Thinman, stylized #thinman, is the 15th episode of The CW's Supernatural Season 9. It aired on March 4th, 2014. The Thinman is a fictional character from the American television series Supernatural inspired by the Slender Man myth, as evidenced by his origin story, appearance, and supposed abilities. His first and only appearance in the series was the episode #THINMAN.
History[]
Creation[]
Thinman was an internet meme/urban legend created by Ed Zeddmore, one of the members of a group of paranormal investigators called Ghostfacers, in order to prevent Harry Spangler from leaving the team. Ed created Thinman by taking an old photo of a butler and altering it into the infamous creature with photoshop and posted the photo anonymously on a horror forum. Ed only meant for Thinman to be one case for the Ghostfacers to chase down, but it quickly took on a life of its own and became a crowd sourced legend.
In the urban legend, Thinman lurks in the background of his intended victims' lives, occasionally being caught in the background of a photograph, until he is ready to kill them. The Thinman's victims can range from the old to the young, to male or female. However people cannot agree on what Thinman actually is, as the lore centered around him changes from blog to blog.
Winchester Involvement[]
The Thinman's real life existence first becomes apparent after a girl named Casey Miles is murdered in her bedroom. The evidence as to who murdered her pointed to the Thinman due to the selfie she took of herself minutes before she died, showing Thinman standing behind her. The picture was uploaded to a Thinman fan forum immediately afterwards and the news of this mysterious death brought the main Sam and Dean Winchester to Springdale, Washington under the assumption that the being was a ghost. During the course of their investigation, the Winchesters meet up with Ed and Harry, who were not searching for Thinman at the time.
Shortly after the Winchester's arrival in Springdale, another Thinman murder occurs. This time the murder is caught on the security cameras at Johnny's Apple Country Diner, where the manager is shown to have his throat cut open by Thinman, who appears to teleport from the parking lot to the inside of the locked diner.
At this point Ed thinks Sam and Dean should take over the case, as they are far more experienced, but Harry wants to try and hunt down Thinman. Harry refuses to listen to his partner's advice and forces Ed to drop him off by some woods. Meanwhile, Ed visits the Winchesters at the motel they are staying at and tells them the truth about Thinman's origins. Dean accuses Ed of creating a real life version of the Thinman in the form of a Tulpa and Sam insists that Ed tell Harry the truth because secrets ruin relationships.
During his hunt, Harry comes face to face with Thinman who slashes him in his abdomen. However, Harry manages to survive his encounter through sheer luck and even gets the opportunity to kick Thinman in the groin before he makes his escape. Sam, Dean, and Ed come to his rescue, and discover tire tracks which the Winchesters think may belong to whoever is pretending to be Thinman. Ed finally tells Harry the truth, which results in Harry becoming extremely mad at him and no longer being able to trust him.
The Winchesters decided to follow the tire track lead, and are followed by Harry and Ed once they decide that they will work together in order to fix the mess Ed created. The tire tracks lead to a warehouse, where the Winchesters are tasered by Tom Norwood, the deputy of Springdale's sheriff whom Sam and Dean went to for help while investigating the Thinman case. Norwood reveals that he and his friend Roger, a local busboy, are the ones responsible for the Thinman murders and were motivated by their shared desire to make the Thinman a reality after it became apparent that blogging wasn't enough for them. Roger, disguised as Thinman, steps up to cut Dean's throat while Norwood records the act in order to ensure that the legend will continue.
A frantic Sam works to pick the lock of his handcuffs so that he can save Dean. However, a noise distracts Norwood and Roger who go to investigate. Ed and Harry trap "Thinman" but are quickly captured by Norwood. When they return to where Sam and Dean were cuffed, they see that Winchesters have escaped. The boys attack Norwood and Roger, Dean kills Roger, and Norwood pulls a gun on Sam and Harry, only to be shot by Ed. With the "visionaries" behind the Thinman murders dead, the legend was finally put to rest.
