8 Horror Movies You Won’t Watch Once You Know The Truth

We've all heard about the Slender Man, right? Y'know, internet urban legend created a decade or so ago? An eerie, faceless being who hides out in the woods and stalks children?

The key phrase there is "urban legend" - as in, the Slender Man is a completely fictional being who some people believe is real, even though there is zero evidence of its existence.

Like so many such myths and legends, the Slender Man was given his own movie in 2018. Directed by Sylvain White, the film details the disappearance of a young girl. While the movie itself is only so-so at best, the more shocking part of the picture revolves around a real-life tragedy and its representation in the Slender Man's first trailer.

On May 31, 2014, a 12-year-old girl was led to the woods and stabbed 19 times by two of her friends.

Thankfully, the victim somehow managed to survive that attack and eventually recovered after a seven-day stint in hospital. The reason given for this brutal attack is that the attackers had discovered the urban legend of the Slender Man and wanted to become his disciples. To do that, they believed killing their friend would bring the Slender Man to them.

Upon seeing the trailer for Slender Man, the family of one of the persecutors of this horrible attack lashed out at how the movie was exploiting a real tragedy. In particular, that first trailer showed a young girl in the woods with bloodied hands, proclaiming how the Slender Man had made her 'do it' as the police closed in on her - mirroring the very real horrors of that May 31, 2014 day.