on Anne R. Allen…

Like other crime novelists, I keep a file of real cases. Not only do these serve as ideas to draw from, but they give authentic grounding while inspiring me to learn more about the perpetrators and their victims. What caught my attention at the onset of my latest novel, RUMOR OF EVIL, was a disturbing 2014 news story from Wisconsin: Two 12-year-old girls were arrested for the brutal knife attack of a 12-year old female friend.

Their reason: They wanted to appease Slender Man, an Internet cartoon character — a long, thin, black-suited featureless male rumored to stalk, kidnap and terrorize kids. According to police, the two girls had convinced themselves that Slender Man would kill their families if they didn’t murder their friend. Fortunately, their victim survived; and the two attackers are still in a psychiatric institution.