Distortion

Distortion occurs when the audio and/or video suddenly loses clarity and may become almost impossible to hear or see. One of the earliest examples of this phenomenon is in the Marble Hornets footage. Usually, distortion will occur when the Slender Man is nearby or approaching. The masked figure seen in Marble Hornets footage known as Masky (and theorized to be synonymous with ToTheArk) is also capable of causing shorts in both audio and video.

Video

 * Cameras have been known to spontaneously start and stop.
 * White noise interference may suddenly fill the frame and block out the image.
 * The video may seem to "rip", "skip" or "tear".
 * Color tone, brightness and contrast may change dramatically.
 * Color depth may be reduced, and severe pixelation may also occur.
 * Images may become imprinted on both analogue and digital media that were not knowingly filmed.

Audio

 * White noise interference may also overwhelm the audio track.
 * Large portions of audio may become missing, garbled, reversed or replaced.
 * Voices may become excessively resonant and impossible to discern.
 * Audio may be sped up or slowed down dramatically.

Causes of Distortion
It has been discovered that distortion occurs primarily in the presence of the Slender Man. Because of this, the presence of distortion is often viewed as circumstantial evidence for the Slender Mans involvement in a case. In some cases, distortion can potentially be traced to other sources, such as Proxies. In these cases, it is difficult if not impossible to prove that the Slender Man is not nearby.

Some theories which have developed to explain why the Slender Man causes distortion include; None of these theories can be firmly proven or disproved at this time.
 * The Slender Man may produce a strong magnetic field.
 * The Slender Man may be extra-dimensional in nature.
 * The Slender Man may be a product of the human mind, and the distortion as well.
 * The Slender Man may be a digital entity who uses distortion to interact with the physical world.