It starts with a whisper.
You’re walking home late at night, the streets unnaturally quiet, when you catch the sound of breath behind you. Not footsteps—just a low rasp, like lungs straining against the dark. You turn, but no one is there. Your pulse spikes as you remember the dare your friend made: “Say his name three times, picture him in your head, and wait.”
You laughed then, but now the silence seems to stretch too long, the shadows too deep. Somewhere behind you, something waits—a hollow thing with no face, no form, only hunger. That’s when you realize: you may have called The Empty Man, and once you’ve summoned him, he never really leaves.
Who (or What) Is the Empty Man?
The Empty Man is often described as a tall, faceless figure that stalks his victims after being summoned. The ritual usually involves finding a bottle on a bridge, blowing into it, and whispering his name. From there, the terror begins.
But what happens next depends on which version of the story you’re told.
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Urban Legend / Creepypasta Version: The Empty Man works like a curse. After the ritual, a countdown begins.
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Day One: You hear whispers, see flickering shadows, or feel like you’re being watched.
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Day Two: Hallucinations deepen — strange knocks echo in your house, objects move on their own, or you might even glimpse a tall figure in the corner of your vision.
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Day Three: The Empty Man comes. In these stories, he doesn’t just scare you — he either drives you insane, causes your death, or drags you away, never to be seen again.
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Movie Version (2020 Film): The Empty Man takes on a more cosmic horror quality. Instead of directly killing, he spreads like an infection through thought and belief. Victims become paranoid, violent, or suicidal, manipulated by visions until they destroy themselves. He is less a physical monster and more an idea — one that once planted in your mind, cannot be removed.
In both versions, one thing is clear: summoning the Empty Man is essentially a death sentence. He’s not a prank legend like Bloody Mary — he is a predator that feeds on fear, despair, and ultimately, human life.
Origins of the Legend
The Empty Man first gained traction in online creepypasta circles and horror forums in the early 2010s. Some link him to older urban legends, like Bloody Mary or Slender Man, where a ritualized “dare” conjures a malevolent entity. Others point to the 2014 Boom! Studios comic series The Empty Man and its 2020 film adaptation, which spread the story beyond internet circles.
But unlike Slender Man, who became almost meme-like, the Empty Man retained a darker, more sinister aura. His name alone—suggesting both physical hollowness and emotional emptiness—resonated with audiences. He became less a monster of the body and more a parasite of the mind, preying on existential fears of isolation, meaninglessness, and despair.
The Empty Man Ritual
Though details shift with each retelling, the core of the Empty Man ritual remains consistent: invite him, and he’ll come. Methods vary:
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The Bottle Ritual: Whisper his name into an empty bottle and leave it in an abandoned place. Whoever finds it becomes his next target.
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The Mirror Ritual: Chant his name three times in front of a mirror at night, lights off. The reflection may flicker—or vanish entirely—before the knocking begins.
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The Counting Ritual: Some versions say that after summoning him, you’ll hear three knocks on your door over three nights. Ignore them, and he’ll take your voice. Answer, and he’ll take you.
No matter the variation, the outcome is the same: once you invite him, you cannot un-invite him. The stories agree on one chilling detail—he does not stop until he has filled the emptiness inside him with yours.
Reported Encounters
Online forums are filled with eerie testimonies from those who claim to have encountered The Empty Man.
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A teenager in Missouri described finding bottles scattered in an abandoned house, each one holding whispers too faint to be from the living.
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Another post detailed dreams of a faceless figure who pressed a cold hand to the dreamer’s chest, leaving them breathless upon waking.
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TikTok videos trend periodically, with creators showing “evidence” of shadowy figures outside windows or unexplained knocks after attempting the ritual.
Skeptics argue these are nothing more than the power of suggestion—rituals feeding fear, which in turn feeds experiences. But for believers, every whisper in an empty room is proof enough.
Similar Spirits and Legends Around the World
The Empty Man doesn’t exist in isolation. He belongs to a long lineage of spirits, monsters, and myths that feed on fear, ritual, and the human mind’s fragility.
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Slender Man (Modern Creepypasta): A tall, faceless figure who stalks children and teens, first appearing in 2009 on internet forums. Like the Empty Man, his legend spread rapidly online and blurred the line between fiction and “real” sightings.
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Bloody Mary (Western Folklore): Summoned by chanting her name in a mirror, Bloody Mary is one of the most enduring examples of a ritual-based haunting. Instead of emptiness, she represents rage and blood, but the ritual framework is strikingly similar.
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La Llorona (Mexico & Latin America): Known as “The Weeping Woman,” she haunts waterways crying for her drowned children. She doesn’t hollow you out, but she does lure victims to a watery grave—another ghostly figure tied to grief and loss.
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Pontianak (Malaysia & Indonesia): A vampiric female spirit said to be the restless ghost of a woman who died in childbirth. She appears beautiful at first, but her true form is horrific—preying on men and leaving them lifeless. Like the Empty Man, she thrives on ambush and fear.
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Shadow People (Global): Dark, faceless figures reported across cultures, often seen at night in doorways or corners of vision. They share the Empty Man’s ambiguity—are they ghosts, demons, or hallucinations born of fear?
These comparisons highlight how the Empty Man bridges folklore old and new: a monster born from ritual, tragedy, and the internet’s ability to magnify myth.
The Empty Man in Pop Culture
The 2020 film The Empty Man, loosely adapted from the comic, reimagines the legend as a mix of cult horror and psychological thriller. Though it altered much of the internet version, it cemented the Empty Man’s place in pop culture. The movie introduced audiences to the idea of the Empty Man as more than a ghost—something closer to a thought-form or tulpa, brought into being by belief.
While critics were divided, horror fans noted how the film mirrored the way internet legends spread: whispers become stories, stories become rituals, and rituals become belief.
How to Survive an Encounter with the Empty Man
Urban legends rarely come with survival guides, but the Empty Man’s myth does—likely a reflection of its internet origins, where rules evolve with every retelling. If you find yourself the target of his ritual, here are the supposed “rules” to follow:
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Don’t Answer the Knocks: If you hear the three knocks, do not respond. Acknowledge him, and you’ve already given him power.
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Stay with Others: The Empty Man thrives on loneliness. Surround yourself with people—he prefers the isolated and forgotten.
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Destroy the Vessel: If you used a bottle or mirror, shatter it immediately and scatter the pieces. Some say this can sever the connection, though others claim it only angers him.
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Never Speak His Name Again: Repeating his name feeds him. Silence is your only defense.
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Don’t Think About Him: Harder said than done, but many versions agree—he only has power if you give him space in your mind.
Whether these “rules” are real or just another way the legend feeds itself, one thing is certain: once the Empty Man finds you, there’s rarely a happy ending.
Final Thoughts
The Empty Man is more than an internet monster. He’s a reflection of modern fears: loneliness, emptiness, and the way stories spread in the digital age. Like Bloody Mary in a pre-electric world or Slender Man in the early days of forums, he’s proof that the scariest thing isn’t always what we see—it’s what we believe.
So, if you find yourself staring at a bottle in the woods or a mirror in a darkened room, ask yourself: is this just a story… or is something waiting to fill the silence?
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