I would like to
events I had never encountered the Slenderman in
many stories. Just two or three. The Rake, however,
is a different matter entirely. This started in
December 2010. I had just discovered creepypasta
style stories through a friend of mine. She refused to
let me give her name, so in true internet fashion I will
refer to her as Herp.
Herp showed me the classic Rake video where he
ran through the bushes for a split second. I loved that
video. I watched it several more times before a
comment linked me to 4Chan. Now I knew of this
site before, but I never knew of /x/. This is what led
to me finding all sorts of creepypastas.
Now after about a month of this I got tired of /x/. One
thread had an anchored text reading simply "The
Rake". I clicked it and it brought me to Youtube. The
Rake first sighting video. But this was by a different
user. The user had only videos about The Rake. It
had Vicious516's video and 's videos. I loved it.
After spending more of my life watching all these
Rake videos I found myself obsessed. I wanted to
know if he was REAL. If The Rake actually existed.
So I did as any teenager does when they want to
know something. I google'd it. Lo' and behold I found
account after account of The Rake. Now, I'm not
stupid. Well that's debatable, but I'm not easily
fooled.
I knew most of these were bogus. But on all the ones
with comments attached I saw a recurring
commenter. A guy by the name of "Stiffer Man".
Always that name no matter what
would correct people. Actually tell people the details
that were wrong. Things like "Nice story, but He can't
go that fast," or "I love it! A word of advice though, His
claws are a foot long, not 11 inches".
This guy... This guy seemed for real. So I looked for
him. It was hard as his name was the same as a troll
pasta. Rule 34 Slender Man. Some weird shit for
sure. But I finally found a blog by a guy of the same
name. He had been posting about The Rake for a
while. And I noticed something. Nothing was? very
realistic, at least not by what we say is real, but it
sure as hell was believable. I sent him a few emails
about The Rake. Emphasis on few -? it took him a
while before he responded. All his email said was...
"He is legit".
I assumed He was The Rake. I told Herp and she just
said that it was just some crazy guy. Someone more
obsessed than me. Herp always looked down on my
love for The Rake. She thought I should let
dogs lie, but dumb ol' me wanted to poke 'em with a
stick. I wanted to know if The Rake was real. Just
that.
I sent out an email back to Stiffer Man asking if he
had proof. If there was any cold evidence that The
Rake was real. A picture or a video or something. It
was a few long months before I got a response. This
time it was an address. I knew the location, a coffee
shop that was very popular in my town. My initial
thought was now how the fuck did he know I live
here? But I wanted to go. And I brought Herp with me.
We showed up the next day around noon, when
traffic started to pick up. I remember Herp saying it
was so rude of him to not even leave a time for us to
show up. We had no idea how we would know who
was Stiffer Man, much less if he was even there. It's
not like in the movies. I can't just walk up to the
counter and ask if there was reservations under the
name "Stiffer Man". Aside from being completely
weird, it would also be illogical. There were no
reservations at a freaking coffee shop!
We did, however, know when Stiffer Man walked
through the door. He looked about 20 years old and
was wearing a Story Time tee-shirt. Me and Herp
approached him and asked if he was in fact Stiffer
Man. He confirmed it and handed me a disposable
camera. I was excited, needless to say, and so was
Herp. That surprised me. I asked her later about this
and she just said it was like being spies or
something. I looked away from the camera to thank
Stiffer Man, but he was gone. Not like the eerie "HE
DISSAPERED, ZOMG!" No. He was just not there.
Walked away.
Herp and I went to a Walgreens to develop the
photos at one of those 1 Hour Photo places. While
we waited, we discussed The Rake. How could
Stiffer Man get photos of him? If The Rake was a
ghost or a demon or something. And most important;
if he was real, then what other Creepypastas were?
The talking kept us occupied for the 30 minutes it
took for them to develop the images. The man
behind the counter handed over the pictures with a
piece of paper on the top. I asked what it was and he
said it was wrapped around the film. The paper was
a note written in black sharpie.
These are photos of Him as you requested. I took
them knowing it would cost me my safety. He does
not like to be photographed. And He will also come
after you if He finds out you have these. Do Not
Publish These Images.
Signed,
Stiffer Man.
The pictures were, as promised, pictures of The
Rake. Herp was uneased by the letter, and begged
me to burn the pictures. To just end it.? Being? me,
however,? well I was not going to do that. The world
HAD to know. It HAD TO. Everyone needed to know.
So, I posted one of the pictures all over the internet.
On /x/, on Deviant art, on reddit, and of course on
Imgur. Herp, at this point, was paranoid of The Rake.
The pictures were real, so how did we know the
warning was not real? I was willing to risk my life to
let people know about this.