Summary[]
A teenage girl (guest star Ali Webb) is killed and the final selfie she took before the attack shows a ghostly figure in the background. Looking for something to keep them busy, Dean and Sam head to Washington to find the ghost. While the two interview the girl's mother, Betty (guest star Maria Marlow), they are surprised when she starts talking about cold spots and fritzing. When they ask her about bringing up paranormal signs, Betty replies that the "supernaturalists" who called earlier brought it up. Enter Harry (guest star Travis Wester) and Ed (guest star A.J. Buckley), the famous supernaturalists.
Plot[]
It's Springdale, Washington and a young girl is taking selfies when she spots a monster behind her in her photos. She tries hiding in the closet but the creature is already waiting for her and slashes her throat as the 911 operator is on the other line. Dean quickly gets wind of the case and is about to make his way to Springdale without Sam. Sam insists that they work together and they go road-tripping. They speak with Mrs. Miles, the victim's mother and it's evident the Winchesters aren't the only ones on the case. The Ghostfacers are on the hunt too.
Knowing the 'Supernaturalist' amateurs are out of their league, they confront Harry and Ed, the two remaining Ghostfacers, in a café. Dean threatens the two, reminding them that they are way out of their league. Back at the motel, Sam discovers Harry and Ed's book on the Thin Man. Dean is still not buying the theory, putting stock in it being a ghost of some sort but Sam is not as quick to dismiss the Thin Man theory.
While Dean is searching for any deaths in the city that could have created a ghostly entity, the Ghostfacers are revisiting Casey's room, filming a part of the Thin Man documentary when Ed expresses his doubts about pursuing the ghost. Harry admonishes him that they need to keep going. And that night, the café manager is added to the list of victims. By the time Sam and Dean arrive on the scene the next morning the Ghostfacers are already there. Dean threatens the dynamic duo again but does some rethinking about the Thin Man theory when they all watch the surveillance footage of the murder. Knowing that he is so close to catching the Thin Man, Harry musters courage and wants Ed to drop him off in the woods.
Sam and Dean continue to research the possibilities when Dean mention just how "sick" people can be. There is a moment of shared reminiscing between the two when Ed pays them a visit. He comes clean about making up the Thin Man to keep Harry from leaving Ghostfacers. Ed tries justifying his actions though admits to faking only one case before real ones started popping up. Sam is especially upset about it, reiterating how "secrets ruin relationships," a reality he's feeling now. The trio gets on the road and come across Harry, who has barely escaped his run in with the Thin Man.
While Sam is patching up, Dean takes pictures of the tire tracks close to the scene. Harry doesn't understand why until he and Ed have a chat with Ed coming clean about the entire Thin Man hoax. Sam steps in to check on Harry, feeling a kinship with a guy who was lied to by the most important person in his life. Dean interrupts the two to relay the info he's received on the tire treads—belonging to a Geo Metro and guy named Roger. The brothers, accompanied by the Deputy, start to investigate the warehouse when the good deputy knocks them out with two stun guns.
They wake, cuffed to a chair with Deputy Do-Wrong setting up some film equipment. He admits to being behind the Thin Man murders, with the help of his psychopathic partner, Roger, the busboy from the diner. Roger does all the killing, not caring about the whys of it. Sam spots a discarded sheriff jacket nearby and guesses that they killed the sheriff; the deputy admits that it was payback for not giving him his vacation time. Roger confesses that he killed his boss out of spite and Casey for rejecting his advances. He's ready to cut Dean's throat when the Ghostfacers arrive on the scene. Though they're captured, it gives Sam and Dean just enough time to escape. When they come back into the room with the Ghostfacers at gun and knife-point, the Winchesters jump them. Dean takes Roger out, intimately introducing the murderer to his own knife while Harry shoots the deputy before he can take out Ed.
Sam is almost surprised at the heinous actions perpetrated by people and not monsters. Dean reminds his little brother that "people are sick." The Ghostfacers seem to break up for good as Harry just can't get over what Ed has done, confessing he can't forgive such selfish actions. He then approaches Sam and Dean and asks them for a ride, which they allow. As they drive away, Harry remarks how long he had been friends with Ed, and how different it will be without him. The brothers then realize how similar Harry's affair is to theirs, and how much their relationship truly is falling apart.
