The Slenderman was never truly a “Creepypasta”, per say, and always existed as a much greater internet phenomena that could not be contained on one specific genre or form of media.
Created on the Something Awful forums, Slenderman started off as an unexplained being that stood in the background of photographs. That was it… and that was enough. The mystery and the ability for viewers to fill in the blanks with their own thoughts and theories projected the character to super-star status in the world of online horror.
So where do we stand, now?
Sony owns him, now, after the original creator sold the rights to the character. Due to the under-performance of a “Slenderman” movie that got neither the character or the tone right, it’s likely that Sony will now sit on the rights and never use the character again… while ensuring others don’t break their trademark and copyright rights, as well.
What do we do?
We rebuild. We make it new.
With a healthy dose of inventiveness and transformative reinvention, allow us to present…
The Moldfather
Image generated by AI – making this just a little bit more “Free To Use”.
Name: Unknown
Aliases: Moldfather, The Old Man, The Gentleman
Attire: The Moldfather wears attire befitting an upper-class gentleman. Usually this consists of a snappy tuxedo, but he will often dress for the occasion. Given the setting, he may be sighted in a refined dinner jacket or a fancy evening robe.
Description: The Moldfather is best described as an inexplicable, eldritch fungus that grows on moldering memories. When someone or something is forgotten, it begins to fester in the dank darkness of metaphysical un-being. If something long forgotten is then suddenly remembered, the Moldfather is said to take notice of whomever has “taken back” their memory from “his” realm. The more his target thinks about what they had previously forgotten, and the more they focus on the Moldfather himself, the more he takes “root” in the realm of the living. The only sure way to avoid being stalked and startled by the Moldfather’s presence is to offer up memories to him until he is appeased… though few victims figure this out in time.
Methods: The Moldfather prefers slow-burn scares over brute force, and will remain on the periphery of a victim’s consciousness for days, weeks, months, even years before fully making himself known in horrible detail. This often drives his targets completely insane, an effect that is usually coupled with memory loss as the Moldfather takes away entire thought processes and even one’s sense of self. As the Moldfather fully takes away what makes someone human, they begin to molder and fester, themselves, at which point others begin to forget the target ever existed. Those who have fully been forgotten and have gone insane beyond all hope of recovery will occasionally serve the Moldfather’s strange goals, moving unremembered through the night, manipulating events without leaving a trace.
An “advanced” victim of the Moldfather’s effects.
This character takes what worked best about the Slenderman – an unknowable origin and confusing reasons for being – and draws them out into an “explanation” for his behavior that still essentially explains nothing greater about him. The concept of “tentacles” has been reworked into the character himself essentially being personified fungus, causing him to bear malleable tendrils as his actual limbs. We’ve also worked in the concept of “proxies” through how his victims become hollow, moldy shells of who they once were, and the concept of wanting to “reclaim” what you’ve forgotten as if it’s his property provides a clear set of rules as to how and why you can avoid making things worse once he’s appeared to you.
This character is released under a Creative Commons By-SA license – meaning it is FREE TO USE under this license! Even for personal profit! In fact, the license as stated only exists to prevent any single person from taking/claiming it in the future.