Weeks went by with no change. Herp was on edge in
school and, more so, after school. She started seeing
things. Like she said she saw shadows moving at
night. And she said she saw lots of dead animals
around the neighborhood. So I offered her to stay at
my house. My parents knew me and Herp had been
friends since we were kids and they loved having her
over. So she stayed the night. It was Friday and we
stayed up late. Every thing seemed fine. But then,
right around 9 PM, Herp said something strange.
"Did you hear that? Like scratching along the
window?"
I looked at the window. "No. And I don't see anything
but that stupid tree. Maybe it rubbed on the window."
"We aren't safe. We will never be safe. You shouldn't
have put those pictures online."
"What makes you say that?"
"Think. Think really hard about why you said there
was a scratch."
"It's just the tree and the wind!"
"Jonah! You don't have a tree in your front yard."
I got scared. Herp was right, I didn't have a tree there.
Slowly, I stood and walked over to the window. I put
my hand on the glass and looked out. There was a
shadow on the ground. A shadow of something on
four legs that looked very much like a human. And he
had claws.
The Rake looked back at me. I whispered to Herp
that I mistook the claws as a branch. But I was
wrong, yet again. The Rake dashed off and I was
scared to the bone. We didn't sleep. That might not
have to be said. We stayed away all night with my air
rifles loaded with copper BBs. The Rake never
showed up.
Fast forward to the next night. We couldn't stay
awake another night in a row. As 16-year-olds it was
not physically possible without some energy drinks,
something my mom swears will kill your liver
because of all the nasty toxic stuff in them. We
crashed at about 8 o'clock. It was the best damn 4
hours I ever slept. I dreamed about when I was a kid
playing on the playground without my parents. I was
just a rebel like that as a kid.
I say four hours because I woke up to the sound of
scratching. On my window.
"It's outside!" I whispered to Herp.
"No," She mouthed.
I glanced at my window without moving. My window
sits opposite my bed so it was a bit of a strain. There,
right the fuck there, was The Rake, running his claws
agenst my windows from the inside. I screamed.
What else could I do? The Rake pounced. Jumped at
me and reared back his claw. I thought I was dead.
But he was stopped. Some impossibly black force
had hit The Rake smack in the face before he got me
and sent him sprawling to the floor.
I had no fucking clue what that force was. Now I
know. Those branches were fingers. The tree I never
had was a body. The Rake hadn't opened the
window. He'd just smash it. Something else wanted
to be in my room. When I looked up, I knew who it
was. I read a story about this figure. The figure that
was tall, and had no face. The Slender Man.
The Rake was quick to recover. He hoisted himself
up and lunged back at Slender Man. A black tendril
slammed into The Rake's ribs and made a loud
crack. The Rake hit the floor on his back and rolled to
his feet. He was cautious now, and like a lion he
began walking slowly in an arch around Slender Man.
Herp inched out of bed and tried to run. I hadn't
noticed until I herd that scream. The blood-curtling
shriek of my best friend getting attacked by a
monster. The Rake got a few good swipes at her, but
Slender Man, for whatever reason, wanted her to not
die and pulled The Rake off. I remember reading
about him being ruthless and eating children. He
never protected them.
The Rake gave a swipe at Slender Man's arm and it
looked as if it simply fell through him. Slender Man
started pulling at The Rake's arm while he held his
body. It was like he was pulling apart a doll. After the
first pop I snapped out of my awe. The Rake, despite
being a monster, was something I was deeply
attached to. I couldn't let Slender Man kill him.
"Stop! Don't do it!"
Slender Man looked at me. Well, he pointed his head
at me.
"You can't rip his arms off! Or Kill him!"
To this, Slender Man's head cocked a bit in
confusion.
"Okay, I thank you for helping me, but I just. I can't let
you kill the thing I spent so long chasing. I wanted
him to be real, and now that I know he is you can't
just take Him!"
There was a long silence. Slender Man dropped The
Rake and turned to me. He moved slowly and
reached out his left arm. I was horrified. His fingers
wrapped around my face and then... black.
I awoke the next morning in a hospital room. Not for
me, it was for Herp. She was badly hurt with multiple
cuts along her face and chest. I was upset about my
friend being hurt, but I would be lying if I said I was
upset about the events that night. I not only got paid
off for a long period of work, but I also saw proof that
Creepypasta aren't based off fiction.
Slender Man and The Rake are real. I haven't seen
Slender Man since. I saw evidence of him
everywhere. That tree that isn't suppose to be there.
The dreams of a suited man on a playground. I even
see him in old photos of me.
Slender Man must have been following me for years.
When I asked my mom about the shadows that
appeared ONLY in pictures of me she just smiled
and said, "Me and your dad used to call that your
Angel. It only ever appeared in pictures of you. Funny,
but I hadn't thought of that in years."
As for The Rake. I haven't seen Him for a long time. I
kind of miss the thrill of chasing Him. I miss knowing
He was out there without proof.
Maybe He will come back.
