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As far as books go, "House of Leaves" by Mark Danielewski, is definitely in a category of its own. From the varied font styles to helter-skelter page layouts to the mass amount of cryptic messages, one thing remains clear: it is strange. The story itself is made of three interwoven accounts. The main story, "The Navidson Record", is written by Zampano, a blind and dead man, about a fictional film. Scattered all throughout that are footnotes written by Johnny Truant - a young man who by the twisted ties of fate finds the chest containing Zampano's work. At the very end of the book is Appendix I, II, and III filled with poems, Polaroid's, sketches, letters, and quotes. Each of these combine to create a fluent and personable storyline.
The Navidson Record follows the likes of a photojournalist and his family as they transition into a new house. Navidson, or as friends call him, Navy, promised his partner Karen to leave his adventurous life of world travel aside for them to settle down with her and their kids, Daisy and Chad, in a quaint colonial on Ash Tree Lane in Virginia. However, that proves difficult when they notice a few deformities of their new house. Spatial deformities, that is, for not long after their move do they find a new and unexplained hallway off the side of their house. It leads down an ever changing set of halls, stairs, and rooms - a labyrinth essentially- all the same lightless, ashen color, freezing temperature, and produces the same hindering effects on technologies and compasses alike. Initially, the born investigator which Navidson is makes a single expedition into the maze only to find himself disoriented in the forever shifting walls, also threatened by the growl which stalks the corridors. After that trip, he realizes that it is beyond him to document alone and seeks out the help of Holloway, a professional survivalist, and his team of fellow mountain men Wax and Jed, along with his brother Tom and friend Bobby Reston. A plan is devised for Holloway, Jed and Wax to go into the labyrinth, take samples, and try to reach the end the Great Stairway while Navidson and the rest monitor their progress by camera and radio. When Holloway and company enter, however, he is soon driven mad and attempts to gun down all his teammates. Because of this, and much against Karen's wishes, Navidson sets off with Tom and Reston to rescue the two victims. The house does not take too kindly to this, and neither does the monster which roars within it. After a narrow escape, they manage to make it out (save for Jed, who was shot by Holloway). It is when they return, however, that the house really shows its power. Never before had it shifted outside of the hallway, but in a final effort to capture, kill, or maybe rid itself of its inhabitants (the house seems to work as motiveless as a serial killer), all hell breaks loose from its walls. Crushing, bending, snapping; though nothing visible from the outside; its fury managed to swallow Tom in the gruesome fashion of squishing him between walls. After the traumatizing ordeal, Karen took the kids and high-tailed it to New York where she works on the footage of their expeditions. Navidson, however, cannot let leave. His work wasn't finished, and he had grown more than obsessed with the rift that was his house. Because of this and the loss of his beloved brother, he finds himself once again at the door to the hallway, and walks inside never to be seen again.
All the while that this story is being told, the reader also follows along with the notes of Mr. Truant, a tattoo artist living in Hollywood. As he sorts through the story, organizing it into its form presented, he is too thrown deeper into his own labyrinth. He starts to feel that somehow the words were written for him, that the things could and would happen to him too. His sanity takes plummet and he stays more and more reserved, spending his time pouring over the disturbing story, writing notes in the margins, measuring his apartment's walls, and screaming bloody murder in his sleep (when he's fortunate enough to get some). Various codes can be found in his footnotes; cries for help, expressions of dread, and questions of his own sanity.
Thankfully, some clarity is brought in the Appendixes. Letters from Truant's mother reveal that she was institutionalized and left a lasting mark of herself on him. A smattering of sketches and drawings also aim to depict the impossibilities of Navidson's house. Also inside are a collection of seemingly unrelated poems and songs by Zampano. Though, the oddest thing may be on the very last page, Yggdrasil, the mythic tree of life, which will come into context later.
As it stands today, "House of Leaves" has gained quite a cult following and continues to both disturb and intrigue its growing number of readers. Its themes of existentialism, love, and sanity has piqued the interest of many. One noted group has taken on a complete adoration for the work. Namely, the Slender Man fandom.
To explain, the Slender Man is a fictional character born and raised from the bowels of the internet. It originated on the Something Awful forums in a create-a-monster contest, a submission by Victor Surge which quickly won the hearts of many. The Slender Man takes on the form of a gaunt and faceless humanoid with a height of unreasonable proportions. He dresses in black suit and tie and has the ability to grow multiple, disturbingly inhuman arms and to hypnotize his prey. Of course, other details vary on which series or claim you're looking at. Troy Wagner was one of the first to take interest in the Slender Man and got the ball rolling with his ongoing series: Marble Hornets. It features the tapes of Alex Kralie's student film project and the havoc and madness brought onto it by our suit clad villain. Soon, others took note of the potential in Slender Man and started other blogs and vlogs, some of the most noted being Marble Hornets (a given), EverymanHYBRID, TribeTwelve, and Just Another Fool. Though each follows generally the same scheme - college or high school students filming slice of life things when the Slender Man decides to grace them with his presence - each maintains a certain authority and specialty.
Though Marble Hornets tends to stay to itself, many of the other series are connected together. Sometimes to follow the storyline of one you'll end up following along with another three, maybe four. This can give quite an immersing effect, earning the Slender Man mythos the rightful term as an ARG (alternate reality game). In this manner, you can see one of the less intentional connections between them and "House of Leaves".
As far as allusions go, it is EverymanHYBRID and not Marble Hornets which takes a lot from the novel. In one of their episodes titled 'Jeff' they investigate the character Jeff's brother, Alex and in their room find his own copy of "House of Leaves" with a passage circled. Another thing they manage to do is use the idea of spatial rifts. In Alex's room, a small hole appeared mysteriously in the back of his closet. Upon investigating, they find the crew finds that the tunnel leads to an abandoned shack in a national park they've been to, miles away from their house though their trip took less than a minute. Familiar, yes. The group's recreation of Navidson's minotaur is perhaps the most frightening thing they borrowed from the book, a monster they aptly named The Rake who is claimed by Alex to live in the tunnel. This beast later goes on to kill his dog, and use it as a puppet to lure Alex to his death.
True, EverymanHYBRID is the most open about the inspiration they found in "House of Leaves", but they are not the only ones in the Slenderverse to do so. Just Another Fool, a blog based and finished series, takes the theme of found footage (or rather, found papers) and carries out their plot in that manner. He works similarly to Truant in that as the story progresses, so does his insanity. He posts crazed and cryptic notes onto the blog for the reader to solve in order to progress the story. They also highly allude to Yggdrasil. There are many interpretations for the importance of this Tree of Life in both works, and perhaps that is how it should be left.
Also similar to Truant is another Alex; Alex Kralie of Marble Hornets. He seems to be the focal point of the Slender Man in the series, and his habits show it. Throughout the first season we could see Alex paranoid and sleep deprived as he scribbled countless drawings, posting and strewing them through his house. Much like Zampanp's work had ailing effects on Truant, so did the Slender Man on Kralie.
In conclusion, though "House of Leaves" may have ended, its themes of unreality and existence carries on in the works of others. The Slender Man fandom is an ever expanding collaboration of separate works that has been developing for years now, and seems to have no intention of stopping. So be it a well dress wraith, a blood lusting monster, or a figment of imagination; these beasts will continue to encourage both writers and viewers alike.
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