CRIME author Ian Rankin could be the man behind horror folklore villain Slenderman – if his Twitter followers are to be believed.
Rankin, famous for his Rebus novels, shared an image of his shadow on Twitter yesterday (Thu), in which his legs appear just centimetres thick, but metres long.
Followers of Rankin immediately began pointing out the likeness to the faceless and unnaturally tall villain, Slenderman.
Slenderman appears in many video games, online video series and books, and a film about the character is due out in 2018.
Rankin posted the picture of himself, taken in Edinburgh, with the caption “Casting a long shadow this morning in Edinburgh.”
Follower Craig Bright responded straight away by writing: “The real Slenderman”.
Amanda Stanley was creeped out after a post about the upcoming Slenderman film was posted on her Twitter timeline just below Rankin’s photo.
She posted an image of the two tweets side-by-side with the caption: “Well this is weird.”
Rankin cryptically replied: “Quite the coincidence…”
Others suggested that the photo could provide inspiration for a new Rankin novel.
Neil Harrington said: “There’s your next title “The day of the long shadow””.
James Smith added: “Casting a Long Shadow – great book title, eh?”
One user known mononymously as Robbo said: “A 21st century police gimmick? The long leg of the law?”
The character of Slenderman is usually depicted as resembling a thin, unnaturally tall man with a blank and usually featureless face, wearing a black suit.
Stories of the character commonly feature him stalking, abducting or traumatising people, particularly children.
He has featured in video games, such as Slender: The Eight Pages and Slender: The Arrival and in several video series, including Youtube series Marble Hornets.
