This book was a really enjoyable true crime read for the summer. As a Midwesterner myself who is quite familiar with Wisconsin, I remember being absolutely baffled by this case when it first happened. Further, the information on the perpetrators’ mental health added another layer that really made me think. I appreciated the author’s ability to look at this horrific situation “in the grey area”… most often, these tragedies aren’t black and white. Thank you so much for the advanced copy. My thoughts continue to go out to the survivor and all who love her. And, especially after reading this book, my thoughts go out to the perpetrators and their loved ones as well. This book made me think harder about punishment, culpability, and complexities involved with perpetrators… they have parents, too.

Slenderman was a more impactful reading experience than I expected. I dabble in True Crime quite actively, but Kathleen Hale impressed me immensely with her very human approach to a crime that has been sensationalised to such an extent key details are often missed. While a difficult read, Slenderman is also a very insightful one. Thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There are certain true crime cases that come to define a cultural moment. The "Slenderman Murder" was one of those cases. While I don't remember it in the sense of 'I knew exactly where I was when...' I do remember looking into Slenderman after reading about it and wondering how something like this could happen. In 2014 I was 2 years into my BA degree and I spent a lot of my time reading and getting lost in fantasy worlds, so in some way I could understand. On the other hand the whole uproar about children having access to the Internet etc. felt overblown to me and so I swept a lot of it aside. Years later I read Kathleen Hale's Vice article and realised there was more to the case than I had imagined. Even then, however, I was still caught up in what the case "meant" for the moment, rather than what had actually happened, who was actually involved, and how things played out later. Now Hale is back with a full-book treatment on the case and her insight once again amazed me.

On May 31st, 2014, three girls headed into the park after a birthday sleepover. What happened in that park became the centre of a mediastorm to such an extent that many of the details of what really happened were lost. While two girls emerged from the park, planning to trek 300 miles to a national park to meet Slenderman, the third girl also crawled her way back to a public road, despite bleeding from 19 stab wounds. But this is not where the story starts. In Slenderman Kathleen Hale starts much earlier, showing us the way the friendship between the three girls developed and how they grew up. Bella, Morgan, and Anissa emerge not as carboard representations of victim and perpetrators, but as what they were, young girls. Hale, with deep empathy, sketches the way Morgan was lost to her schizophrenia from an early age, how Anissa grabbed onto any kind of recognition and connection that came her way to fill a void left by busy or absent parents, and how Bella strived to have her life be defined not by what happened but by the kindness that made her initially befriend Morgan. Hale also does not end with the murder, but rather tracks the girls' lives up until a year before the book's publication. I also appreciated that although it is named after the Creepypasta character that, in some way, led to the murder, Hale's book does not dwell on it over much. Slenderman and the mythos around him is explained, as is the fact he is pure fiction, but only as one of the elements of this case, not as the defining factor. In that way, Slenderman does set itself apart from a lot of other true crime writing. Hale isn't out for sensationalism, but rather for understanding.

It is hard to review this book without discussing in detail what Kathleen Hale manages to do throughout this book. Doing so would stretch this review into infinity, but a few things stood out to me. On the one hand she tells the story of all three girls independently, making sure to differentiate them clearly for the reader to avoid the way many media reports conflated them. On the other hand Hale manages to introduce a lot of background information without distracting from the girls and their experiences. She has done countless hours of interviews and poured through stacks of official documents in order to present a full picture of what exactly happened. She covers the parents' backgrounds, the legal system of Wisconsin, issues around psychiatric care, and more, all of which add to the depth of the book. I was amazed by some of the things I didn't know. For example, I thought this was a murder case. Imagine my relief, but also surprise, that Bella survived. How could that be a forgotten detail in so many reports?! And that they were going to try them as adults even though Morgan and Anissa were 12?

