Civil Police Officer Handcuffs Young Suspects, as He Detains Them After a Store was Looted During a Police Strike in Recife
A civil police officer handcuffs young suspects, as he detains them after a store was looted during a police strike in Recife, May 15, 2014. Road blocks and marches hit Brazilian cities on Thursday as disparate groups criticized spending on the upcoming World Cup soccer tournament and sought to revive a call for better public services that swept the country last June. Pernambuco state police called a strike over their demands for better salaries and benefits. REUTERS/Michele Souza/JC Imagem
A civil police officer handcuffs young suspects, as he detains them after a store was looted during a police strike in Recife, May 15, 2014. Road blocks and marches hit Brazilian cities on Thursday as disparate groups criticized spending on the upcoming World Cup soccer tournament and sought to revive a call for better public services that swept the country last June. Pernambuco state police called a strike over their demands for better salaries and benefits. REUTERS/Michele Souza/JC Imagem

Two tween girls from Wisconsin, U.S., have been arrested for allegedly stabbing their friend 19 times in a bid to please and prove their loyalty to an online horror fictional character named Slender Man.

Slender Man, invented in 2009 by a user on an online forum, is described as an online ghost story of a ghoulish child killer.

The girls, Morgan E. Geyser and Anissa E. Weier, told police they were acting as Slender Man proxies when they stabbed their friend 19 times in Waukesha, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. They said the attempted murder was a dedication to the online fictional character so they can enter his mansion, which they believed was located in the Nicolet National Forest.

"It's troubling when a person lashes out in anger," Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "It's more troubling when they lash out in cold blood," he added.

"It's a very shocking incident. There's no two ways about it," Schimel stated.

Charged as adults, both girls (video here) face first-degree attempted homicide. If convicted, they each face up to 65 years imprisonment. A bail was set for $500,000 cash per child.

Based on criminal complaint records, Geyser and Weier had been planning since December 2013 to kill their friend. The opportunity came in a park on Saturday morning, after a slumber party. The two girls then lured their victim into a wooded area in Waukesha where they stabbed her 19 times to her arms, legs and torso.

Thinking their friend was already dead, Geyser and Weier left her. The victim, who will remain unidentified, was still breathing and managed to crawl out of the woods.

The victim was eventually discovered by a bicyclist, lying on a sidewalk. Doctors said she's lucky to be alive because one stab attempt missed a major artery near her heart by a millimeter. She's been declared in a stable condition on Monday.

One of the girls told police Slender Man visits her in her dreams and that he can read her mind and teleport.

"It's extremely disturbing as a parent and as chief of police," the AP quoted Waukesha Police Chief Russell Jack at a news conference.

Geyser and Weier discovered Slender Man on "CreepyPasta," a Web site which Slender Man is said to lead.

"The site is devoted to scary tales and old legends of horror to which users can submit their own stories. The tales involving Slender Man describe him as a lanky man with a blank face who wears a suit and attacks children from his home, which is generally located in suburban woods," Guardian Liberty Voice reported.

Immediately on Tuesday, the administrator of www.creepypasta.com issued a lengthy statement. It expressed condolences for everyone involved, but stressed the site does not condone or encourage violence in any way.

"It's hard to justify pinning blame on an entire genre of writing."

Some videos on Slender Man can be viewed here and here.