Now, I have to admit, I’m not the one who came up with this. It’s been bounced around among some friends of mine, and I’ve fleshed it out on my own time. Credit for the inspiration of this theory goes to eelirrem.
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Let’s think for a moment about when we actually see Slenderman in any of the Big Three vlogs: Marble Hornets, EverymanHYBRID and Tribe Twelve. Almost every time we see Slenderman, he’s standing in light. A flashlight beam, a streetlamp, interior lighting. Perhaps most often, we see him in broad daylight. Slenderman is rarely seen at night, and when he is he’s usually far away or standing directly under or beside a light source. When we see him in relative darkness, he’s usually just standing there, not really doing anything. To be fair, we pretty much only see him standing there not really doing anything, but every time he does do something, he’s well lit.
Our very understanding of the world is based on the existence of opposites. Without war, we cannot have peace. Without rich, no poor. No up without down. We can have no fear without safety or comfort.
What if we don’t see Slenderman in the dark because he’s weak in the dark? What if Slenderman never attacks at night because he can’t? What if by closing the door and turning on all the lights, we’re making him stronger? We exist in a world of opposites, and dark cannot exist without light. Shadows don’t happen without a light source, and the brighter the light source is, the darker the shadows will be by comparison.
In the dark, Slenderman just stands there. In the light the distortion is worse, Slenderman tends to appear taller, his suit even seems darker. In broad daylight, he’s floored Alex down with a coughing fit and caused Evan to bleed internally, both times without lifting a “finger.” In darkness, he fucked with Noah a bit and made him curse at bushes. Slenderman is a being of darkness, but not in darkness.
What do we do when we are afraid? We shut the door and turn on all the lights. We run and hide to somewhere small and close and safe and bright. Being afraid of Slenderman puts you in more danger. Not because he feeds on fear, but because when you’re afraid you avoid the dark.
When you’re afraid, you make yourself an easier target.
But before you sleep with the lights off tonight, in perfect blackness, remember this: the proxies aren’t limited by darkness, and the Rake seems to be more at home, if not more powerful, in it.
Wow, this is pretty fantastic.
