My Father's Plight

As I thought, my mother couldn’t hold out from my pestering for a week. But I seemed to keep running into one problem after another, delaying me for some time. I apologize for this.

And so it all comes to light, now. The most obvious seems to have been the case.

My father was protecting me. I had been in contact with one of the beasts as a child. I had had nightmares, spoken of a man that wasn’t there, who terrified and yet comforted me with open arms waiting. My mind was racked, dreams invaded, and I drew like a man possessed.

All the hallmarks are there. The drawings are gone because my mother burned them.

It started after a trip to a cabin in some small forest near our town for fishing and that sort of thing. I apparently saw it there, told my parents, and was brushed aside. I was just jumping at shadows, of course, they would say. But after we returned home, it not only continued, the condition was exacerbated. I was taken to psychologists and they found nothing. All they could tell me was that I genuinely believed I saw something, but could find nothing otherwise wrong with me. The next step was that I was really being targeted by some tall man in a suit. This was reported to the police. They of course never found such a man. This went on for some time. And then one day, my father just left early in the morning. He left a note for me, which I am trying to locate somewhere in all my family’s old belongings. Provided it hasn’t been thrown out.

Of course, that letter was his last attempt to communicate with any of us. The next thing we knew, they found him dead in that same forest. My father had perished, but within days, I realized I would never see one of those faceless things again (until now, of course).

So that’s it. I was one of the lucky children to escape. Whatever my father did, however he distracted the Slender Man, it seemed to have worked. My father saved my life.

He gave everything so I might live.

Thanks, Dad.

Think of the Children

I’m sorry I haven’t posted in over two weeks. I honestly don’t know what’s been keeping me from this. My finals didn’t keep me that busy. But straight into the work. (Disclaimer: I must admit that I am not an expert on the following material, so the conjectures presented should be subjected to even more criticism than normal)

--How do the children escape?

My current thoughts on this are that the Slender Man stalking the child in question is “calibrated” to a certain type of brain chemistry. Or rather whatever method the Slender Man uses to access a human mind is. It is accustomed to a “childish” brain, and if it gets distracted, say by an interloper such as a parent, during a point in the child’s life during which the brain chemistry is altered, say puberty, it either can’t or chooses not to adapt and simply goes after another “childish” brain.

Assuming this, we must assume that the percentage of Slender Men “thrown off” in such a fashion is very small.

Alternatively, if adaptation is indeed impossible, it may be that any child that reaches puberty can be saved. In this case, certain medications may be used to save children from being taken while young. Of course, medications that might force puberty to occur should be avoided for obvious reasons.

As a note, this may have a connection to the medications some of the victims in various blogs have been documented to take. More information is needed for any certainty.

--Does it simply stop or does it taper off?

If it is indeed the brain chemistry as described above, it depends on the adaptability. If they refuse to adapt it may be a sudden stop or a tapering effect. If they cannot adapt the same could be said, depending on if they must have an “exact” chemistry or if it slowly becomes inaccessible.

If a disruption does occur, preventing contact, a sudden stop would be expected. 

--Why does a Slender Man wait years and years for a second attempt?

If a Slender Man is interrupted and thereby loses contact with a child due to chemical change, they must wait until they can access their brain chemistry again. But if they can adapt, why wait? And if they can’t, how is it possible to access the now permanently changed brains?

The most reasonable answer is that they can adapt to different brain chemistries, but not suddenly. By comparison, a human can be killed by a sudden high dose of poison, or become immune over a period of time of controlled exposure. The same principle may apply here. Trying to access a suddenly changed (chemically speaking) mind may be “toxic” and render it impossible. On the other hand, actually being in contact as the child becomes an adolescent may allow the Slender Man in question to now go after teenagers in addition to children.

However, it may take many, many children until this occurs. The initial victim that escaped may be out of puberty again once this has occurred, and the issue must be resolved again. The Slender Man must become accustomed to the adult brain chemistry. Once this is achieved, a Slender Man, frighteningly, can pursue virtually anyone they want.

Thankfully, there is no telling how long this may take.

--Is the goal the same as with the children or is there another reason?

This is absolutely impossible to know. I have no inkling of an idea as to what the initial idea is to begin with, thus I cannot possibly say if it has changed. Perhaps this condition of whether the child escaped or not makes them a candidate to be an Agent, or ensures their demise.

Perhaps the Slender Man that finds them the second time isn’t even the same one. Even that much is impossible to know for sure. For that matter, it’s impossible to know if there is only one from the beginning.

Now there’s a nightmare. Imagine being cornered some dark night by half a score of those abominations.

I’ll leave you with that. My mother may have information to give me regarding my father’s death at any time. I’ve been waiting for her to call me back, as she was in no shape to tell me anything immediately, as one might expect with such an issue. But two weeks is too long. I’m leaving for home later this week since classes have finished for the semester. She can’t hold off on the issue much longer.

Closing In

I have to give a quick update, everyone, before I can start on the previously discussed set of questions.

The Slender Man following me is becoming more bold. It’s moving away from the forest more, and closer to me. Previously, it seemed to stay within twenty feet of at least one tree, but has recently started appearing much closer to me. In fact, at one point it was within ten feet of me. Well and away the closest it has come yet. If it had been lying down it would have touched me.

And the sounds have started again. Loudly into the night they play for me, a satanic symphony. I have confirmed with several people on my floor that no one else has heard them. It’s a good thing I don’t really worry about what they think of my sanity, though.

I can’t help but think it reminded me of the Flower of the Panopticon (hereafter shortened to Flower) to get me digging and unnerve me. It certainly has done that. Remembering the strange date of creation for the Flower’s file, finding out just how horrific my father’s death was, and all the questions raised by both. I must admit I’m not in the most reasonable mood at the moment. My hands are shaking as I type.

But what scares me is I don’t know if it’s fear or anticipation.

All the depressing thoughts and happenings aside, I feel alive. There is a purpose to this work now. Slender Men are real, they have affected my family in the past, and there is (in my mind) a small glint of hope, maybe even victory in the past.

How? Why? When? Where? Who? The five basic questions are firing as fast as the neurons can reload. My mind races. The puzzle pieces shift and try to fit in any way they can. I think my father left me something important in this. Maybe I just want to believe that he it wasn’t just a brief encounter. I want to believe that my father actually fought back against this nearly unfathomable monstrosity to a final, fatal stalemate.

Such a romanticized idea is unlikely, but I can’t help think there may be some truth to it, even if only by some happy accident. However, until I can speak with my mother about both my father’s behavior and my own surrounding the incident, I cannot be certain of anything.

However, something else has recently occurred. I’ve found a location that seems to have consistent activity. There is an old observatory on campus that always has some sort of activity when I recorded near it. To be perfectly clear, I have no intention of breaking in, as the experiences of J, Strahm, and others has shown me this is rarely if ever a good idea. I do, however, feel that it is relevant to mention it now, however briefly.