Morbid - Episode 209: The Slenderman Stabbing

Episode Date: February 12, 2021

Slenderman, you know him. He’s the creepy tall dude lurking in the woods without a face. He was created in 2009 on Something Awful by a man named Eric Knudesen and has dominated the internet ever since. In 2014 two Wisconsin girls pledged their allegiance to Slenderman by stabbing their best friend 19 times and leaving her for dead in the middle of the woods. They thought they would be off to live in his mansion in the forest, but that wasn’t exactly the end of it all. Thank you to our Patreon supporters for picking this week's episodes!!! We love you!! As always, thank you to our sponsors: Hellofresh: Go to HelloFresh.com/10morbid and use code 10morbid for 10 free meals, including free shipping! Thredup: Morbid listeners, here’s an exclusive offer just for you: Get an extra 30% off your first order at thredUP.com/MORBID. Gabi: You’re probably overpaying on car and home insurance. See how much Gabi can save you! Go to Gabi.com/MORBID. Pretty Litter: Do what I did and make the switch to PrettyLitter TODAY by visiting Pretty Litter dot com and use promo code morbid for 20% off your first order. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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That's ANGI, or download the app today. Hey, weirdos. I'm Alena. I'm Ash. And this is morbid. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go.

I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go.

I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go.

I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. I'm changed it to like, forbid. I, yeah. I don't know where. So that's funny. That's a word for bid. Forbid. I just said forbid. I feel like that's funny. That's a word.

Wow. Forbid. Actually, that would be a cool band name for bid. Forbid. Forbid. Well, you know, gosh forbid, you go into the Ural Mountains in Russia. Just in that right there. Yeah.

The gosh forbid. Gosh. Because I don't know if anyone's heard. Hello, I'm here to tell you, but a few of you have tagged me in this and I was like, holy shit, that eight tourists have gone missing in the exact same place that the diet love pass incident occurred. Another tiny avalanche has happened. Now, another tiny ass avalanche has occurred. Now, they were supposed to be back on Wednesday, the 10th. They were supposed to arrive

wherever they were supposed to arrive and they haven't and no one's able to get in touch with them. Oh, no. Diet love pass was nine hikers and people always said don to get in touch with them. No. No. Diet love pass was nine hikers. And people always said don't go in groups of nine. This is eight. So we're pretty close, but it's like, and I guess they were going up there in order to pay their respects to these fallen hikers. And then the government said, no, the fucking goal.

And then something was like, no, no, no, no. It was a lot of me. I had no the fucking bowl. And then something was like, no, no, no, no. It was a lot of meere. And totally kidding. It's a little weird. I think it's weird. I'm a little nervous. We're gonna have another diet love pass incident

on our hands here. I really hope not. I hope these hikers come back very soon and I hope they're like super, super sorry. We decided to spend another night. We just got lunch and it went on a long long day. I'm really hoping for their sake and for their family sake that they have a happy ending here.

But I don't know. It's not looking good. I know that's shown up yesterday. And nobody can get in touch with them. It's gonna be like one of those places like the suicide forest that people like don't go into anymore. Yeah, like in Gajara. It's going to be like one of those places like this, like the suicide forest that people like don't go into anymore. Yeah, it's going to be, yeah, and it's, it's almost like an ever-issituation where it's like, I don't know, you know, there's just

bodies everywhere. It's crazy. Well, that freaks me out. It's real crazy. And they could be like, yeah, it's just, yeah, yeah, scary. I just hope, I hope they're okay. Maybe they got, like, sidetracked, maybe they got turned around, maybe they had to camp out because weather, I don't know. I was gonna look into like what the weather was happening there, but that's kind of hard. Yeah. Like I've tried to before, but you know, I think we'll probably learn more in the next coming days,

so everybody keep their fingers crossed. Yeah, stay tuned everybody. That we do not have a diet love pass, part two. No thanks. Because I don't think any of us are ready for that We're still reeling from the first one and that was way long ago. Yeah, they just tried to give us answers And we were like no next So I don't need another one of those in my life quite yet Not until we fully have figured out the first one not right now. No, we're not ready

Well, we're also gonna be talking about something super duper spooky, just like dialogue pass. Again, this month the Patreon's get to pick. It's patronis-sipics. It's patronis-sipics. And you guys decided that you wanted to hear all about this, like, really tall, drink of water, named Slendy. Slendy! We're going to do the Slenderman case.

Yes, this is a crazy one and you know what? Good job, Patronis. It's your killing it. I know. I'm not saying. I'm not intended. You are killing it. They picked great things for me and I was stoked. We love you. What are you covering this week? I forget. This week the Patronuses have picked for more. More? They have picked for me. You're very fresh today. I know, I don't know why I'm just feeling it. I'm like, duh.

Wee wee. Wee wee. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh, that was pretty. Thank you. They have picked for me, Willie Picton, which I know.

Oh, bitch. Tons of people have suggested. I always knew I wanted to cover it. I just was waiting for the right time. and you know what the right time was? When the patronus is told me so? You will never look at a peg the same way. You never will, just get ready, because I've already bought like three books. So shit's gonna get real.

It's probably gonna be a multi-party, at least two. Oh, I love that. It's a big, big case, so thank you,ronas, for your choices. You've killed it. And really quickly, if you haven't bought tickets to our live show that we're going to be doing tomorrow night, oh yeah, I don't know over to Instagram. I believe the link is still in our bio to purchase tickets for the bleeding heart ball. It's going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be real spooky. We're going to we're we have like a fun little kind of theme going. Oh yeah, me and my teeth are ready. Yeah. That's your hint.

That's your hint. All right, well let's get into slundi. Let's do this. You know, the funniest thing about slundi is that it all started in Gemini season. Oh, look at that. I know. June 10th, 2009, was the first time slundi

made his appearance on the interwebs. Eric Nudeson, I believe is how you say it. He used the username Victor Surge on the website, something awful. Who loves that? Did you ever go on something awful? I don't think I ever went on something awful. I didn't.

