David Hamlin's school assignment depicting the Slenderman
The Slender Happening (abbreviated SH) is a Slender Man-based YouTube series/ARE. The Slender Happening is a record kept by a YouTuber named Hunt as he searches for answers that will reveal the mystery of a missing child and the child's family from his community. The series also features several Proxies and can be found HERE
Characters[]
Protagonists
- Hunt: Main character. He is searching for the reason behind the Hamlin family dissaperance out of guilt.
- Steven: Hunt's friend who occasionally helps him look for clues.
- The Watcher 1: He is the main Watcher, but the second Watcher to appear. It has been hard to tell if he is actually helping Hunt, but his intentions seem genuine. He wants Hunt to stop searching for answers for his own protection.
- The Watcher 2: The first Watcher to appear. He mostly operates behind the scenes to help Hunt find the answers he is looking for, unlike the other Watcher who is very physically present and against Hunt's search for answers.
Antagonists
- The Follower: He is a Slender-worshiping Proxy who harasses Hunt in order to keep him away from the answers he seeks. It is also implied that there is more than one Follower, just like there is more than one Watcher, and that the two groups are at a dissagrement about what the Slenderman really is.
- The Prophet (The Slenderman): The Slenderman is a paranormal entity that stalks Hunt and others throughout the series. Also refered to as "The Prophet" by The Follower. This entity has many powers including teleportation, mind control, and possibly time travel.
Side Characters
- David Hamlin: David is a child who apparently dissapeared, along with his mother and father. It is believed that he was abducted by the Slenderman. The fate of his parents is unknown.
- Jimmy: Jimmy's only apperance was alongside The Watcher 1 on a tape Hunt recovered. The tape had footage of Jimmy and the Watcher being chased by Slenderman. He did not appear to make it out of the encounter alive.
Plot Synopsis[]
Season 1[]
The first video in the series appears to have been taken from another YouTube Channel since Hunt says "I'm back" at the beginning if the video. He shows off a piece of paper with a drawing of Slenderman on it accompanied by a poem that a child named David Hamlin created for Hunt's Mom's class. In the vlog Hunt jokes that the kid might go missing, but makes it clear that he does not believe in legends like the Slenderman.
In the next video Hunt is seen driving on a rainy day while someone, who he later calls "Steven", holds the camera. Hunt says that David actually did go missing and he expresses his guilt from joking about it before. Hunt also says that they are going to The Hamlin's home to investigate since they were Steven's neighbors. When they arrive, Hunt and Steven circle the house but don't find anything. However, they do notice that the Dogs are missing as well. They also note how cold it is out. They circle back to Hunt's truck and find a note under the windshield wipers. It reads "Always Follows, Leave Now" and has drawings of what appears to be tombstones, a church, and Slenderman on it. Steven believes the note to be a prank, but Hunt is oddly scared by the note, despite not believing in Slenderman. Hunt then drives Steven home before turning the camera off.
For the third video in the series, Hunt sat in his truck trying to decipher the note. Hunt points out the church and gravestone drawings, and says he thinks the note is more than just a warning. When he flips the note over, he finds the word "Abandon" written in the bottom left corner of the page. After some brainstorming Hunt comes to the conclusion that "Abandon" might be describing the church drawn on the front instead of commanding him to give up his search. Hunt says he only knows of one abandoned church and drives strait there. When he arrives, Hunt circles the church and explores the graveyard. He tries to open the church doors but they are locked. He also cant see through the windows since it is pitch black in the building. Hunt gives up and says "I really hope this turns out to be nothing" before driving off. There is mild visual distortion.
In his fourth entry Hunt recaps the last few videos. He then says that he is headed to get Steven and then that he might return to the church. When Hunt arrives at Steven's house Steven is outside waiting for him. Hunt tells Steven about the church and mentions that it was cold like the Hamlin's house. Steven agrees to help Hunt search the church, but then urges Hunt to drop the case since it's none of there business. When they get to the church Hunt shows Steven three black lines on his hand that look like tally marks. Hunt says that he woke up with them on his hand and didn't remember drawing them there. When they start to circle the church, Hunt also notices that the church looks compleatly empty when looked at through the windows. As they continue to search the outside of the church they find a noe nailed to the side with the text "It's Here" written on it. The note also includes a drawing of Slenderman. Hunt assumes that whoever put the note there followed him last night. Hunt and Steven soon give up on the church and start searching the graveyard. The camera distorts when Hunt points it at a string of graves with the name "Hamlin" on them. When he looks closer, Hunt notices that one of the graves belongs to David Hamlin. Steven then notices that the names on the other two graves also match the names of the missing parents as well. As Hunt points out the impossible dates on the graves, he notices that he now has five tally marks on his hand instead of three. He shrugs it off and they both go back to the church to try the locks again. This time the door opens and Hunt is able to open the door, but this leads him to believe that someone might be inside. As soon as they enter the church the audio and video instantly become distorted. The camera then cuts to Hunt and Steven in Hunt's truck calmly driving away from the scene. Steven tries to get Hunt's attention but he appears to be in a trance. When Hunt snaps out of it Steven asks him about what happened at the church and they both find that they can't really remember. Hunt only has a memory of being told to leave and Steven only remembers Hunt screaming for them to run. Hunt also points out that they were in the church for an hour while Steven only remembers being inside for ten minutes. Hunt also has a tally of six marks on his hand now. Hunt also says that footage from the night before went missing and Steven says that he will never return to the church.
