The thing that makes this sorta Urban-Legend Creature thing scary, or jumpy is the familiarity but (as other people in the thread have stated) but with a certain twist, no facial features means no harder to understand what he's gonna do, the tentacles because, well tentacles, the exaggerated thinness and height, and most terrifying (at least for the hind-brain the older part responsible for fight or flight) you can't fight him and win, nor can you ever escape this hunter, you will never be safe again and he will get you.
Things like the fact he was created on the internet, and has multiple backstories, multiple modus operandi means that you don't know where he's from, what he's going to do you, and again most importantly to the hindbrain what he is. Its the same reason why children are scared of the dark. You don't know what's there, light means life, means safety means herd, means weapon, means protection, means identification of threat.
Added to the fact that he's also urban - he's found in cities. Which are safe, we band together for safety for thousands of years towns and cities are safety nets from the outside world we create our own artificial world separate from the natural world, and yeah there's the dangers of fire, disasters and disease (and to an extent war), but chances are your not going to turn into something's lunch and even places with primitive law or corrupt law means you have more chances the in the wilds and suddenly bam! No you're no longer safe cos this bastard's going to hunt you down no matter where you go. Suddenly for all the protection society is meant to offer it's become worthless.
Tbh I've always found this sort antagonist more terrifying than the more common bogeymen the ones that exist in the periphery of our psyche are all the more terrifying for lack of knowledge, and therefore lack of control and certainty. The Buffy episode Hush I found all the more terrifying (apart from the fact I was about 6 when it aired) was because of this sod:
To the point where I still scared when I watched the episode much later when I was about 14 (I am though to be fair in these matters a massive, massive wuss)
And the Eyeless man scene whilst it didn't scare me a horror film does the first time I saw it my hind brain screamed "I know this f***ing legend, its too damn familiar to just be coincidence", and then I googled it and nope, the Director made him up.
Things like the fact he was created on the internet, and has multiple backstories, multiple modus operandi means that you don't know where he's from, what he's going to do you, and again most importantly to the hindbrain what he is. Its the same reason why children are scared of the dark. You don't know what's there, light means life, means safety means herd, means weapon, means protection, means identification of threat.
Added to the fact that he's also urban - he's found in cities. Which are safe, we band together for safety for thousands of years towns and cities are safety nets from the outside world we create our own artificial world separate from the natural world, and yeah there's the dangers of fire, disasters and disease (and to an extent war), but chances are your not going to turn into something's lunch and even places with primitive law or corrupt law means you have more chances the in the wilds and suddenly bam! No you're no longer safe cos this bastard's going to hunt you down no matter where you go. Suddenly for all the protection society is meant to offer it's become worthless.
Tbh I've always found this sort antagonist more terrifying than the more common bogeymen the ones that exist in the periphery of our psyche are all the more terrifying for lack of knowledge, and therefore lack of control and certainty. The Buffy episode Hush I found all the more terrifying (apart from the fact I was about 6 when it aired) was because of this sod:
And the Eyeless man scene whilst it didn't scare me a horror film does the first time I saw it my hind brain screamed "I know this f***ing legend, its too damn familiar to just be coincidence", and then I googled it and nope, the Director made him up.
