Another attack is connected to Slenderman, this time in Ohio. This one sounds less connected, more complicated, and like an overreaction to a scapegoat cause. We can’t tell if it is a copycat case or the Mother seeing a post hoc connection.

Hamilton Co. mom: Daughter’s knife attack influenced by Slender Man | Local News – WLWT Home.

A Hamilton County mother says her daughter’s attacking her with a knife could have been a result of the fictional horror character Slender Man. “I came home one night from work and she was in the kitchen waiting for me and she was wearing a mask, a white mask,” she said.

This story is dated June 6 but there are no further details of when this took place in relation to the Wisconsin incident that occurred on the night of Saturday, May 31. (Slenderman myth connected to attempted murder).

Though this mother said her daughter had mentioned Slenderman and that he was found referenced in her writings, there seems less of a connection. The girl, 13, unnamed, had mental issues and her writing was described as “always dark” – about demons and killing. She is being held in a detention center with charges pending. The mother only had minor injuries.

The mother’s language hints to me that she may have spoken up due to concern about the dark fiction that kids are reading. From the video on the site:

Reporter: AND THIS MOM SAYS IT SHOULD BE A WAKE UP CALL FOR ALL PARENTS.

Mother: We do have to police what they do and what they read.

I find this VERY disturbing. Policing your teens is neither easy nor fair to them. This is an age when they are attempting to figure out who they are and how to break away from parental supervision. As a parent, I can only imagine that snooping in their private stuff and adding more restrictions will only make them more resentful and prone to act out or hide the truth. Therefore, I disagree with the sentiment I see in several places where the parents and social media and content are being held responsible for these acts. Slenderman is turning into another typical moral panic – like heavy metal music, Dungeons and Dragons, World of Warcraft, Harry Potter, etc. Social issues like these are so very complicated, you can not logically blame one cause. If you do, you are apt to totally misunderstand and probably make things worse.

Another angle is that these are girls. Are girls becoming more violent? Are they more prone to act out their hatred and jealousy? What Do We Know About Girls Who Kill? — Science of Us. Statistics support the following:

It’s extremely rare for young girls to murder.

But girls are becoming more violent.

Girls who kill are more likely to kill someone they know.

Most girls who kill do so as a result of a conflict.

Most girls who kill don’t use guns.

Girl killers are more likely than boy killers to kill other girls.

Fox News naturally puts a sexist, uninformed spin on it: Slender Man stabbing: Fox News says girls are “more likely to have hateful little minds.”

Let’s make this perfectly clear. There is little difference between bogeyman creeps like Slenderman, Freddy Krueger, the Wendigo, La Llorona or the dozens of other characters around the world that serve the same purpose – to scare you silly.

Slenderman: Nightmarish info-demon or misunderstood cultural icon? – Salon.com.

Here are Helen Popkin’s comments on this:

Beyond Slender Man: More Internet Things You Know Nothing About – NBC News.com.

If your kid is in anyway creative, precocious or attracted to the strange and unusual, eventually he or she is going to discover deviantArt, an online community showcasing user-made artwork of all forms. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it could be a very good thing. With more than 25 million members and 246 million submissions, this international community can provide inspiration and support to growing imaginations. People get awards for stuff they’ve posted on deviantArt, and some get careers as well. But parental discretion is advised.

It’s just that teens find ways to avoid blocks parents may put in their way. I still say that all tragedies can not be avoided but talking to your kids, trusting them and nurturing their trust in you, paying attention to emotional and behavioral problems is the best way to head off trouble that leads to violent behavior.

We talked about this topic today on SFR. Check out the podcast, I’m in the second half.