Something awful. What year was this again? This was 2009. Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, I was like your heyday. Yeah, I was like, you know, I never went your heyday of weirdness. Yeah, you know. Well like, you're a day. Yeah, I was like, you know, I never went to your day of weirdness. Yeah, you know.

Well, he, he used the name Victor Surge and he posted a picture of this like tall, thin, black figure lurking in the background of this scene with these kids playing on a playground. That's horrifying. Yeah. Now, he posted, I guess he posted two pictures. The first one that I saw is there's a playground

and there's like five or six kids in focus and then there's a couple in the background and they're just like standing around this tall, dark, scary figure. Oh yeah, I remember that one. Yeah, we'll post it. And then there's just a little kid like climbing up the ladder to the slide like cheese in.

Yeah. Now Eric claimed the photos were taken, or excuse me, they were found in the Sterling City Library blaze and that they were taken the same day that 14 children just went up and missing. I love that. I always love those where it's like, yeah, like 62 kids just went up and missing and no one heard about it.

Gonzo. Yeah, not. Yeah, no. And then he went on to say that the library burned down a week after the photos were taken and that the police took the photos in for evidence. Sounds demonic. Talk about a twisted situation. Talk about a twisted sister. I knew you were going to say that. Now people on the site had a field day with the idea of this creature. They were posting their own photos and they were like toying with more and more ideas of his appearance. Some were like, oh, he has huge tentacles growing from his back and others were like, they should be a little smaller because it's scary in that way. And then some people

were like, you know, like, he needs no face. What should we give him a face? Why should he be wearing a suit perhaps? I love the suit. The suit,? Honestly, the creativity here, like the creative process that was happening, like let's make massive tentacles. No, smaller ones will be more terrifying. Smaller ones will suffice. That's a beautiful creative process. I love it. And I love creating a monster. It's just like a melting pot of Satterman. This could have just been what it was. And it's sad that it got tainted the way it did. Yeah, definitely is. Now, the one post on something awful turned into a huge thread of people, either like bringing new ideas, like I just said to the guy's appearance,

posting pictures of him that were supposed to be from earlier periods in history, like even like before humans and stuff like that. I love that. Or talking about their stories and their experiences with this creature. Now, the truth behind all of this is that the creation of Slenderman started with an online Photoshop contest. Of course. That's why Eric posted it in the first place. That's where most things start, I think. It's just for a Photoshoposhop contest. So Sunderman is not real. No. Even to my, to my like it scares me, like he still scares me. And I know he's not real. Yeah, it's a terrifying idea. It's a terrifying image. Yeah.

Everything about it hits every nerve that you needed to hit for being terrifying. No face. No face. Done. No face. Daring a suit. Tentacles somewhere. And kills kids. Yeah. No face. No face. Done. No face. Daring a suit. Tentacles somewhere. And kills kids. Yeah. Like all those things, you're like, no, no, no, no. Yeah, it's just freaky.

I don't like it. I woke up at like 4.30 this morning and I was like, see in the kitchen. It scares me, you know? Is that internet creation in the kitchen? I don't know. I don't know his life. Nobody does. No, today there are multiple movies, countless YouTube clips about Slenderman,

but the original series was made by two college students, a name Troy Wagner and Joseph DeLogue, I believe is how you say it. Troy was a film student and he had read this something awful thread and like found inspiration, so he asked Joseph if he wanted to make a movie with him. Now the whole thing is shot with like a video camera, like nothing high-tech or anything like that. and found inspiration. So he asked Joseph if he wanted to make a movie with him. Now the whole thing is shot with a video camera, like nothing high-tech or anything like that. I feel like it has a very bluer-witch project feel.

I love that. That movie terrifies me to this day. I still love that movie. I love that movie. I love that movie. So good. But the thought, yeah, I don't even want to talk about it. It's just great.

Now the whole plot line is that this guy is working on a film project, but all of a sudden he just up and quits the entire thing. And then his friend tries to figure out what went down. He's like going through the footage, and he realizes that Slenderman has been stalking his friend, and that's why he neglected the project and just like totally left it. That's a very valid excuse. Absolutely. Can't come in today and being stalked by Slender Man. I'm so sorry. Now when they finished their movie they called it Marble Hornets. I don't know why. Excuse me. Something to do with it. I didn't watch it.

They also, so they posted it online. I'm pretty sure you can still find it on YouTube. Honestly, Slender Man terrifies me and that's why I didn't venture deeper. Yeah. Now it ended up being a huge hit, just like Blair Witch Project, Taya. And actually Roger Ebert tweeted about it. What? He was just like, here's this movie.

Like he didn't really shave one thing or another about it, and it's like a horror movie. But it got the people going. Because Cisco and Eve, like all critics usually are like for horror movies. Well, just like interesting. Yeah, we said that about them. It's the little things.

Yeah. It got really bad reviews, even though it was iconic. Certainly was. Yeah. Now, well, imagine you think you're just like putting up a movie for fun and then Roger Ebert is like, hey, great flick. No, I can't even fathom that.

Those two guys literally just did it on their video camera. Yeah, this will be fun. Let's put it on YouTube. And Ebert was like, yes, I'm in. I saw your movie, thumbs up. I love though that he was just like, I saw this movie, I said nothing. Like that's all it.

I saw it. So over the years, Lenderman really made his way into all horror markets. There's been video games, there's way more online forms, like creepy pasta, like wiki fandom, all that stuff. And movies. And it's just so crazy that all Slenderman was was just a post on a weird website,

and then this happened. Is that it just became what it became? Yeah, he just started going into the homes of everyone across the world. I do think he just hit all the right buttons. Yeah. It's rare to find a creature or a monster that just really resonates and really scares

the shit out of people. And he's just that monster. It's like, Freddie or, you know, it's like any of those, it's like you have to have a thing that really gets people going. And I think it's like the faceless thing. I think it's like you have to have a thing that really gets people going. And I think it's like the faceless thing. I think it's huge.

Wearing a suit just is different and weird. I think honestly, the faceless thing is what drives it home for me. Because you can almost put anything to that. Right, exactly. And like all the articles that I was reading about, like, what makes Slender Man so scary? Yeah. It's the ambiguity.