Hale admits that she had more access to Morgan than anyone else and it does show in the book. Not at all through any sense of bias, but more in the sense of eyesight. My heart hurt for Morgan as Hale described how disconnected from reality she became. My heart hurt equally for Bella, betrayed by the friend she had stuck by despite all the weird behaviour over the years. And my heart hurt for Anissa, lost without any real grounding, looking for connection desperately. It is weird to feel sorry for two people who tried to murder someone, but as Hale makes very clear throughout Slenderman, they were young children, hardly capable of what they set out to do. In treating them as the children they were Hale in no way argues their complete innocence, but she does make it very clear that so much more was going on here than initially meets the eye. Hale's writing is very clear and straightforward, simple in a way that belies the effort and research that went into the book. It doesn't lessen the horror of what she describes, but it does remind us that we are always talking about human beings in these cases.

Slenderman is a necessary read for any True Crime reader. Hale demonstrates the way in which we should be writing about some of these cases, especially high profile ones which come to be twisted in our perception.

As someone who lived in Waukesha in the years following the Slenderman tragedy, I found this book very fascinating. If you're interested in true crime, this book will be a must read. Taking a combination of backstory, interviews, and alternative perspectives, this book makes an effort to create a more complex picture of what happened in the 2010s in Waukesha, WI.

Slenderman: Online Obsession, Mental Illness. And the Violent Crime of Two Midwestern Girls – Kathleen Hale – (2022)
This is an expertly researched and documented account of a true crime that stunned people on a worldwide level. On May 31, 2014, Payton (Bella) Lerner was violently attacked and nearly stabbed to death in a wooded public park in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Bella was discovered by a cyclist and rushed to a local hospital-- which miraculously saved her life. The perpetrators of the horrific crime were Morgan Geyer and Anissa Weier: the girls were all supposedly best friends, and they were all twelve years old.

Hale traced the history of family mental illness/early onset childhood Schizophrenia and unmonitored online activity that fostered the delusions of Morgan and Anissa. Both girls were obsessed with the fictional horror online character meme “Slenderman”, (Creepypasta.com.) and unable to separate fact from fiction. To both girls, the Slenderman was a real shadow entity that stalked them, requiring a sacrificial offering, and was visible throughout Waukesha.
In one of the most conservative states in the nation, all juvenile homicide cases were automatically transferred to adult court. Due to the severity of the crime, as details emerged, the general public reaction was supportive of the “adult crime/adult time” approach and Judge Bohren’s “tough on crime” decision to try the girls as adults. Despite the fact that the death penalty in Wisconsin had been abolished, the families of Morgan and Anissa received barrages of online hate mail and death threats.

At the Washington County Jail, a psychiatric assessment determined Morgan was unfit to stand trial or participate in her own defense, she frequently laughed out loud and babbled incoherently. After two years in custody, she believed she was under “Vulcan mind control” tactics, and the desperate need for psychiatric medication/treatment was painfully obvious. Both Morgan’s and Anissa’s parents agreed to participate in an HBO Documentary: “Beware of the Slenderman” (2017) with the hope of raising awareness of mental illness and treatment. While most people with mental illness are not violent, Hale reminds readers that violence can still occur, and that the need for universal healthcare and juvenile justice reform has never been greater. **With thanks to Grove Press via NetGalley for the DDC for the purpose of review.

This book was well researched . It definately shows in the book. The author deals with sensitive subjects in a very empathetic way.

This was not an easy read for me because of the subject matter and the graphic details. Hale transports you into the minds of the girls as the events are happening which can be overwhelming. This is a good read for anyone interested in true crime.

Non-sensationalist, in-depth exploration of the "how in the world could this happen?" aspect of the Slenderman case. You can't help but feel for Morgan, who was failed by just about everyone and their dog; of course hindsight is 20/20 and all that, but reading about Morgan's escalatingly weird behavior at school and her teachers' reactions to it (spoiler alert: their method of choice turned out to be "ignore it until it becomes someone else's problem") really gave me pause. The way the author describes it, everybody, from teachers to cops to judges and doctors, seems to follow their own agenda, and the needs of this mentally ill child just fall by the wayside. It's this lack of attention and help that leads to the attempted murder of the one person who actually did look out for Morgan, and later actively prevents Morgan from getting well - the way certain professionals attached to the legal system seem to tie themselves in knots to keep this pre-teen from the medication she needs to function as a human being reads positively medieval.
That said, I could never shake the feeling that of course we'll never know what exactly transpired between Morgan and Anissa that day, what the dynamics were and who decided that this was what had to be done. In the end, I was a bit worn out by the excessive focus on Morgan (who apparently was the only one of the girls who agreed to talk); yes, it's devastatingly sad how all of this could have been prevented if the responsible grown-ups in Morgan's life would have done their job, but please let's also be clear here that Morgan was not the one who ended up almost bleeding to death in the dirt. I totally understand that Bella and her family refuse to publicly talk about what happened to her; for this book, it unfortunately (for the author) also means that a huge aspect of the Slenderman case remains absent.

