# So it seems creepypasta has hit the big time... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 3, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949 "2014-06-03T18:58:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/81 "2014-06-04T22:36:44Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > The girls planned this for weeks. It’s hard for me to believe there weren’t warning signs. I grew up reading horror stories and watching horror movies. I never once thought about sacrificing one of my friends to a mythical villain because my parents taught me the difference between fantasy and reality. Now I’m not saying that mental illness might not be a factor, but there again, something the parents should have noticed. They may have noticed something was “off”, but it’s a far cry from “my child is acting a bit weird” to “I think my child is going to stab another girl and drag her 300 miles into the woods to appease a spooky internet monster cum god.” I mean, it’s possible they were ignoring their kids torturing small animals for fun, but I find it plausible that they didn’t even fathom there was anything wrong with them that was worth intervening over. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/82 "2014-06-04T22:51:42Z")
> [@](#): > > These kids thought Slenderman was real. These kids \*say they \*thought Slenderman was real. Same kids who had a variety of back-up plans. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/83 "2014-06-04T23:07:20Z")
the website has set up a victim fund for medical bills. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/84 "2014-06-05T00:07:19Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Isn’t the best system some form of asylum for the insane? Putting 12 year olds in an adult prison sounds absurd to me. I don’t know what the best system is. I haven’t a clue as to how to treat a pair of 12 year olds who would do something like this. I’m not sure locking them in an asylum for the criminally insane is any better or worse than an adult prison (though likely they’d end up in a juvie prison and transfered to an adult prison at 18 if sentenced as an adult). There is no one right solution for handling children like this. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/85 "2014-06-05T00:11:58Z")
I used to live in Waukesha. I went to grade school there. This is a hellava shock. ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/86 "2014-06-05T00:26:20Z")
The juvenile justice system isn’t really set up to handle serious crimes, because kids so rarely engage in them. Doesn’t mean they should be tried as adults. My kids heard of Slenderman a while back - at school, in the playground. Something like this is not a websites fault. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/87 "2014-06-05T00:49:33Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > How does the enormity of the crime have any bearing on the age of criminal responsibility of the perpetrator? > > Why would it matter if it were a simple theft or a multiple murder? > > I don’t follow your reasoning, they are juveniles and should be treated as such regardless of the crime. So are you proposing a flat age limit – 18 (or some other age), below which you cannot be charged as an adult? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/88 "2014-06-05T03:40:32Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > It’s not unusual to charge juveniles as adults for murder or attempted murder. > > **My state changed the law after 2 teens[shot up an elementary school playground](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchell_Johnson_and_Andrew_Golden)(with multiple fatalities). Little bastards are already out thanks to the juvenile system. New law means that won’t happen again.** According to [this article](http://www.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/article479304/Wisconsin-stabbing-highlights-juvenile-crime-laws.html) today (June 4), that’s exactly what Wisconsin has already done: > [@](#): > > When two 12-year-old Wisconsin girls were charged this week with stabbing a friend nearly to death, authorities had no choice but to send them to adult court. > > \< . . . snip . . . \> > > Wisconsin is one of the toughest states when it comes to punishing children the same as adults. A 1995 state law requires prosecutors to file adult charges in homicide or attempted homicide cases if the child is at least 10. Twenty-eight other states have similar laws, although their minimum age is no younger than 13. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/89 "2014-06-05T03:46:34Z")
They’re lucky the victim is still alive. It makes a big difference in the time they’ll serve. I bet they’ll be released before they are 25 or 30. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/90 "2014-06-05T07:20:45Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > So are you proposing a flat age limit – 18 (or some other age), below which you cannot be charged as an adult? Yes, that then applies regardless of the nature of crime. I see no logic in claiming that someone can be tried as an adult for one type of wrongdoing but not for another. It isn’t a particularly outlandish statement, plenty of other countries around the world make that distinction. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/91 "2014-06-05T07:41:34Z")
I too support a flat age at which someone _must_ be tried as an adult. Probably 16. Maybe 15. But I also think that whatever age that is chosen should also be the age of majority for all other legal rights. It’s hypocritical to say that you have the mental capacity to be guilty of murder and tried as an adult, but not the capacity to understand a legal contract and enter it, or drink a beer or smoke a cigarette or vote. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/92 "2014-06-05T18:41:24Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > There are no Japanese Grumpy Cat blogs. > > Grumpy Cat doesn’t have multiple wikis related to him. > > Grumpy Cat isn’t the subject of multiple web-series and video games. > > Grumpy Cat is a single meme, creepypasta is a _genre_. > > Being unaware of Creepypasta is like being unaware of LOLcats or Advice Animals. Being unaware of Grumpy Cat is like being unaware of Jeff the Killer. Strongly disagree, and I’ve been a huge creepypasta fan for years. You said that creepypasta is a genre, and that’s the whole point. Genres, by definition, are narrower categories than non-genre. Horror stuff has _always_ been pretty niche, beloved by its fans but ignored by many many more (and actively disliked by a sizable population). Grumpy cat isn’t genre. It’s a silly meme that has widespread appeal and doesn’t rely on complicated or obscure (or polarizing or controversial) knowledge to be funny. Does creepypasta have more “range” than grumpy cat? Sure. But it also has a much narrower range of appeal. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/93 "2014-06-06T03:14:46Z")
Whelp, apparently there was a thread on /b/ that found the address of the girls and were organizing a campaign to send letters to the parents of the perpetrators pretending to be from a Slender Man worshiping cult. The problem is, many people from /b/ actually tend to follow through on their stupid fucking ideas. Here’s hoping the fact that the thread got deleted allows this to blow over. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/94 "2014-06-06T06:05:33Z")
Well, there you go, Ignorance fought. When I opened this thread I thought it would be something about food. I’ve never heard of creepy pasta or slenderman and I have a number of 20 somethings on Facebook who inadvertently keep me up to date with all sorts of stuff. I’m not sure if it’s a national culture thing or what. I was aware of the lolcats, cheeseburger and grumpy cat but that was old years ago, I haven’t looked at that stuff for years. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/95 "2014-06-06T07:24:42Z")
Slender Man is certainly a cultural phenomenon you’ve heard of or you haven’t, Creepypasta is just a neologism for “free, online short horror story”, so even if you haven’t heard the term it’s probably not really news. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/96 "2014-06-06T11:07:03Z")
Has it been definitively ruled out that Slenderman was behind all this? ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/97 "2014-06-06T11:44:46Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Has it been definitively ruled out that Slenderman was behind all this? Of course. Slenderman doesn’t demand blood sacrifices, he just makes people disappear without a trace. Duh. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/98 "2014-06-06T11:47:14Z")
Candyman, Candyman, can ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/99 "2014-06-06T11:58:59Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Has it been definitively ruled out that Slenderman was behind all this? Yes, he has a confirmed alibi burning down an elementary school in Calgary. [Splendorman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MXYC_jX2Wc) still at large. ---
**Author:** ![Calatin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Calatin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calatin)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949/100 "2014-06-06T13:57:12Z")
For whatever reason, I picture Splendidman as British. Also, he may or may not have a top hat and a monocle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-it-seems-creepypasta-has-hit-the-big-time/689949.md?page=6)