Jonathan Miles-Watson

Vivian Asimos

What is myth? Why do myths exist? What do myths do? Where are myths going? This reader is organized into 4 parts which explore these questions. Drawing on over 10 years of experience teaching myth in religious studies and anthropology departments in the UK, USA and Continental Europe the editors have brought together key works in the theory of myth. Key features include: - a general introduction to the reader that outlines a comparative and interpretative framework - an introduction contextualizing each part and sub-section - an introduction to each reading by the editors - a companion website that provides discussion questions and further reading suggestions, including primary sources. From functionalism to feminism, nationalism to globalization, and psychoanalysis to spatial analysis, this reader covers the classic and contemporary theories and approaches needed to understand what myth is, why myths exist, what they do, and what the future holds for them.

The Bloomsbury Reader in the Study of Myth

Introduction -- 1. Mythology and the Digitization of Lv̌i-Strauss -- 2. Introducing the Slender Man -- 3. The Origin of the Slender Man -- 4. The Origin of the Slender Man -- 5. Marble Hornets -- 6. Playing the Slender Man -- 7. Loving the Horror, Romancing Slender -- 8. Laughing at the Horror -- 9: A Dog, a Video Game and a Monster -- 10: The Online Hive Mind's Stories -- 11: The Slender Man's Culture -- Conclusion.

The Slender Man

Digital Mythology and the Internet's Monster

Digital Monsters

Exploring a prominent digital mythology, this book proposes a new way of viewing both online narratives and the online communities which tell them. The Slender Man – a monster known for making children disappear and causing violent deaths to the adults who seek to know more about him – is used as an extended case study to explore the role of digital communities, as well as the question of the existence of a broader “digital culture”. Structural anthropological mythic analysis and ethnographic details demonstrate how the Slender Man mythology is structured, and how its everlasting nature in the online communities demonstrates an importance of the mythos.

Vivian Asimos

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