DIY horror.

• Author: Shackford, Scott
• Position: Briefly Noted - Online photo Slender Man - Brief article

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Not all Internet memes are about cute animals. Some are about throwing the viewer a scare, from the well-worn screamer videos (footage meant to startle by interrupting a scene with somebody screaming) to Photoshopped images with subtle sinister additions.

From this second category comes Slender Man, a spindly, tall, faceless man in a dark suit--and in some interpretations, tentacles coming from his back. First invented by a participant in an online photo contest, Slender Man has taken off in a viral example of a crowdsourced mythology, fruitful for many, owned by...