Characters[]
Main CastEdit[]
- Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester
- Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester
Recurring Cast[]
Guest Stars[]
- A.J. Buckley as Ed Zeddmore
- Travis Wester as Harry Spangler
Co-Stars[]
- Nicholas Carella as Deputy Tom Norwood
- Giovanni Mocibob as Roger
- Maria Marlow as Betty Miles
- Ali Webb as Casey Miles
- Ben Wilkinson as Trey
- Arlina Rodriguez as Grocery Woman
Continuity[]
- Dean and Sam are still on unsettled terms after Sam finds out about Gadreel's possession in Road Trip.
- It has been roughly 6 months since the events of Sacrifice.
- Harry and Ed's tarnished relationship is meant to reflect Sam and Dean's: one does something selfish (Ed and Dean respectively), with the consequence damaging their relationship with someone close to them (Harry and Sam). Harry and Ed's splitting up could foreshadow what will happen to the brothers if they do not repair things.
Trivia[]
- The TV series Supernatural parodied Slender Man as "Thinman" in the 2014 episode of the same name.
- Ed Zeddmore and Harry Spangler last appeared in the Season 5 episode Hammer of the Gods, but were both uncredited for their appearance.
- The title of the episode is a reference to the fakelore known as "Slenderman."
- Based on Ed's story, the origins of the Thinman is the same as Slenderman. Both live in the woods, both were crowdsourced, both don't seem to have anything of a face, and both of them were posted in a "horror forum."
- When Dean is discussing Thinman's online popularity with Ed and Harry, he mentions how "the right Tibetan symbol" can create a Tulpa. This is a reference to the episode Hell House, where Ed and Harry made their first appearance.
- Harry leaving his fiancé to solve a case with Ed is very reminiscence of Sam leaving Jessica to solve a case with Dean.
Featured Music[]
- This House Is a Hotel by The Wind + The Wave
- Ghostfacers Theme Song by Christopher Lennertz and Ben Edlund
Cultural References[]
- Thinman is a pastiche of the popular internet creepypasta, Slenderman.
- While Harry is going into the woods with a video camera, he keeps talking about going deep into the woods being a place where he could lose his marbles. Both the scene and the marbles mention is a reference to the popular Slenderman web series "Marble Hornets".
- Dean refers to the Ghostfacers' vehicle as the Mystery Machine; a reference to the van used by Scooby Doo and the Gang.
- Dean: So there was no teleporting, just a couple of douchebags doing a "Scream" thing.
- Referencing the Scream movie franchise.
- Harry: Fifty Shades of whey too much protein!
- It is a reference to the erotic romance novel: Fifty Shades of Grey.
- Harry: Amazon me bitches!
- Harry is referring to the popular website, Amazon
Quotes[]
- Harry: The Winchesters. Yay.
- Ed: Says nobody.
- Harry: Ever.
- Harry: Say hola to my little pistola.
- Dean: [to Harry] Am I supposed to be impressed with that treasure trail or the lady gun you've got hiding in your pants?
- Dean: Because everything started on the Internet is true. Like the shark attacking the helicopter. All I'm saying is those douche wheels aint' experts on crap.
- Ed: [to Harry about his ex-girlfriend] Everything about that girl is complicated. She gets the cream puffs, she tells you to take out the filling. They're just puffs!
- Ed: The bedroom of a teenage girl is meant for two things: giggles and joy. Until one night, Thinman turned the giggles into blood.
- Ed: The lore says that Thinman hangs out by trees. And the woods is where trees hang out.
- Harry: Quit raining on my rainbow.
- Ed: Rainbows can't happen without rain.
- Harry: Don't try to use science with me.
- Ed: [to Thinman] It's Scooby Doo time, douchebag. Take off the mask.
