Decisions and Research

After the scare of a couple days ago, Cam and I have been spending a lot of time putting our heads together and making plans, when I'm not buried in the campus library reading till I go cross-eyed. We've come to a decision. We're staying. We are staying here, staying put, fortifying and keeping strong. I have an idea that will hopefully keep us safe. We do have a fourth floor condo, which will help. Our condo can only be reached through a locked indoor staircase, which will help against more mundane threats. We're fortifying the crap out of this place and instituting a 'no open blinds ever' policy, which will help reduce sightings, though it will be hell on the lighting in the house.

But most important is this. I found an old first edition from 1688 in the old book room on Monday. It appears to be a household guide to dealing with various pests-which for the time was rather strange in and of itself. The strangest part, however was the amount of supernatural entities listed and discussed in the pages along with more mundane threats like rabbits and snakes. At the end, there is an entire chapter devoted to 'the masked one.' He is described as appearing as a very tall and thin man who appears to be wearing a blank mask to obscure the existence of features. Unsurprisingly, the masked one is described as highly dangerous, especially to children. Most of the advice falls along the line of rosemary sachets at doorways and ensuring children wear crosses at all times, but at the very end it mentions one last resort-positive thought. It suggests that he needs fear and/or despair to properly manifest in a way that can harm us, and that if you can deny him that, then you can stay safe.

It seems worth a shot. We've already instituted the plan. Admittedly it's a lot easier to stay happy when Shan is on her way here to see me. Beyond  that, we're watching lots of cheerful movies and shows, paying plenty of games and generally being silly and having fun as much as possible. Makes me glad we both took the summer off work, otherwise this staying happy thing would be a lot trickier.

Beginnings

Hi, I'm Elan. I'm Twenty four years old, and finishing up my masters degree in Urban Folklore. Provided I get through the committee in the fall, I'm set to take a Professorship in the spring.
Then, about a week ago, I was walking home through the park across the street from my condo (which is pretty heavily wooded), and I found a notebook. Specifically, one completely filled with random messages and sketches. Nothing I saw identified it to me, but it was interesting, so I took it home and showed it to my roommate.
Who suggested it might have to do with Slendy, because of the sketches of him that are spread throughout the thing.
I did some research. The thing is COVERED in Operator symbols, and a lot of the imagery and ranting are consistent with the notebooks from JAF, as well as the sketches that are referenced in pretty much every Slendyblog I've found so far. Silly me, I was excited. I thought it was a great chance to see an urban legend in action. I started reading up on the blogs, caught up on Marble Hornets, got really excited. But things were starting to happen. I didn't pay any attention at first, because I thought it was just paranoia. These tales are terrifying.
But The feeling of being watched just got worse and worse. And I couldn't quite convince myself it was safe to walk through the park. My roommate and I both started keeping the curtains tightly drawn. We didn't talk about it. It just felt safer. And all the same, if my cat hadn't started going mad at my bedroom window, I would have chalked it up to paranoia. I didn't dare open the blinds to peek.
But then last night I was at a party, and THEIR windows weren't completely covered. But I wouldn't look. Nothing on earth could have made me look. Until their speakers started buzzing. Not the speakers for the music, that were on and going. The ones in the back room where I was sitting talking with a couple friends. The ones that were attached to a computer THAT WAS TURNED OFF. They start buzzing,and the set up is right in front of a window that's only partially covered. I looked, without thinking. And there he was. Cam was there with me, and she saw too. We both slept on the couch there that night-nothing was going to make us go home in the dark with him outside.
So, we're kind of fucked. And it's probably my fault that he's stuck with it too. I don't know what exactly I'm hoping for, posting this. Maybe commiseration? Maybe just someplace to swear the air blue where Cam doesn't have to deal with my freakouts? Maybe I just have to have SOMEPLACE to say things, otherwise I'll go mad.
In any case, if anyone's reading this that has any advice to offer? It would be much appreciated. In the meantime, it's time to do some research, see what I can dig up. This is my field, after all. Surely I can put SOMETHING together