“I just heard about this myth [that Caillou is bald because he has cancer] the other day from a friend. She was so insistent on it and it did kind of make sense as I’ve never seen or read the books before…
You know, Charlie Brown is a lot older and is pretty much bald as well yet I’ve never heard anyone claim that he had cancer.”
Hey Dale thanks for your comment. It’s interesting that you should bring up Charlie Brown and cancer.
You make a good point but there are actually a lot of people that think Charlie Brown has cancer (and there are even some “Theories” floating out there like with Caillou).
I came across quite a bit of ‘Charlie Brown has cancer’ stuff while doing research for the Caillou blog post.
Like with Caillou, kids who have cancer see that Charlie Brown is bald like them and find the idea of a beloved cartoon character having the same struggles as them comforting.
There’s a story told on Counseling.org by a person named Doc Warren about how Charlie Brown helped a boy with cancer find comfort during the fight for his life:
“Years ago I met a young man who was fighting cancer. He had his signature hat to hide the fact that he had long since lost his hair, his skin was pale and his body was frail.
He carried with him an old Charlie Brown doll.
“He’s my best friend.” The boy with cancer carried his Charlie Brown doll with him everywhere.
It was well worn and battered… He held it tightly and you could tell that it meant the world to him; it was an extension of him.
I asked him about his doll, curious as to why it meant so much to him. I was ill prepared for what he said.
He said that he saw it… when he was going through his original series of chemotherapy and when he saw the doll, those few hairs on its head he felt that he had found a friend indeed.
To him, the lack of hair meant that poor Charlie was undergoing chemotherapy: Charlie Brown was a doll to tell kids that he had survived cancer and so could they.
“Charlie Brown has no hair, why else would a kid have no hair? He has cancer like me. He’s my best friend,” he said as he rubbed on the rubber head. “Charlie Brown is how I know I will be ok.”
“
So yeah, while the belief that Charlie Brown has cancer doesn’t seem as widespread as the one about Caillou…it does exist.
And I think that both beliefs usually serve the same kind of purposes for people, especially kids with cancer.
I decided to answer this in a post because I think other people might be having the same kind of problems as you are with Slender Man.
Okay so first off Slender Man is something that’s a projection of a person’s mind. And when you “see” Slender Man it is because the fears in your mind are making the things you see in the world look like him.
A deep shadow in the road outside your house? Suddenly you see the tall form of Slender Man standing there, watching you. Hazy movement far off in the woods? Slender Man is walking at a distance, stalking.
This is because of how the character of Slender Man is written and how the stories are set up, it sticks in your mind and can change to fit any situation if you focus on it.
So I think that when you see these other beings, the scary girl and the horror game granny, walking along with Slender Man then you are seeing beings that have meaning in your mind personally. Since they are walking with Slender Man then they are probably occupying the same fear section in your mind as Slender Man.
The danger of “seeing” Slender Man in real life is that the paranoia about him can quickly snowball into a huge problem. Soon you are seeing him everywhere, and for you specifically the problem might be worse because you might start seeing the scary girl and the horror game granny as well.
I would recommend that you make a point of focusing on things that bring out positive images in your mind. Maybe there is a sport that you can really get into or a kind of music that lifts your spirits and puts you in a positive frame of mind. Seek out stories that deal with adventure and lose yourself in those story worlds.
You are right about one thing though, you shouldn’t go into the woods alone. Since it is a fearful thing for you if you are in the woods alone it’s a lot easier to get paranoid and start “seeing” Slender Man and his companions. Go into the woods only with friends or just stay home and read some adventure stories.
Anyway, hope this helps! If you have more questions or comments just write them in the comment section below and I’ll answer.
Since you are a lovely shade of brown, do you ever get mistaken for and Eskimo?
It’s funny you should ask that ’cause I get mistaken for different things depending on where I live. In Michigan lots of people would ask me if I was Indian, in Texas everyone assumed I was Hispanic, and I think here in Alaska most people think I’m Native or Eskimo. I guess I just have an ambiguous look about me or something :).
I don’t look 100% Indonesian either (well, because I’m not) so I wonder if when I’m in Indonesia if people assume I’m from a particular non-Indonesian heritage.
So I think that when you see these other beings, the scary girl and the horror game granny, walking along with Slender Man then you are seeing beings that have meaning in your mind personally. Since they are walking with Slender Man then they are probably occupying the same fear section in your mind as Slender Man.