“There is a natural tendency, when a child is hurt, as Payton was, to want vengeance. But vengeance isn't justice—vengeance is an appeal to passion and prejudice, an appeal to ignore the facts and the law.”

The Slenderman stabbings in Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA is a haunting crime that shook the world. On May 31st 2014, three 12-year-old friends went to play at a local park after a sleepover. A few hours later one of them is found bloodied and near death after being stabbed nineteen times. She says her friends are the culprits.
When Morgan Geyser and Anissa Wieser are apprehended and questioned hours later, the story they tell is one no-one expected. It’s a story of myth, horror and childhood obsession. They say they attempted to murder their friend to protect themselves and their families from Slenderman, an internet meme that the girls believed was real.

I am a devourer of true crime. I read it, I watch it and I listen to it. When I first heard of the Slenderman stabbings back in 2014 I was shocked and appalled. Not only at the ages of the perpetrators, but of the sheer brutality and violence of the attack. As I learned of the detailed planning of the crime and watched the interview tapes of Morgan and Anissa I was even more disturbed. My own children were only a few years younger than these three girls and the idea of my sons being on either side of this crime was horrifying. My instinct was to agree with the decision to charge them as adults and say that the book needed to be thrown at them. Lock them up for the rest of their lives. But I didn’t know the whole story.

In her fascinating, illuminating and compelling book, Kathleen Hale reveals the truth behind the headlines; the lesser known details that emerged in the hours, days, months and years following the stabbings. She explores how mental illness can affect people’s actions and shines a light on how mental illness is treated - or rather untreated - within the justice system. It is exquisitely written, never sensationalising or glorifying the crime yet not shying away from the truth. And while she doesn’t focus on the gory details of the attack and life-threatening injuries Payton Lautner suffered, it is detailed and makes for uncomfortable reading.

But it isn’t this that I think people will find most unnerving and hard to read. Ms. Hale gives the reader an insight into the minds of Morgan and Anissa, reminding us that these were impressionable children that day. Children whose brains had not yet fully developed, and with decision making-skills that were immature. And though it is made clear multiple times that Payton was an innocent victim who not only bravely fought for her life that day, but still lives with the physical and mental scars of that day, a lot of the focus is on Morgan and Annisa, exploring what life was like for them following their crime, the illnesses they were later diagnosed with that led to them committing the attack, and asks us to consider morally complex and uncomfortable questions about the desire for justice versus the need for vengeance. Were Morgan and Anissa two cold-hearted, evil monsters or troubled young girls who needed help? Can both of these be true? And what price should they pay for what they did?

This is a case that is so much more complex and emotionally fraught than I’d realised going into reading this book. I’d watched the documentaries, interviews and court appearances, and I’d read a number of articles, yet I was still unprepared for the conflicting emotions this book would stir within me. We learn that Morgan was suffering from early onset schizophrenia and was removed from reality at the time of the stabbings. Following her crime she completely lost touch with reality until finally being diagnosed and treated for her illness. Meanwhile, Anissa was eventually also diagnosed with an illness that distorted her perception of reality at the time of the stabbing, making what happened not simply a case of good versus evil.
As a mother my heart first goes out to the victim, but I couldn’t stop putting myself in the shoes of Morgan and Anissa’s parents, imagining how I’d react and feel if it had been my kids and the pain it must cause when the child you love so much commits such an atrocious act. I also felt a huge amount of compassion for Morgan suffering from schizophrenia and for some of the things Anissa went through. I struggled with the question of whether they should have been tried as adults and how long they should serve for their crime. This is a case with no easy answers and no winners, only losers.

