Meme to movie: Slender Man coming to big screen, report says

It's been terrifying teenagers online for years and, occasionally, seeping into unfortunate real-life crimes. But now the legend of "Slender Man" is heading to the big screen. 

ComicBook.com reported earlier in the week that Screen Gems had picked up the rights for a film based on the legendary, faceless horror character with an aim for a 2017 release. 

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Additionally, the New York Times on Sunday reported that Mythology Entertainment, Madhouse Entertainment and It Is No Dream Entertainment have teamed to buy the rights to the character from its creator, Eric Knundsen, for possible television and video game projects.   

The character first appeared online in 2009 on message boards and was created by a user named Victor Surge. The Photoshopped image showed a tall, faceless man with multiple arms lurking in the background of a scene filled with children — with a caption that indicated that the kids were never seen again.

Folklore around the figure spun out of control, turning Slenderman into a haunting meme whose face and story was reshared by others and took on a life of its own. Over time, he started showing up on other platforms such as 4chan and Creepypasta, a site where people can submit amateur horror stories and get feedback from fans.

These works won't be the first time Slender Man gets his close-up, though. Just this March, a documentary produced by HBO about the 2014 Wisconsin "Slender Man attacks" debuted at the SXSW Film Festival. 

Two young Wisconsin girls lured a third friend of theirs into the woods in May 2014 and stabbed her 19 times, leaving her in the woods to die (the girl survived the attack). 

Both girls were charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the May 2014 attack on their classmate, Payton Leutner. The girls told investigators they hoped killing Payton would please Slender Man, a character they had read about in online horror stories. All three girls were 12 years old at the time of the attack.

Both accused attackers are being tried as adults and could face up to 65 years in prison.

Additional reporting by Samantha Murphy Kelly and the Associated Press.

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