Yeah, it's literally, he can be whatever you don't want him to be. Well, that's the thing. It's so funny that you said that, because it's like the whole idea of like what you don't know, your brain will fill in for you. And the human brain is the scariest thing in the world. Yes. So you give it a blank canvas like that.

It's gonna fill in the most horrible shit you can conjure in your own brain. So it's like he's different for everyone. Yeah, he's everyone's worst nightmare because you can paint whatever you want onto that blank canvas. Exactly. And he can hover above the tree line.

I don't want anything to do with that. I don't like that at all. Honestly, I've said it 82 times at this point, but the sand's face thing. Yeah. It's the sand's face for me. Whenever you're missing, missing that, it's stressful. I'm not here for that.

Now, most people who are into, or excuse me, most people are just into slender man for the entertainment value of it all, obviously. But then you have to think of the kids on the internet that are like, what the fuck? Like, I forget, but when I was, I worked with this girl and she had kids and her kid called her like freaking out about this lady on YouTube that was like supposed to like jump into your YouTube

channel and like say like scary things about you. It happened recently. Oh what was it like Momo? Yes. Or something I remember that. Yeah but then it turned out just to be like this one video like yeah and it was this thing that somebody just like made it all. Yeah, or like this weird little mask or something. She was terrifying, because I remember my friend showing me and I was like, if I was a child on the internet, I would be terrified. Why? Well, it's similar to like you said Blair Witch, where we were, I think it was like, you

know, my age group and like maybe in like everybody older knows that when Blair Witch came out, they marketed that like it was found footage of real hikers that disappeared and you were gonna watch what happened. Like, right, they marketed this shit as like really happened. Right? You went to see it in the movies, most of us thought because of the internet

that it really fucking happened. So it was terrifying. It added such a different element. Oh yeah. And it's like that. These kids now are going on the internet. They're seeing it. It's being marketed as a real thing.

This is a real guy that's gonna come trekking through your woods. You don't know. It's fucking terrifying. Do you remember those videos on YouTube that you would like be watching somebody driving down the street? Like your friend would send it to you on AI. And they would scream.

All of a sudden, like something would fly out of those. Like some scary-ass lady. It's like that shit. Yeah. That's what we had, but then now, obviously, as time goes on, things just get worse. Oh, yeah, for sure. These kids have like moments.

Way worse. Yeah. Now, like, so like I said, like, there's a lot of kids out there that probably think he's real. And that's exactly what the case was in Wisconsin for two teenage girls. So Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weir were completely obsessed with Slenderman

and they believed that they had to prove their allegiance to him before they were gonna go live with him in his mansion in this like national forest in Wisconsin. That's so insane. So to prove their allegiance they would have to kill and it would have to be like a sacrifice killing. Wow. Yeah. So Morgan, guys, our patent latener had been friends since the fourth grade. When Patent saw Morgan eating a lonet lunch, she decided to pull up a chair and sit next to her.

And from that day on, they were pretty much inseparable. They would have sleepovers. So sweet. They would go roller skating together. They kind of bonded over their love of cats because they both loved cats. Morgan even called Peyton by her nickname Bella. They would play like dress up together. They loved to play pretend. They like to act like they were characters

and Harry Potter or like Star Trek which Morgan really loved. I loved that. So it was just like very like wholesome. Yeah, it was super wholesome. And people, I mean, they became, they were friends for like a long time, like until sixth grade pretty much.

And it seems like they were kind of like the, not like the misfits, but like they were like a little bit like younger than everyone else. But like they like jived well with each other because of that. Yeah, they kind of clung to each other. And it was really just like this cute friendship where, you know, like they were still like playing dress up and stuff.

Like they're like, and they're like, on a bath should lead into this, you know, things that they're into. Yeah, like it's just like innocent and pure. Yeah. So around sixth grade, Morgan met a new friend while she was waiting for the bus. Now this was Anissa.

So together, Anissa and Morgan became obsessed with Slenderman after seeing the creepy post-apost online. I think Anissa was the first person to show Morgan. Okay, that makes sense. Slenderman. Now, Peyton didn't really want anything to do with Slenderman at all. She was like, that's terrifying. I'm good.

Cool that you guys are so into that. So like, live your life. And she was like trying to support her best friend's new friendship, which when you put that- That's so hard. It's not good. Yeah, it's so hard. Yeah And so I think the slender man stuff obviously like I said freaked her out and it brought Anissa and Morgan closer Yeah, so it left Peyton a little bit on the outs That sucks and Morgan and Anissa are like really like preyed on her because of it They would like send her links to the creepy pasta. They'd send her messages and be like, oh slender man's gonna get you in your sleep

Well, like oh god, just super nice friendly things. Yeah, so sweet But you know you're in sixth grade like that's just a shitty though. It is very shitty now Looking back Morgan was showing signs that she definitely needed some help with her mental health Yeah, but obviously hindsight is always 2020. Of course. But she would have these outbursts in class, she would save insects, and throw them at kids during class. Yeah, I think somebody should have addressed that. Oh, yeah, and then her mom was called once because Morgan brought a hammer to school.

Oh my god. And she actually got suspended for it for a little bit. Holy shit. Yeah. Now, Anissa was a really good student and she had a way of kind of sticking up for the underdog. It seemed like she was a little more, she was, I think all three of them

were a little bit immature for their grade, but Anissa was mature in a different way. Yeah. Had a big sister energy. Oh, okay. Now, so yeah, it's easy to see that she stood up for the underdog because Morgan was kind of the underdog. Yeah, so anytime somebody would tease Morgan,

she would like, basically like she'd punch them or like make them shut up. Now by the time they got into sixth grade, Peyton was becoming more social and making more friends. And it seemed like the other two girls were becoming a little jealous of that. And actually Morgan later said that Anissa would call Pete and a bitch like all the time. Yeah, because it seems like they're just going two very different ways. Yeah, absolutely. Like a little more on the outside are the two of them and a little more like going towards the

mainstream space. Yeah, exactly. And you know, it's like in fourth, like a lot changes between fourth grade and sixth grade. Oh yeah. And like you started a new school in sixth grade. And, you know, it's like in fourth, like a lot changes between fourth grade and sixth grade. And like you started new school in sixth grade. So of course she's meeting new people and like, you know, it's just hard when like you're, because I remember it happened to me when I was in like middle school, like my best friend at the time, became like super popular and cool.

