Horror Picks: Slender: The Eight Pages

Halloween has been and gone, but the 2012 Summer classic, Slender: The Eight Pages is never out of season. You’re probably already pining for that inescapable cloud of dread that surrounds the end of each October, but what better way to return to that anxious, misty world than to break out games best designed to break your insignificant will? If you’ve never come across the game, Slender finds you in a dark forest where you are pursued by the titular, thin fellow named Slenderman as you rush to collect what may or may not be his prized art collection (so who’s the real villain here?).

My most recent venture into the game lasted all of five minutes. Considering my time spent playing the game alone versus playing with friends, I must assert that, unlike my love life, Slender need not be a solitary experience. My solo playtime is characterised by a tendency to panic and attack my laptop as soon as Slenderman shows up, but why reduce such intense fear to this fleeting solo experience? Invite some friends over and lean into the intense peer pressure to push yourself to new and regrettable heights of terror.

I must assert that, unlike my love life, Slender need not be a solitary experience.

In my opinion, Slender is at its best with a group, preferably sitting close together, in the dark, unsure as to whether that elbow is your friend’s or perhaps the last thing you’ll feel before you die. Playing earlier this year, the sight of Slenderman provoked such a fright in me that I leapt to the sofa and curled up in a ball behind an anonymous friend (let’s call him Josh). If I played alone, then Josh wouldn’t have experienced the pathetic display of cowardice that he found so hilarious. I find that there’s a stronger motive to push through the fear when playing with others. It might be more terrifying to play on your own, but if you want to combine your fear with humiliation and drag it out for longer than necessary, maybe get some friends.

I find that there’s a stronger motive to push through the fear when playing with others.

If you’re already feeling impatient or frustrated at the prospect of taking turns, maybe consider being a better human being, or trying out one of the several multiplayer versions of Slender available online. You can play with three of your friends and compete to collect the eight pages before Slenderman catches all of you. That way there doesn’t have to be one person playing while everyone crowds around them waiting for their turn to cry and moan. Adding a competitive element in the form of a race can only add to the already tense chase between you and that strange tall bloke. While horror is traditionally a single player experience, I’d totally recommend broadening your horizons and introducing sheer terror into every one of your relationships.