Slender Man: Wisconsin Theater Chain Bans Movie in Two Counties

Image Credit: CC BY-SA 4.0 LuxAmber

Via ign.com by David Griffin

The Marcus Corporation, owners of a prominent movie theater chain in the Midwest, announced that they will not screen Slender Man in two Wisconsin counties that are in close proximity to a 2014 stabbing inspired by the fictional character.

Slender Man, set to hit theaters on August 10, is based on the popular creepypasta internet phenomenon that was created in 2009. Since its inception, the faceless man has been featured in various mediums, including video games and music. The film version is not inspired by true events, instead telling a fictionalized story about the supernatural character.

Outside the fictional realm, Slender Man is most known for an incident that took place on May 31, 2014, when two 12-year-old girls, Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier, stabbed their friend, Payton Leutne, 19 times.


At the time of the attempted murder, Weier and Geyser told authorities that they stabbed Leutne to appease the Slender Man. Leutne survived the ordeal, but Marcus Theaters said that it would be insensitive to show the movie so close to the scene of the crime. In an official statement released to Fox6 News, the theater chain had this to say:

"Like many people across the United States, Marcus Theatres was deeply concerned and saddened when the Slender Man phenomenon touched Southeastern Wisconsin in such a profound way, changing the lives of many families forever. After careful consideration, and out of respect for those who were impacted, we have decided not to play the upcoming Slender Man movie in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. We will show the film at select other Marcus Theatres locations."

Back in January of this year, Bill Weier, Annisa's father, thought the release of Slender Man was a bad idea, according to the New York Post,

“It’s absurd they want to make a movie like this,” Weier explained. “It’s popularizing a tragedy is what it’s doing. I’m not surprised but in my opinion it’s extremely distasteful. All we’re doing is extending the pain all three of these families have gone through.”

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