And I, and sometimes you just don't follow them to that path. Like you wish you could, but you didn't. Yeah, just like it doesn't work out. It's not easy. and sometimes you just don't follow them to that path. Like you wish you could, but you didn't. Yeah, just like it doesn't work out. It's not easy. And I honestly, like a lot of times, I just don't think three is a great number for teenage girls.

Three is a tough, pretty girl. It's a tough one. One is always left out. Yeah, because I mean, I'm not saying this is like the case for everybody, like my friend group will used to be like seven people and that worked. Yeah, but I think whenever it's three, like for my personal experience, I was always the one that was like,

I'm feeling a little left out here. Yeah, because I feel like the other two just somehow, two people always bond a little bit more. It just like naturally happens. They're like half more in common. Yeah, so that sucks. It does. Now, so they all, they all still wanted to be friends

and Morgan's birthday party was coming up and they were really excited. Morgan had turned 12 on May 16th and then two weeks later on May 30th, she was gonna be having like a birthday party sleepover with both Anissa and Peyton. Okay. Now it was a Friday night and Peyton's mom remembers

like how stoked she was to go to the sleepover. Now the three girls went roller skating for hours and then they went back to Morgan's where they hung out until they fell asleep. Now Peyton remembered it was weird that Morgan didn't wanna stay out all night because she always wanted to when they had sleepovers. And this one, I mean, it was like her birthday

like she could do what she wanted. Yeah, and you would think that would be the time. And she didn't, so that was kind of weird. And then Anissa remembered later that patent like kicked her in the face by accident while she was sleeping. And Anissa was like, yeah, so I kicked her back on purpose. And it's like, well, she was sleeping, like,

like, chill. Now the next morning they had donuts for breakfast and actually Morgan and Anissa woke up first and went downstairs without patent and patent woke up after them and went down after. So sucks. There's already, like, yeah, there's already some weird shit happening.

Because I was always, do you remember those sleepovers where you would wake up the next day after sleeping for like 45 minutes and you just were like, it just complete, just shit. Oh, when I was, when I was this age, I would go home and like have to sleep all day. Me too, yeah. And my mom would be like, Jesus Christ,

like, if you're not going to sleep over for a long time, because you're miserable when you come home. Yeah. And it was true. So the next morning, like I said, they had donuts for breakfast, they hung out, they played dress up. I guess they were playing with silly putty at one point,

like throwing it at the ceiling. Stilling putty. Might be real mad. Probably putting it on newspaper. No, I guess they were mixing it with like grunola and then like throwing it up to the ceiling. All right, that's weird. I didn't know you could do that. We used to just kind of stick it on to newspaper and you would like

it would like transfer the newspaper onto it. We used to just like hold the silly putty and like make it like drop into one hand and then lift that other hand up and drop it into the other like like you're supposed to do. I thought you were gonna say something like, we used to just go party. Well, that one I was 12. I'm like, I used to play with silly pie. I thought you were gonna be like,

we would just go drink. Not yet, like in a year. But, so yeah, that's not what I was doing. But finally, they got the idea to ask Morgan's mom if they could go to the park together. Now, it's worth mentioning that any other time Morgan's mom would be like, no way, like nice try your 12, you're not going to a park by yourself. Yeah, but it was her birthday.

It was the middle of the day. There's three of them. So she was like, okay, go ahead, but like come back by this time, whatever. So they go, they head to the park. Now, when they got to the park, they went into the bathrooms and got into this really intense fight just very quickly,

because pretty much all of the sudden, Anissa hit Peyton's head into the wall, which was concrete in the bathroom, and then as Morgan was holding her in place. What the, so it was very clearly. Pretty much there. Yeah. Now as quick as that all happened,

Morgan started panicking and just started walking away, pacing and singing. And so Anissa told Peyton to go outside and just checked on Morgan. And she later said that she had to calm her down by petting her like a cat. Wow. Mm-hmm.

It's not like super clear why they stayed together, but they did decide to stay together and play hide and seek. I think Peyton probably stayed because she's with the, like where else is she gonna go right now? Oh, it's gonna say she's probably like freaked out. And it's like, I'm just gonna go with this. And like, once we're done with this, I'm gonna go home.

Exactly. And I think, I mean, they're 12. Like, when you're 12, like, you're not thinking like, oh no, they're probably gonna try to hurt me more. Like, you don't think that. Yeah, you just think it's like a quick, weird thing that happened. Like, that is real weird.

Yeah, I would have not been happy. No. And obviously, she wasn't either. So she was, she was confused, but, you know, I don't, I think she was just like, I'll just hang out with you until it's time to go home. Yeah. So after they like, I'll just hang out with you until it's time to go home. Yeah. So after they like somewhat settled the really random argument,

they decided to go play hide and seek. So Peyton said that Anissa sent her into the woods and told her to cover herself with leaves to hide. Huh. Mm-hmm. Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of Wondery's podcast American Scandal. We bring to life some of theondery's podcast American Scandal.

We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in US history, presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our newest series, we look at the Kids for Cash Scandal, a story about corruption inside America's system of juvenile justice. In Northeastern Pennsylvania, residents had begun noticing an alarming trend. Children were being sent away to jail in high numbers, and often for committing only minor offenses. The FBI began looking at two local judges, and when the full picture emerged, it made national headlines.

The judges were earning a fortune, carrying out a brazen criminal scheme, one that would shatter the lives of countless children, and force a heated debate about punishment and America's criminal justice system. Follow American scandal wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on the Amazon Music or Wonder App. She remembered hearing Morgan counting like really quickly and then hearing the two girls talk while they looked for her, but she couldn't hear exactly what they were saying. And then all of a sudden Morgan was crouched over her holding a steak knife. And right before she started stabbing Peyton, she said, quote, don't be afraid, I'm only

a little kitty cat. Oh, what? Don't be afraid. I'm only a little kitty cat. I didn't know that. Yeah, I didn't know that part. Yep. I don't like that at all.

