For fans who want to see something similar to The Bye Bye Man, a new Netflix original just hit the streaming service titled Mercy Black that shares the same origin as that 2017 release.
What is Bye Bye Man on Netflix?
The Bye Bye Man was a 2017 theatrical release that played on the creepypasta related horror legends. While based on the short story “The Bridge to Body Island” by Robert Damon Schneck, the idea of creepypasta on the internet led to the popularity of the idea.
The Bye Bye Man used the Slender Man in its movie, making the evil creature look exactly like its creepypasta creation.
The movie sees the Bye Bye Man curse spread to anyone who hears the creature’s name, which leads to the idea that some supernatural beings don’t need legends steeped in history but just need people to believe in them to become true.
What is creepypasta and who is the Slender Man?
The term creepypasta refers to horror legends and images shared on the internet. These are simply meant to scare readers and include tales of the supernatural as well as murder and suicide.
However, in 2014, the “Slender Man stabbing” brought creepypasta to the public in a horrific true-life story. Two girls wanted to prove that the Slender Man, from an internet meme, was real and took their 12-year-old friend into the woods and stabbed her to bring him into reality.
The two young girls were placed into mental health facilities after plea deals.
I remember laying in my bed in the dark at night with my best friend at the time, listening to creepypasta stories and getting so creeped out with her. I got so pumped to find this tonight ? being an adult, it’s less creepy and more… calming? #creepypasta pic.twitter.com/NcrKwWZpbv
— Alyssa (@mochighostt) March 29, 2019
Mercy Black on Netflix continues creepypasta idea
Fans who watched Bye Bye Man on Netflix now have another film that plays into the same ideas with Mercy Black.
Mercy Black was a surprise release on Netflix from Blumhouse Productions and takes the theme that monsters can become real if people believe in them enough.
While not using the name Slender Man, Mercy Black goes the route of The Bye Bye Man and changes the name while keeping the origins of the story the same.
In Mercy Black, the movie has the stabbing of a girl by her friends take place in the past. However, the movie takes place in the present day where one of the attackers is released by an institution and has tried to move on with her life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfGBt2a2MGs
With that said, twists and turns in Mercy Black on Netflix see the stabbing victim return and the idea that a monster like Mercy Black/The Slender Man can come to life when enough people believe in it hard enough.
Both Mercy Black and The Bye Bye Man on Netflix take the classical ideas of monsters and turn it on its head in the digital internet age, suggesting that with the ease at spreading a new legend, all it takes is belief to bring any monster to life.
Mercy Black and The Bye Bye Man are both currently streaming on Netflix.