Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier, two 12-year-old girls from Wisconsin, have been arrested and accused of stabbing their 12-year-old friend 19 times.

Two 12-yr-old Girls Arrested For Stabbing Friend 19 Times

The two suspects, allegedly invited their victim to a sleepover on Friday night and convinced her to go into the woods with them on Saturday, where they stabbed her repeatedly. The girls narrowly missed one of the victim’s major arteries, and she was able to survive and drag herself to the side of the road after Geyser and Weier left her in the woods. Fortunately, a bicyclist found the victim on the side of the road, still breathing. The victim reportedly pleaded with the bicyclist, “Please help me. I’ve been stabbed.”

The bicyclist called the authorities, and the victim was hospitalized. She is currently in stable condition.

Stabbing Inspired By Internet Legend Slenderman

According to the official complaint, Geyser and Weier were attempting to connect to the ‘Slenderman,’ a sort of urban legend figure that has become increasingly popularized in recent years. The Slenderman, a tall, frightening figure who appears in multiple photos as a menacing presence, has inspired many stories on a paranormal fiction website, CreepyPasta.com, where the girls say they received their inspiration.

Geyser and Weier wanted to become a Proxy for the Slenderman. According to the Slenderman wiki, Proxies have different functions in different fictional universes, which have molded and changed the Slenderman in different ways over the years. For some, a Proxy is both victim and partner to the Slenderman, being controlled to do its evil bidding, for others they are cult-like members who worship Slenderman and commit violent acts in his name.

The girls told authorities that they had read instructions online, detailing how one could “climb into his [the Slenderman’s] realm.” One of the requirements to join the Slenderman and become his Proxy was, reportedly, to kill someone.

Girls Planned Attack Since February

The complaint also alleges that Geyser and Weier had been planning the attack since February, and even had alternate plans for killing the victim. One involved stabbing her neck in a bathroom.

“As they left for the park…(the victim) was walking in front of them and Geyser lifted up the left side of her white jacket and displayed the knife tucked in her waistband. Weier stated she gave Geyser a look with wide eyes and, when asked what that meant Weier stated, ‘I thought, dear god, this was really happening,’” reads the complaint.

When the police picked up the girls, Geyser was carrying a large kitchen knife in her purse.

The location of the attack also reflects Slenderman folklore, which suggests that the Slenderman enjoyed killing his victims in forests.

CreepyPasta.com issued a statement on their website distancing themselves from the Slenderman mythology and persona and emphasizing the site’s purpose as a creative writing community with a focus on the supernatural.

“Stories about Slenderman and his proxies are not the central focus of this website. I am not intimately familiar with all the various additions and expansions to his ‘legend’ that have cropped up all over the Internet,” reads part of the statement.

CreepyPasta goes on to encourage readers to be more aware and sensitive to mental illness and gives parents detailed instructions on how to block certain websites from their children’s internet access.

Both 12-yr-olds Charged As Adults

Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel told reporters that Geyser and Weier are being charged as adults with a preliminary charge of attempted first-degree intentional homicide. However, lawyers for the defendants plan on arguing to move the trial to juvenile court. Bail was set at $500,000 during a court appearance on Monday.