In his fifth video Hunt is vloging from his college dorm room. Hunt confesses to constantly filming himself and researching Slenderman. He says that he couldn't find any information on the church, but that what has been happening to him matches up with several Slenderman encounters. Hunt also says tha he recoverd some footage from when he and Steven were in the church and promises to show it at the end of the vlog. Hunt says that the tallys on his hand are gone but he has started having nightmares about forests and strangers. He also seems paranoid throughout the video and ends his account of the past two days without any definite closure. He does include the small clip from the church like he promised though. It is of a hand spasming on the floor. The hand has tallys on it, so it's safe to assume it is Hunt's hand. It has been speculated that Hunt was having a seisure while in the church and that when he was "told to leave" it was only a vision.
The next vlog begins with more heavily corrupted footage. Through the distortion the footage appears to be of Hunt crawling on the ground in what might be the room the first vlog was filmed in. His hand has two tally marks on it. Hunt then tries to open a door but is unable too. The footage then cuts to the interior of Hunt's truck and instantly clears up. Steven and Hunt are driving down a road and Steven notices that Hunt drove past his house. Hunt says he wants to return to the church and Steven becomes upset until Hunt tells him about his nightmares. Hunt also tells Steven that he has been drawing notes like the ones they found in his sleep. Hunt also says he noticed that Steven isn't being affected like he is so he feels safer when Steven is around. Steven agrees to go, but refuses to leave the truck. When they arrive, Hunt says that he will only be gone for ten minutes and no tally marks are visable on his hands. Hunt is also seen checking his hands as he walks to the church. After Hunt enters the church Steven notes how cold it is. After a few minutes Hunt is seen walking beside the church and he is shirtless. Steven then gets out of the truck and runs to him. When he gets to him Hunt has collapsed while coughing and dry-heaving. Some scaring is visable on his back. After Steven helps Hunt back to his truck, writing can be seen all over Hunt's body. His hand's are also covered in tallys. Hunt tells Steven that he can't drive so Steven takes the wheel. Hunt staggers into the vehicle just before the video ends.
At the begining of the seventh video Steven is heard off-camera urging Hunt to go to the hospital. Steven goes to turn the camera off but Hunt stops him and says that he wants people to see. "Worship Him" is written on Hunt's chest and "Always Watches, No Eyes" is written across his arms. The Operator Symbol is also drawn on one arm. Hunt also has ten tallys on each hand, five on the front and five on the back of each. Hunt asks Steven how long he waited and Steven recalls waiting for "two or three minutes". Hunt then tells Steven that he was in in the church for two or three days. Hunt also says that there were several people in the church. When Steven asks who they were, Hunt ignores him. Hunt also mentions marking his hand every time he saw "it" and gave up after twenty tallys. Even though Hunt admits to memory loss, he also recalls being visited and attacked. At the end of the entry, Hunt tells Steven that the Slenderman is real. Steven responds by telling Hunt to get some rest so he can think more clearly.
The eighth entry takes place at night. Hunt walks around what is assumed to be his house to turn off some water. As Hunt is walking away, he sees a masked figure standing in front of his trailer door. When Hunt shouts at him, the figure runs away. Hunt does not chase the masked man, but notices that he left a camera taped to the trailer door. Hunt takes the camera and apparently heads back inside.
"The Slender Happening #9" starts off with Hunt describing his encounter from #8 and admits that he was staying in the trailer that the camera was taped to. Hunt then plays the footage from the tape. The footage is of a figure taking the camera behind the church and pulling a camera bag out from under the same corner that Hunt found the second note on. As the man/woman goes to open the bag, Slenderman appears and the unknown cameraman tosses the bag back under the church and runs away. Next the cameraman goes to David Hamlin's grave, and runs away when the Slenderman appears again. Next several notes are shown under a light containing the phrases "He's Here", "Last Chance", and "Always Watches". The last note has a drawing of the Slenderman on it. The last bit of footage is of the Cameraman taping the camera to the trailer door. He is wearing a green jacket and a black ski-mask with the mouth taped up. When Hunt appears the masked man runs away and Hunt can be seen limping, possibly due to whatever happened inside the church (It also explains why Hunt did not chase the masked man in #8). Hunt takes the camera and the footage ends. Hunt's vlogging continues and seems almost excited to have some proof that Slenderman exists. Hunt also expresses extreme fear and sadness when he admits to seeing Slenderman in the church. Hunt also believes the note at the church reading "It's Here" was describing the note and not Slenderman. He also thinks it's strange that the cameraman filmed David Hamlin's grave, even though it couldn't possibly be the David Hamlin he is looking for. Hunt decides to go get the bag despite his fear of the church. This entry marks the first official apperance of the Slenderman and the first use of the term "Watcher" that will later be used to describe the man in the black ski mask.
Hunt heads back to the church again in the tenth video. Hunt goes behind the church and pulls the camera bag out from under it. Hunt opens the bag to find several tapes within it. When he does, the back door to the church shakes as if someone is trying to open it. As Hunt starts to run away he gets caught on some branches and a figure with a black ski mask appears. Hunt runs back to his truck and locks himself inside. The masked man, or "Watcher", starts to bang on Hunt's window. A camera can be seen in his hand. The audio distorts, and Hunt drives away.
In the eleventh entry Hunt offically uses the term "Watcher" and theorizes that there are atleast 2 watchers since the one at the church looked different. Hunt also notices that the Watcher at the church was carrying the same camera he found earlier. Hunt says when he got home the camera was exactly how he left it, exxcept for the fact that it contained different footage. The footage is of the Watcher spying on Hunt through the church windows and attacking Hunt when he gets in the truck. The footage that both the Watcher and Hunt captured have the same audio distortion. Hunt says he cut out all of the footage with visual distortion. He also says that the footage was only clear in the church when the camera faced out of the window. Hunt expresses his confusion towards the Watcher's methods, and before signing off, thanks the audience for their support.