson Horse Farm, Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital, Optic Nerve, Transcript 21, War Accounts, Deadly House Fire, Emergency Call, Deep Sea Excursion, Small Findings, Cessna Stationair, Recorded Witness Hearing, Séance, Windsor Pines, Tias, Metaphysical Territoriality, Dorothy Birch, Appalachian Trail Incident, Delgado, Psychologist's Notes, Abandoned Journal

Journal: Der Großmann, From the Journal of Dr. Jeffrey Scripter, Patient of Dr. Bronn, Miscellaneous Journal Entries, Small Findings, Dorothy Birch, Henry Louis Marshall, Remains of Missing Camper, Stanley Ercavich, Abandoned Journal

Book Excerpt: Conspiracies, Mississippian Mounds, Der Ritter, First Appearance, Three Ages of Woman and Death, British Myths, Legends and Unsolved Tales, Nathaniel V, Atlantic Historical Review, Ghost Stories of the American South

Forum User Anecdote: Original Mythos Meta, Found Photographs, Steinmen Woods, Conspiracies, Der Großmann, Radio Newsroom, Diamond Lake, Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital, Miscellaneous Journal Entries, War Accounts, First Appearance, The Big Tree, Deadly House Fire, Jozef, Fog, Emergency Call, Deep Sea Excursion, Henry Coe, Detector Images, Small Findings, Jason E, Padre Flaco, Marble Hornets Preamble, Rodzby Incident, Tias, Nathaniel V, Metaphysical Territoriality, Ghost Stories of the American South, Of the Slender Man, Remains of Missing Camper, Comment Chain, Ceiba Trees, Withering Walkers, Miscellaneous User Sightings, Abandoned Journal, Original Mythos Images, Dreams and Pareidolia

Conventional Narrative: The Tall Man, Schlankwald, Grandpa, Fear Dubh, Pyotr, Run, Derek, Swamp Stories, The Case of Shannon DeMarco, Mr. Sanderson, Little Brother, Harris, Superstition, The Orphanage, Men in Suits, The Green Man

Pages by Content

And as for what each page contains…

Pages with Images: Stirling City Incidents, Wilks Estate, Jake Greenwood, Found Photographs, Steinmen Woods, Conspiracies, Der Großmann, Henderson Horse Farm, Optic Nerve, Patient of Dr. Bronn, Mississippian Mounds, War Accounts, Der Ritter, First Appearance, Missing Family, Inhuman Handprint, Carvings, The Big Tree, Deadly House Fire, SomethingAwful, Jozef, Fog, Deep Sea Excursion, Henry Coe, Detector Images, Small Findings, Three Ages of Woman and Death, Jason E, Found Footage, Recorded Witness Hearing, Rodzby Incident, Metaphysical Territoriality, Swamp Stories, Dorothy Birch, Jessica Samson, Remains of Missing Camper, Ceiba Trees, Miscellaneous User Sightings, Appalachian Trail Incident, The Orphanage, Psychologist's Notes, Josef Franz, The Green Man, Original Mythos Meta, Original Mythos Images, Dreams and Pareidolia

Pages with Audio: Henderson Horse Farm, Disappearance of Boy, Recorded Witness Hearing

Pages with Text Only: The Tall Man, Schlankwald, Radio Newsroom, From the Journal of Dr. Jeffrey Scripter, Diamond Lake, Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital, Grandpa, Transcript 21, Miscellaneous Journal Entries, Fear Dubh, Emergency Call, Pyotr, Cessna Stationair, Padre Flaco, Marble Hornets Preamble, British Myths, Legends and Unsolved Tales, Séance, Run, Windsor Pines, Derek, Tias, Nathaniel V, Atlantic Historical Review, Ghost Stories of the American South, Henry Louis Marshall, The Case of Shannon DeMarco, Jessica Samson, Mr. Sanderson, Of the Slender Man, Little Brother, Comment Chain, Withering Walkers, Stanley Ercavich, Harris, Superstition, Delgado, Men in Suits, Abandoned Journal