Slender Man was thrust into the forefront of 2014 unexpectedly. Slender Man has always known a bit of notoriety for Creepypasta (internet horror stories) and video games based on the character. The character’s mythos began on the Something Awful forums in 2009 and its fame grew to great prominence. Five years later, the character’s story would be blamed for the actions of two teenage girls.
Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier made a murder pact against Payton Isabella Leutner to join the entity in his Slender Mansion for all eternity. To dispel the rumors and false narratives behind this case, Kathleen Hale penned Slenderman: Online Obsession, Mental Illness, and the Violent Crime of Two Midwestern Girls. Despite Slender Man’s purpose, the book is mired in just as much controversy as the Slender Man case.
Slender Man: A Review
Kathleen Hale’s writing style is “jumpy” throughout the 301-page journey. She will jump to the present (as far as the events occurred), to the past, to the present, to the distant past, and back to the present with little to no warning. Hale does this to give the reader a proper background of what led to the eventual event. It can just be a little confusing at times.
The book is well-researched concerning places, people (including Slender Man) events, and history surrounding the Slender Man case. She wants readers to understand more than a sensationalized version of the events that led to Geyser and Weier committing a horrific act against a classmate. She dedicates almost forty pages of endnotes, so readers know the sources of her information.
Hale does a good job of not getting bogged down in getting too technical in her writing. Slender Man is an easy read. Many chapters are only three to five pages long. You can read a few pages, put the book down, and not feel lost when you pick it back up.
Slender Man’s Two Controversies
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The first controversy surrounds Kathleen Hale and two of her books. In 2014, Hale wrote No One Else Can Have You #1. A Goodreads reviewer wrote a scathing review of the book and Hale responded by stalking said reviewer. After the backlash, she penned Kathleen Hale is a Crazy Stalker which contains six essays. One of these essays deals with her side of the encounter. Both books have extremely negative reviews.
Another controversy revolved around the tone of the book. Morgan Geyser is viewed in a very sympathetic light. We are introduced to Matt and Angie Geyser, Morgan’s parents, in the first chapter. It is here we learn that Matt has schizophrenia. At an early age, Morgan shows the early signs of childhood schizophrenia which her parents ignore. Morgan’s schizophrenic tendencies become a running theme from the beginning to the end of the book which sees Geyser convinced she is married to a demon named Abaddon.
Why The Controversies Matter
Both controversies have colored the way people read Slender Man. The first impacts Hale’s trustworthiness in releasing a serious book of this nature. If she stalks someone for poor reviews, she might be willing to fabricate account details. Many have accused her of such, claiming she knows nothing of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and natives of the area. The second controversy has led readers to believe Hale wrote as if Bella “had it coming” while Geyser was innocent of any wrongdoing.
The critics fail to realize one important thing: the book agrees that Bella is a victim of attempted murder. Never once is it disputed that Geyser and Weier did something illegal in the name of Slender Man. Slender Man focuses on how adults failed three teenagers.
Slender Man is a Book on Failure
Anissa’s family failed her in that, to them, she existed and nothing more. She sought friendship with someone who gave her the attention the adults in her life did not: Morgan Geyser. Kristi, her mother, treated Anissa more like a counselor forcing the child to be the adult while the adult acted like a child.
Morgan Geyser came to understand her mother and father failed her. While Matt’s schizophrenia diagnosis was known, the two never once thought to have their daughter diagnosed. The legal system failed Geyser and Weier by holding dearly to a false belief concerning juveniles, trying both as adults. All in an attempt to look “tough on crime.”
How does Bella fall into this system of failure? Her parents were the only responsible parents in this book. But imagine for a moment, Morgan Geyser is treated for childhood schizophrenia. She received the medication and counseling she needed. Anissa Weier is treated like more than an afterthought by her mother and father. She truly mattered to them. What would have occurred to Payton Leutner? She likely would not have endured the pain and suffering she did.
Instead, Bella Leutner was stabbed nineteen times. Anissa Weier played a major role in an attempted murder. This will haunt her for the rest of her life. Morgan Geyser almost murdered her then-best friend, Bella. Geyser, now 21, is currently locked in Winnebago Mental Health Institute and recently denied early release. She will likely spend the rest of her days there thanks to all those who failed her. That might be the worst crime of all.
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