I hate it so much. I hate that I know that. Now, a parent, so we'll get into it later, but apparently she had this idea that like, she, when she like went to live with Slenderman, the Slenderman, that was gonna be like who she was, like an evil kitty cat. And that's what she was gonna say to people before.

Okay. Doing things like this. I mean, that's scary as fuck. Yeah. Now while Morgan was stabbing Peyton, Anissa was standing over the two of them just watching apparently. And what Peyton didn't know is that while she was hiding

and she could hear them talking, they were actually arguing over who would be the one to stab her. Now, while she's hiding, while she's hiding and she could hear them talking, they were actually arguing over who would be the one to stab her. Now, while she's hiding, while she's hiding, Anissa kept handing the knife back to Morgan that they had taken from Morgan's kitchen, by the way. And just telling her, like, you need to take this and do it because I'm, quote, too squeamish.

I'm too squeamish. And it's like, okay, okay. So right before Morgan started stabbing in his hands and said the kitty cat thing, Anissa said, two Morgan, quote, kitty now, go ballistic. Kitty now, go ballistic. Yes. Poor Peyton must have done it now.

Absolutely terrifying. This is like a carnival nightmare. Like this is well-fierld girls. So beyond anything you could ever conjure in your brain. No, this is like PTSD for the rest of your life. Now go ballistic. I'd be like, why are you talking like that? This is awful.

Their interviews are these, and we'll get into it a little bit. So we'll just be prepared. So after stabbing Peyton, 19 times. 19 times. In her arms, chest, legs, like everywhere, Peyton tried to stand, but she couldn't see because she probably lost so much blood and just was so... Yeah, I mean, just orientated. Just orientated.

Oh, so she couldn't see or walk really well. And Anissa took her hand and told her to lie down because she would lose blood slower that way. And she was like, me and Morgan are gonna go get help. We'll be back. So Peyton was like, yeah, no. I know. Yeah. Now luckily Peyton doesn't remember all the details of the stabbing.

Thank goodness. Because her body obviously went into shock. But she does remember the girls telling her that they were gonna go get help. And she remembers being like, yeah girls telling her that they were gonna go get help, and she remembers being like, yeah, I knew that they weren't gonna get help. Thank goodness she was that clear of thought. Oh, that clear of thought, and then this little badass of a 12-year-old girl after being stabbed 19 times, crawled through the woods until she hit like the road, and luckily ran into this guy, Greg Steinberg, who was just outriding his bike.

And he's like, she stumbles across him and they meet and he's like, are you like what? You are outriding your bike and you run into a 12-year-old girl who crawls out of the woods, bleeding from 19 stab wounds. And I saw a picture in one article of her shirt that she was wearing that day, and it was soaked with blood. Like, I mean, stabbed 19 times.

Before I was. Yeah. Now, he was the one to call 911 who luckily came right away. And Peyton was with it enough to tell the officers who arrived on the scene who had stabbed her. Wow. Morgan Geyser. Now, with that, she was rushed away to the hospital to have emergency surgery. And now the hunt was on to find Morgan. A 12 year old. A 12 year old. This is so... This was on to find a 12 year old. Like, it's so hard to comprehend this case.

Oh, I remember the first time I heard this case. I actually have to say I think I heard it on that, and that's why we drink for the first time. And I was like, what Christine, what do you say to me? Oh, what Christine? That are you saying? What Christine? That's, it's just so, it's beyond any kind of comprehension. No, absolutely. It's 12. It's like a baby.

I don't even remember being 12 to be honest with you. Like when we were just talking about silly putty and you were like, I thought you were gonna say this. I was like, I don't even remember 12. You're like, what was I doing it? 12. I have no idea. But Morgan and Nissa were found sitting in the grass

near Interstate 94. They had cleaned up in a Walmart and they told the investigators that their plan was to walk to Slender Man's Mansion. Wow, so they were like fully committed to this. Oh yeah. Like we did our job, now we're going to the mansion. Now it would have been more than a four hour drive

from where they were and they were going to walk. Yeah. Yeah. Now the entire attack and the slender man aspect was bizarre, but things were only going to get more bleak. It was very clear during Morgan's interviews with the investigators that she had absolutely zero remorse for what she did.

Absolutely zero remorse. At 12 did. Absolutely zero remorse. At 12. Now she told the investigators that they had no idea how hard it was to keep this plan a secret because there were plans for this. In fact, there were three separate plans on how to kill Peyton that took, got into motion over the last six months.

My? What? So they had been over the last six months. My? What? So they had been planning this for six months. That's a pretty good case for premeditation. Mm-hmm. And it's then Morgan made up code words so that they could talk about the murder in public and then they would like email and write notes about it.

Now the first plan was to kill Peyton during the sleepover while she was sleeping. That's like sophisticated, the like code word shit. Oh yeah. Wow. This was bananas. I'll just wait it. They were gonna kill her during the sleepover

just in Morgan's house. Oh yeah. Oh okay. That's where the sophistication is not there. Yeah, that's where it dips off a little bit. Well, not even that. They were too quote, sleepy and tired from the roller rink, roller rinks, excuse me.

Yeah. So they didn't kill her during the sleepover because they were too sleepy, entire. It's a good cap workout. Yeah. Now remember the altercation in the bathroom from two minutes ago? That was the second plan because they were going to kill her in the bathroom.

Mortgage noted that there was a drain there for the blood. And Anissa told the investigators, quote, from what I read on the computer, it's easier to kill people when they're either asleep or unconscious. And it's easier if you don't look at them in their eyes. Oh my God. Like, she willingly told them that. And it's just like the internet tells me this.

