The Strange Connection Between Slender Man and PHANTASM
If you were on the internet and into dark stuff around 2009 you were probably aware of Slender Man. But did you know there is a connection to PHANTASM?
One of the first Slender Man images.
The Slender Man was created on June 10, 2009, on a thread in the Something Awful Internet forum. The thread was a Photoshop contest in which users were challenged to "create paranormal images." Forum poster Eric Knudsen, under the pseudonym "Victor Surge", contributed two black-and-white images of groups of children to which he added a tall, thin, spectral figure wearing a black suit. Although previous entries had consisted solely of photographs, Surge supplemented his submission with snatches of text—supposedly from witnesses—describing the abductions of the groups of children and giving the character the name "The Slender Man".
The Slender Man soon went viral, spawning numerous works of fanart, cosplay, and online fiction known as "creepypasta"—horror stories told in short snatches of easily copyable text that spread from site to site. Divorced from its original creator, the Slender Man became the subject of myriad stories by multiple authors within an overarching mythos. (source: Wikipedia)
Another Early Slender Man Image
We remember seeing the images at the time and thinking that it did resemble The Tall Man in PHANTASM. However, now it appears the connection is even more direct.
Slender Man creator Victor Surge has stated that he used images of the Tall Man to create the first Slender Man "sightings". (Source: SlenderManConnection)
Knudsen claims he was inspired by Stephen King’s “The Mist,” H.P. Lovecraft, the video game Silent Hill, and the Tall Man from Don Coscarelli’s film, Phantasm (1979), with other possible influences stretching back to an eerie German folklore about Der Grossman (loosely, the Tall Man), among others. Knudsen’s fiction and photos caught the imagination of the forum readers, who added their own ideas and aspects to the eerie, child-kidnapping nightmare-fueling figure that dwells in desolate places. (Source: Screen Rant)
Some online have speculated this might be one the images Knudsen used to capture Slender Man.
The Tall Man / Slender Man connection has continued to be discussed across the internet. There is even death battle fan fiction speculating what would happen if they faced off with each other.
We would put our money on The Tall Man.
Another dedicated fan created a GTA 5 battle video between these two tall men. Take a watch below!