Slenderman: The Open Source Monster and Girls in the Woods

Slenderman: The Open Source Monster and Girls in the Woods

From Verbal Echo by Monica Martin and Co-Host Sara Rowe

July 3, 2026 · 58 min · Season 3 · Episode 67

About this episode

This episode explores the origins of Slenderman and its impact on a tragic crime involving three young girls.

Verbal Echo | Episode 67, Part 1: Slenderman He has no face, no origin, and no fixed form. He exists at the treeline, at the edge of photographs, just beyond what you can fully see. And in 2009, he was invented by one guy on an internet forum trying to win a photoshop contest. In Part 1 of this two-part episode, we trace the birth of Slenderman — from a single thread on the Something Awful forums to a sprawling global mythology built by thousands of anonymous hands, none of whom ever agreed on the rules. We talk about how a fictional character with no official canon, no single author, and no fixed description became one of the most recognizable horror figures of the 21st century inside of five years. H.P. Lovecraft enters here. Then we follow that myth all the way to a park in Waukesha, Wisconsin . May 31st, 2014. Three twelve-year-old girls, a birthday sleepover, and a plan that had been months in the making. Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier lured their friend Payton Leutner into the woods and stabbed her nineteen times. When investigators asked why, they said they did it for Slenderman. That he would kill their families if they didn't. That afterward, they planned to walk to his…

People in this episode

Hosts: Monica Martin, Sara Rowe

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Something Awful

Books & works: H.P. Lovecraft

Places: Waukesha, Wisconsin

More episodes of Verbal Echo

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Verbal Echo podcast page.