Like, what the fuck? Yeah, like, why does the internet say that? And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you-

And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And also, why are you- And does the internet say that? And also, why are you- Why are you two looking at this shit and no one knows about it? Mm-hmm. Like, holy shit. Yep.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. What if you were trafficked into a cult over shot nine times or fell in love with a vampire or went into a minor surgery and woke up one week later, paralyzed. What would you do? I'm Whit Missildine, the creator of this is actually happening,

a podcast from Wondry that brings you extraordinary true stories of life-changing events, told by the people who lived them. From a young man that dooms his entire future with one choice, to a woman who survived a notorious serial killer. You'll hear their first person account of how they overcame remarkable circumstances. Each episode is an exploration of the human spirit and personal discovery. These haunting accounts sound like Hollywood movies, but I assure you this is actually happening. Follow this is actually happening. Followed this is actually happening wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Add Free on the Amazon Music or Wonder App.

So that's why they tried to hit Peyton's head into the wall. They were trying to knock her out so that they could kill her in the bathroom. But I think they just like didn't do it. I mean, this is horrible, but they didn't do it hard enough. So they had to resort to plan three. And how obviously they decided to do the hide and seek thing in the woods. And Morgan later recalled that the plan was flawless.

My God. And she also said, quote, people who you trust become very gullible, it was sort of sad. People who you, wow. People who literally are like, she trusted us and like she got fillable. That's sad for her.

Yeah, because wow, that's some evil shit. Oh yeah, that's some evil shit. The entire thing is really scary. Now while Morgan was being interrogated, she couldn't remember who did the stabbing and she tried to act like it was a Nissa who was like behind the whole plan. But a nissa was super fucking calm during her interview and she explained all of the events

that took place and the reasons behind them. Basically the whole story is they had to earn Slenderman's trust and they thought that if they killed a friend, they would be safe and then in turn they would be able to go live with him without being harmed and without their families being harmed. So it's like if you don't earn his trust first by like doing something like kill your best friend, then you try to go live with him

and he's gonna hurt you or your family. And it's like, so tell me again, why you want to be in Slender Man's Mansion? Yeah, it doesn't really make sense. I would say Neyavate is definitely a theme surrounding this case. And it's like for someone who's using such sophisticated like evil shit as like people who trust you, like that's sad for them because they get very gullible. Then you should also know that it's pretty fucking gullible to think something that would normally kill you and your family, but won't do it if you kill your friend,

it's probably not telling the truth either. Oh yeah. Maybe you should work through that trust thought you had. Oh yeah. A little further. Now later, I don't wanna say it will make sense, but we'll see that there's definitely a lot of this more to us.

Yeah. Now like I said, naeah the te is definitely a theme surrounding the case. It isn't a fun to say like that. That is naeah the te. Yeah. Now, like I said, Neia the Tay is definitely a theme surrounding the case. It isn't a fun to say like that. That is Neia the Tay. Thanks. And so, for example, because when Anissa heard that Peyton had survived the attack, like two hours into her interrogation, she was like, where is Peyton's body now? Like asked where her body was. And they were like, Hey, guys, BTW, can you let me know where that is? Yeah, like around. No, but they were like,

Oh, she lived. So she's at the hospital getting emergency surgery. Oh my God, I imagine dropping that sledgehammer. Oh, so when they did, they said that a nissa perked up and was like, Oh, will I be able to go back to school then? Like, oh, we failed. So can we just forget this ever happened?

Like you thought, like since she's alive we just forget this ever happened? Like you thought? Like since she's alive that you're out. What? Yeah. That's what? Just hearing that thought process, you can tell there's a lot of mental illness here. Out because just the fact that they're like,

oh, so we can go back to school. Right, like it didn't work. Right, and kill our cool. Moving on, so scary. Now, the kids at school started hearing what had happened to Peyton, and they wanted to paint whiskers on their face one day at school, like in support of Peyton,

who loved cats and would paint whiskers on. Like the back of her hand. You know, I forgot, I like didn't even connect those two that like she loves cats, and then these people like used like kitty and she has love doing it. They all loved cats. Oh, I didn't even think of that. That's even worse. Yeah, absolutely. Sorry. Well, and that's like used like kitty and shit as well. They all loved cows. Oh, I didn't even think of that.

That's even worse. Yeah, absolutely. Sorry. Well, that's like the thing. So these kids at school wanted to do that for Peyton, but the adults were like, oh no, we know some of the details. Like you can't do that.

So that's gonna be traumatizing as fuck. You'll do that. Exactly, cause little did they know Morgan was like acting like her own version of a fucking evil cat that day. Oh my God, but that's so sweet that those kids wanted to do that. I know.

Now when Morgan's room was searched, they found over 50 pictures of Slenderman that she had drawn herself with captions that were written in all capital letters, saying things like, always watches no eyes and never alone. And you know what, it's like, this kind of shit would not be that strange. Like if she was drawing pictures of Slender Man

and like, yeah, whatever. She's like, spooky stories are making weird stuff. It's like, that shit alone wouldn't be alarming. Yeah, whatever. Just be like, okay, well, that's just creepy kid. She's creepy kid, that's fine. But like, you went into everything else, and it's like, that she's...

This girl is bringing like hammers to school and like throwing bugs at kids It's like I don't know like that's it and again hindsight 2020. It's so easy to say it now But it's like you look at it and you're like that's a lot. Yeah, it's definitely so much easier to add up the red flags later And the other thing is you know like we don't know what was going on at home Maybe they were trying to get her some kind of treatment and then this just happened. Yeah, you have no idea. You don't know. And like, I can't imagine that happening.

Like, how do you even reconcile that as a parent? Well, as a parent, I can't fathom. No, yeah. Like, I feel bad for all the parents involved in this. Oh, yeah, everybody. And they're all victims. I don't want to say like I love when this happens, but like, I have a lot of respect for when this happens.