Unflinching, powerful and moving, I think this will become a true crime classic. It is meticulously researched, balanced and will stay with you long after reading. There is an overwhelming grief that pervades every page, not only because of Payton and all she suffered, but for the many lives changed that terrible day. A difficult read that is also hard to put down, I’d recommend this to anyone who is interested in true crime.

This is a detailed documented account into the Slenderman stabbing. Kathleen Hale takes you into the minds of two impressionable girls that suffer from mental illness. The details that Hale writes about in Slenderman sheds light on how mental health and the justice system can either help or fail persons suffering from mental illness. I believe that if Morgan’s Schizophrenia had been diagnosed earlier this crime may not have happened.

This was not an easy read for me because of the subject matter and the graphic details. Hale transports you into the minds of the girls as the events are happening which can be overwhelming. This is a good read for anyone interested in true crime.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kathleen Hale and Grove Press for providing me with a complementary electronic copy of this book. I am voluntarily leaving this review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Fascinating and well written. So much I did not know from the case as somehow who just saw headlines. I think this was a horrible tragedy. I hope the victim and her family find peace. Would recommend this to true crime readers but very disturbing acts of violence.

On May 31, 2014 in the suburb of Wakaushea, Wisconsin, two twelve-year old girls, Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier, lured and attempted to stab their friend to death under the influence of a fictional supernatural character and creepypasta internet meme called Slenderman.

This book gives us an in-depth look at this case - from the families background, the girls' friendship, the origin of Slenderman, to the crime and trial - it was a lot of information that I have not read before. I am glad I learned a lot about this case from this book. I think the highlight of this book was discussion on the girls' undiagnosed mental illnesses which was really informative and an eye-opening one for me.

I appreciate the impeccable research done for this book. However, I wish the information was presented in a more engaging and cohesive way. The information consisted a lot of dialogues/quotes from interviews or other sources and it was kind of a struggle for me to read as it felt disjointed.

Regardless, this book was insightful and I am glad I've read it!


Pub. Date: Out now


***Thank you Grove Press, Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for this gifted reading copy. All opinions expressed are my own.***

Okay...this book was pretty good. The history behind Slenderman was something I knew nothing about. Apparently, in 2014, a twelve year old girl named Morgan and her friend Anissa (also twelve) thought they had to kill a friend in order to protect their families from Slenderman. Thankfully, their victim survived the attack. The girls were tried as adults. Through the trial, we find out that Morgan has schizophrenia and that combined with the tale of Slenderman to produce the attempted murder. Anissa, her friend, had emotional issues and believed in what Morgan was telling her. These two troubled girls shed light on the issue of how the justice system handles the mentally ill. (Hint: It's not handled well!)

I was unaware of the controversy around this author when I read the book. I greatly enjoyed her interview on the Conspirituality podcast, which made me appreciate the technical complexity of what she achieved and also raised more questions for me about her specific take on the story. It's worth reading, but not sure if it increased the understanding of this kind of crime. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-galley.

I was skeptical about this one, but beyond glad that I read it. This case is so shocking, so infamous that you think you know what happened — you've read the articles, you've seen the HBO doc. But you haven't. Hale's book looks more into mental illness than anything — with care and precision that isn't present anywhere else. I'm so grateful that it exists, and that this text has so much empathy to the mentally ill and children.

SYNOPSIS: On May 31, 2014, in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha, Wisconsin, two twelve-year-old girls attempted to stab their classmate to death. Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier’s violence was extreme, but what seemed even more frightening was that they committed their crime under the influence of a figure born by the internet: the so-called “Slenderman.” Yet the even more urgent aspect of the story, that the children involved suffered from undiagnosed mental illnesses, often went overlooked in coverage of the case.

REVIEW: If you enjoy true crime, this is worth a read. The author does a great job giving background information about each of the three girls, their family dynamics, as well as their mental/emotional status. As the story unfolds, the author uses court transcripts, police reports, and personal interviews to not only inform the reader about what happened, but also give you insight into each of the girls mindset, how the girls are portrayed by the media, as well as the legal process, laws, and consequences of their actions.

