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.

As a mother of a teenager, this book really opened my eyes to what the internet can expose children's minds too. Anything even remotely fictional can have quite the emotional and mental impact on minds that are learning and growing in so many different ways.
With that being said, this book is beyond heartbreaking for anyone, but especially parents. It will leave you feeling sympathy for all sides involved, as one family is finally awakened to their daughter's illness, another one deals with their daughter's consequences of falling into peer pressure, and most importantly, the devastating effects on a family affected by such a deep and chilling traumatic event. The event itself haunted me for days, everytime I passed a wooded area or even park/playground, I thought of these girls. After reading, I watched the documentary and had to research the current news on all involved. It will grip you and make it feel as if it was happening to your own children/family. Despite a few grammatical/spelling errors, the book is phenomenally written, researched, and even goes beyond that to really have you feel the emotion behind each and every character. I really want to check out more by this author and I thank her for the opportunity to read this story on Net Galley. Prior to reading the book, I was very uneducated on Slenderman himself, the story of the girls, and just the internet content in general. Again, as a parent, I found this very informative!

Shew…this was a tough one to read. Based on the true story of 2 young girls who believe in a fictional character, Slenderman, that they saw on the internet. They believe that Slenderman wants them to kill their best friend in order to save themselves and their families. They hatch a plan to stab their friend at a slumber party. The friend barely survives, but the lives of all 3 girls are altered forever.

This is an examination of mental health care, courts trying youth as adults and so many other things, as hard as it was to read, it was also hard to put down.