It seems like all the parents in this case were like, I am grieving for not only like the loss of my child, but like for what happened to the other child. Yeah, like my, you know, they're all losing a little bit of their child. Right, like, because nobody died, but pieces of all of them died. Have been taken. Yeah. And I mean, two of them, like, anyways, we're gonna do it. So the drawings of Slendiderman were found in her room, and then there were also drawings

of Sleiderman found in her locker at school. Okay. And then back at home again, they also found mutilated dolls in her room, which again, I guess, wouldn't it be like that creepy? That's a little creepy. Yeah, that one's a little alarming, I feel. Well, here's the thing, because it's not just like, I don't know, I definitely ripped the heads off of my Barbie dolls,

because everybody did that. Oh wow, the head comes off. As soon as you learn the head pops off, it's open season at that point. Yeah, exactly. It's weird, but whatever. Yeah. So these dolls were only missing heads. They also had arms and legs missing and like hands missing. Yeah, that's when it gets a little Edmund Kempery.

Sure, sure. That's when it gets there. And her computer showed hundreds of searches for, quote, how to get away with murdering someone. All right, there it is. And, quote, this is sad. What kind of insane am I? Oh, that's really sad.

That's sad. That's not even like scary because she's 12. It's like, why didn't you, like, I wish you just talked to somebody. That's terrifying and sad all at the same time. Exactly. Now, according to the New York Times, quote, the police chief Russell Jack called the attack on the girl 12,

a wake up call for parents and urged them to closely monitor their children's use of the internet, which he said can be, quote, full of dark and wicked things. Yeah, no shit. for parents and urged them to closely monitor their children's use of the internet, which he said can be, quote, full of dark and wicked things. Yeah, no shit. It's like, yeah. Oh, my gosh. Now the question now was whether or not to try the girls as adults, because I don't

know if I've said it enough times, they're 12. They're 12. Now, if they were tried in juvenile court, they really wouldn't get that much time in prison, and they would most likely just end up doing like a lot of community service. Yeah. Which for this is really not a fair punishment. No. And the judge felt as though they definitely posed a serious threat to society.

Absolutely. And that there was enough evidence to point to first degree intentional homicide. And according to the Milwaukee Journal, quote, in Wisconsin, if a child is charged with that offense as young as 10, a case must start an adult court. Yeah. So as young as 10. 10 years old.

But it's like, shit, if you're 10 and you play an intentional homicide, that's... Well, this had such premeditation to do. Oh, absolutely. That has to be taken into consideration. And they just, like, flat out told them. Yeah. Like, at one point, I don't remember exactly

what the question, I think they said like, oh, they said, what did you feel when you were stabbing? Like your best friend. Yeah. And she was like, I didn't feel anything. It just felt like air. It was just like stab, stab, stab, stab. And like, wow. Said stab, stab, stab, stab, stab and motioned stabbing.

Like she was like, I don't give a single fuck. Yeah, that's such a disconnect. Oh my goodness, yeah, absolutely. And it's like, it sounds evil, right, when you're like, when you're listening to it, but then when you actually look into it, you're like, this is such a mental disconnect. Right, there's just nothing there.

There is, there's something bad in there. Like, there's something that's not a good person. Like, that's just to happen to have a mental illness. This is a bad person with mental illness. So it happens to be very young and experiencing extreme mental illness. It's really sad. And we'll get into like how extreme was. And when it all started. And I can't imagine having like, you know, her parents, I can't imagine, no.

How do you handle that? No. Nobody, when you have kids, no one is immediately expecting to have to deal with something like that. No, and it's like, I mean, her mom must have been like, they went roller skating together and then they had a sleepover and I bought donuts for them. Like, how was I to ever expect that this was gonna happen?

A very normal birthday party for 12. Yeah, and it seemed like, I said, like they were playing dress-up, they were playing like Harry Potter and like she liked Voldemort and stuff and like her parents were definitely like, quote unquote weirdos like us. They liked like Macabre shit.

And they probably encouraged her to be who she is. She is. Like I want my kids to be a little weirdos. Which is great. You should always encourage your child to be who they are. If you're weird and you're into weird stuff and your kid isn't a very normal, Disney princesses know, Disney princesses or like, you know, like, like, you're, it's encouraging.

Whatever they like, or if they're into weird stuff, nourish that as well. But like, it's like what you said, like, with the drawings, if she was just drawing slender man, I'd be like, oh, like, that's definitely, like, that scares mommy, but like, cool, you little weirdo, like, yeah. Like, you're, you're, you're an artist.

Yeah. And it seems like her parents did that, like, I believe her Like, how you job? Like, you're really talented. Yeah. And it seems like her parents did that. Like, I believe her dad posted a picture and was like, I think he called her mogo, which is really cute. Oh my god, I love him. I was like, only mogo would draw like Slender Man at dinner. Oh.

I think they were just trying to be good parents who like, just, you know, yeah, just like, recorded their kids. Exactly. And Devers here. Exactly. And at 12, I don't think you're thinking, no, it could be something like this. And to be honest with you, I honestly got pissed off at some of the articles that I was reading about this,

and especially the ones where they were talking about her parents, because they made it a point to be like, and her dad sent her mom a birthday card with skulls on it. And it's like, oh god, it's like the Maryland Manson thing. Like, he's a bad person, but like just because he's interested in like, oh god, it's like the Maryland Manson thing. Like he's a bad person. But like just because he's interested in like Macabre weird shit, that has nothing to do with his being a bad person. It's just something to tack on to. Let's, let's, you know, again, like we are saying with the Maryland Manson thing, it's like he, Brian Warner is a bad person. Right.

It has nothing to do with him being like a shock rocker. Exactly. And it's the same thing with this. Like, yeah, they're into weird shit. Like, that doesn't make their child people. Well, that's the thing. Like, it didn't make their child mentally ill. You're either mentally ill or not.

Like, exactly. You know what I mean? Yeah, it's just frustrating. Like, we've said this when we mentioned it initially, that it's just frustrating when they like concentrate on that. Right. Because in the superfluous details of that really don't matter. Like, never in murder case are you like,

oh, and the parents love to shop at J. Crew and get frappuccinos all the week. And she gets, and it's like, that's weird to some people. Like, exactly, that's weird to other people, so. So, fuck. It just doesn't matter. Now, so the decision was made to try both girls as adults because it was just like what was legally precedented.

