Residents of a city in Oregon were understandably unnerved this past week when they spotted someone dressed as the infamous character 'Slenderman' shuffling down the street.
The unsettling stranger was clad in a black suit and tie while wearing a white mask that obscured their face and left onlookers in the city of Gresham bewildered by the bizarre sight.
"You couldn't tell if it was a joke or serious, you didn't know whether to laugh or to be worried, it was kind of confusing," witness Rosa Higdon told TV station KPTV.
In fact, the encounters proved to be so worrisome to some residents that they actually called the police about the 'Slenderman' lurking in their midst.
Fortunately, cops were able to track down the 'entity' and convinced him that stalking around town dressed as a terrifying 'being' was probably not the smartest idea, especially since tensions were high in the city after an area high school went into a lockdown over a gun scare.
An investigation by KPTV eventually solved the mystery of the 'Slenderman' of Gresham as it was revealed that the mysterious stranger was actually an actor working for a local haunted house.
While the explanation may quell some concerns from nervous residents, others expressed annoyance that the person gave no indication that their purpose was to advertise the attraction.
"Nobody had a clue what was going on," complained one person who saw the scene unfold, "you saw people crossing the street, looking away and running to their car."
In response to the incidents, the haunted house is considering adding some kind of sign to the 'Slenderman' character sent out into the streets so that people will realize why he is there and, ostensibly, to garner some additional advertising by way of the weird 'being.'
Source: KPTV