I have been well aware of the mental health crises in our country, and how many are undiagnosed, or under treated. What I didn’t know was that some states clearly do not treat mental health at all in the adult populations, and in this case, that loophole allowed two young females to suffer and languish in prison without adequate care. This is an eye opening read that brings to light to how mental health is not adequately treated in America— especially those in the prison system.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

(Review will also be shared on Instagram in the near future— @slowerlowerliving)

This was an interesting true crime book all about the attempted murder of Bella Lautner by her two classmates, Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier. The book goes into details about how the two girls planned the stabbing of their friend as a sacrifice to Slenderman to protect their families and themselves. Honestly, I've read a lot about this case and I thought it would just be more of a regurgitation of the same facts of the case. But I was really surprised by this book. It did include all of the relevant information from the case but I did like the fact that there was a lot of focus on the two girls mental states and the aftermath of the crime.

I’d never heard of Slenderman, the internet phenomenon, a shadowy figure which led to such tragic consequences for three young girls in Waukesha, Wisconsin in 2014. Nor had I heard of stabbing of one of them by her 12-year-old so-called friends, under the influence of Slenderman, which nearly led to her death. So I fell down many a rabbit hole whilst reading this account of the crime, as thread after thread of this compelling narrative impelled me to find out more. I found the book completely fascinating, well-researched, detailed, horrifying at times, compassionate at others, but always immersive. It’s an intelligent and nuanced account, and even-handed in its approach, although on occasion the author’s obvious, perhaps justified, empathy for one of the attackers unbalanced the narrative a little. I have read some of the criticisms of the book and they seem to have a great deal of validity, but nevertheless these criticisms don’t seem to me to be a reason not to read the book. There’s much to be learnt here, not least about attitudes to mental health and the criminal justice system in parts of America. For example, the law in Wisconsin allows minors to be tried as adults in certain circumstances, which in the case of these two girls was grossly unfair. The book is also a cautionary tale of how the internet can affect immature minds, especially if parents and guardian aren’t keeping a wary eye open. Highly recommended

Creepy pasta? Creepy book. i thoroughly enjoyed reading this. It was detailed and well researched. While not offering absolution, the author delved into the tragedy that is our mental health system. I definitely came away with a different feeling for the girls, especially Morgan.

SYNOPSIS

Just how did an Internet meme of a fictitious Boogeyman, and two pre-teens end up in the tale of an attempted murder? More importantly, why did it happen at all?

It was the crime that shocked the world; every bit as infamous as the first US thrill killers Leopold and Loeb. The two pre-teenage girls conspired together, to befriended, lure, and stab their mutual acquaintance in a secluded woodland. Morgan and Anissa acting as proxies in the crime to becalm the Slenderman. In a complex, planned and highly detailed scheme, Morgan and Anissa conspired to kill. Fortunately, fate intervened and whilst seriously injured Bella survived the ferocious attack; but only just. She literally came within 1 millimeter of death.

Morgan Geyser, Anissa Weier and Payton “Bella” Leutner all lived in the idyllic Midwestern town called Waukesha, Wisconsin. Back in 2014, the three were peers in the sixth grade at the same local school. Whilst Bella was considered to be a happy well adjusted child, Anissa and Morgan were considered to be a little “strange.”

Morgan had a serious unseen mental health condition that she inherited from her father. No one understood just how ill she was and although she was a highly intelligent girl, she had an uncontrollable dark side; complete with visual and auditory hallucinations. She also suffered periods of manic behavior and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) as well as paranoia and dissociation. Her multiple challenges, noted by her peer group, left her isolated, bullied and derided by her cohorts and marginalized by the school faculty. As a consequence, Morgan Geyser would look for solace and lose herself in literature and the internet. It was on the Web that she first discovered the fantasy character -Slenderman.

I live right near where this took place and *thought* I knew the details of this case, but wow was I wrong. Hale goes all in on her reporting and creates a riveting book that had me seeing things from all angles. True crime fans should 1000% read this.