And they do, they are a danger to society. Oh, absolutely. That was without a doubt. Absolutely. Now Morgan was diagnosed with early onset schizophrenia during her trial. Okay. Many sources that I read pointed out that that's a very unlikely

diagnosis for such a young girl. I was gonna say that is so young So young, but her father as it turns out had also been hospitalized for that and had it He was hospitalized in his teens and it seems like he found out when he was younger and was able I'm not sure if he was able to get like medicated or whatever But it seems like he was able to work through it. Yeah. And then I think they just didn't realize that until this happened, that we're gonna have it. Now Morgan ended up taking a plea deal,

so that her insanity defense wouldn't be challenged, and she pleaded guilty to attempted first degree intentional homicide. So she received 40 years in a state institution. Wow. And Anissa also took a plea deal. She pleaded guilty to second degree intentional homicide. And she was found not guilty by reason of a mental disease or defect. And she was sentenced to 25 years in a state institution. Wow. Okay. I didn't know what the sentence is where. Yeah. It's interesting. Yeah. But I mean,

40 years is like a very long time. That's a big chunk of life. 25 years, that's true. But when you're 12, if you think about it, she's going to be out when she's like, your age. Yeah, that's true. And you know what? I think it's good that they were sentenced to those places

because that I don't see any point in sending them to prison. Because it's like, yes, obviously, prison is like the whole point is to reform. But I think when you're this young and you're having like this mental illness, like prison isn't going to do anything for you. Yeah, this is like then make it worse. They need help. Absolutely. Now, according to Lisa Miller, who wrote the article, Slender Man is watching. She wrote a really good article for New York Mag. And Nista has good days and bad days. I guess she's like a model prisoner

and she follows the rules. She's done the seventh grade history curriculum twice. Wow. So she's like super smart. But she also has like intense breakdowns from time to time and she's been placed on suicide watch and putting a straight jacket before. So she's definitely still struggling.

There's a lot. Yeah, there's a lot there. And Morgan has been able to get a lot of the psychiatric help that she needed. She was also diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder. And her doctor testified in court that she had been suffering hallucinations since she was three years old.

What the fuck? Three years old. Are you kidding me? I guess she would see like vivid pictures on like the walls and stuff. And like obviously, I have like imaginary friends and stuff like that. Wow.

But think about it. When your kid is little and they have an imaginary friend, you're not thinking that they're schizophrenic. Yeah. Almost everybody had an imaginary friend. Exactly. You know, so, Nadi Martha.

That's hilarious. Yours was Nadi Martha and mine was Luke Skywalker. Yeah. Now, both girls have made appeals. In fact, Morgan's appeal was brought to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2020 because her lawyers basically were saying like it wasn't fair because she was a juvenile.

No, she's, she, constitution has changed. She's still leaving. Not the constitution, I don't know what I'm talking about. Yeah, I know what you mean. No, in my opinion, she needs to serve that time. Absolutely. And I not even serve that time. Yes, absolutely. Also, get help. It needs to be all of it. Because no matter what you need to get help, but you also need a consequence. Absolutely. Um, because I mean, do poor Peyton has to live with these memories and this trauma forever. Physical scars of this for the rest of her life. They need to has to live with these memories and this trauma forever. Physical scars of this

for the rest of her life. Absolutely. They need to have punishment. Yeah. So her appeal, like I said, it was brought to Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2020, but actually earlier this February, like last week, I want to say, the court announced that they will not hear the appeal good. They don't want anything to do with it. Now Peyton is doing incredible. Yay! For obvious reason, she doesn't want anything to do with it. Now, Peyton is doing incredible. Yay! For obvious reason, she doesn't want to communicate with Anissa Or Morgan. Yeah, don't blame her. She said that if she did speak to Morgan,

she would thank her. And she told David Muir of ABC News, quote, I would probably initially thank her. I would say just because of what she did, I have the life I have now. I really, really like it and I have a plan. I didn't have a plan when I was 12 and I do now because of everything that I have now. I really, really like it and I have a plan. I didn't have a plan when I was 12 and I do now because of everything that I went through.

Wow. And yeah, and ABC News went on to report that Patence family was super proud of her and excited to see what her next chapter was in life. Oh my God. And now I believe she's like going to college. And it's like she's probably, she's probably right when she says she probably looks at life not that she was looking at it like frivolously at 12. But like you're not

fully cognizant of what how fleeting life is. No, that will make you have doubt in a second. Very aware. She slept with like a pair of broken scissors underneath her pillow for like years. Oh my god. And like her family said like there was like family members that she like couldn't get close to. Oh, she had a hard time making friends. Like I'm sure I wouldn't try to anyone. Trust someone after that. No, but she worked through it and now was like like wanting to thank the girl that did this to her.

What a badass. Peyton. You're a badass. She's a badass. Oh, I just want to like hide five her. Yeah, so that was all in the name of Slender Man. Wow. And now it's dark in here and it's spooky. The key and I want it to be done. I'm just shook at that case. Yeah, it is a rough case.

It is babies. I mean, that's a literal baby girls that are just doing the most adult monstrous things. Yeah, to what experience. To somebody who trusts them. I feel like I used to, I don't feel like I used to watch that show, like, killer kids all the time. Ever since. Ever since you had kids? Yes.

I can't because I'm so close to your kids. Yeah. I'm like, oh my god. Nope. It freaks me out. Yeah. Yeah, it's like too much. I can only imagine what happens when I have my kids because like you had yours

And I'm already like tapped. Oh just wait. Jesus. Just you wait. It changes So thank you Patrona says for picking that one. I know and I'm excited for your really picked in one Yeah, once again you guys you guys nailed it. We love you. We love you so much. We love all you weirdos out there We love all you so if you want to follow us on Instagram, you can do so at morbidpodcast. Hit us up on Twitter. A morbidpodcast. Send us a Gmail. morbidpodcast.gmail.com.

And we hope that you keep listening. And we hope you keep it weird. But it's aware that you pledge allegiance to a man that doesn't exist. Bye. Hey, Prime members, you can listen to Morvid, Early, and Add Free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen ad-free with Wondery Plus and Apple podcasts. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey.