The Slenderman Stabbing: When the Internet Becomes Dangerous
In 2014, two 12-year-old girls stabbed their friend 19 times — all to please a fictional internet monster. This is the story of Morgan Geyser, Anissa Weier, and how online communities blurred the line between fiction and real-world violence.
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In 2014, two 12-year-old girls stabbed their friend 19 times — all to please a fictional internet monster. This is the story of Morgan Geyser, Anissa Weier, and how online communities blurred the line between fiction and real-world violence.
Full transcript of The Slenderman Stabbing: When the Internet Becomes Dangerous
Two 12-year-old girls stabbed their friend 19 times. Not for anger. Not for hate. For a fictional monster they found on the internet. In 2009, a horror character called Slenderman was born — on a forum. A meme. A game. But for Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier, it became real. They spent months on creepypasta wikis, convincing themselves: Slenderman was watching. They believed: kill for him, become his proxy, protect their families. May 31st, 2014. A sleepover in Waukesha, Wisconsin. They lured their friend Payton Leutner into the woods. Then they attacked. Nineteen stab wounds. They left her for dead and walked away. Payton survived. She crawled to a road. A cyclist found her. Morgan was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Both were sentenced to mental institutions. The internet didn't pull the knife. But it built the world that did. What children consume online shapes who they become. Guard their world — before fiction becomes action.