Headlines Aren’t That Scary

I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep last night, Edmonton.

Gateway Editor-in-Chief (and damn fine trivia player) Mike Kendrick went and blogged about an Internet meme that will haunt my dreams. And probably some of my waking life.

He wrote about the Slender Man. Of course, my interest was piqued and I went and read what he had written about said Slender Man days before. Wow, big mistake.

It was a big mistake in the same way seeing The Blair Witch Project was. I let myself get into the story and it scared the crap out of me. I clearly didn’t learn my lesson, as I spent my evening catching up on the video entries in this story.

There’s some Internet history to all of this as Mike explains. The story I’ve been following is all shadows and atmosphere and shaky video with audio distortions. Scary though.

In all seriousness, what’s being done with the YouTube and Twitter accounts is a good story. It’s good because it’s genuinely creepy but it’s also a really good use of social media as a way to tell a story. It proves to me that narrative won’t disappear if paper books slip off our shelves and movie theatres go dark. We humans like telling stories and we’re going to find ways to do it.

But in this case, it’s turned my computer into a box of nightmares.

If you’re going to delve into the story of the Slender Man, I recommend you let Mike set it up, then use the “Marble Hornets” Twitter account as your guide, it adds to the story and gives you the links you need. Then you and I both will sleep with the lights on…waiting for the next entry…

Now, let’s hope some news headlines can remind me that there’s no such thing as the Slender Man.

from the Edmonton Journal:

Leibovici must tread carefully on arena issue (Interesting questions about perceived conflict of interest.)

Wheels in motion for skate park in downtown Edmonton

$3.6M makeover mulled for Edmonton park

Albertans who don’t vote should be fined, NDP says (Ah, good old negative reinforcement.)

from the Edmonton Sun:

City targets noise motorcycles (This must be music to Scott McKeen’s ears.)

Cop recalls dog’s stabbing

Alberta wage growth slow (Except for MLAs. They boosted their own pay to sit well for a few years. This is a good time to remind you to read SEE’s story on Mill Woods Tory Carl Benito.)

Ballots for jailbirds

City megachurches boast espresso shops, gyms (It’s almost enough to get me out of bed early on Sunday.)

from The Canadian Press:

Jim Dinning named new chairman of Canada West Foundation

from Metro Edmonton:

Doctor returns after treating Haitians with ‘great hearts’

from 630CHED/iNews880:

Edmonton Public School Board reviews 76 schools in Edmonton (So, is the EPSB just getting to the point where their only job is to close schools?)

LRT “nowhere man” lacked “a ticket to ride” (Two Beatles references in one headline? If Sally was here she’d ask that someone please tell Ed Mason he’s not writing for a classic oldies station. Oh, and I’m sure the woman pushed around by that “teenage tough guy” appreciates your musical knowledge.)

from CBC Edmonton:

Alberta gas well site still on fire (It’s been burning since the world’s been turning…oh, actually it just started the other day.)

from CTV Edmonton:

Edmonton’s Chinese community airs concerns to police chief

from Global Edmonton:

Forcing charity (Over at the U of A.)

There’s no such thing as the Slender Man…there’s no such thing as the Slender Man…