The Rake

"As I prepare to take my life, I feel it necessary to assuage any guilt or pain I have introduced through this act. It is not the fault of anyone other than him. For once I awoke and felt his presence. And once I awoke and saw his form. Once again I awoke and heard his voice, and looked into his eyes. I cannot sleep without fear of what I might next awake to experience. I cannot ever wake. Goodbye."

- A suicide note from 1964 detailing the author's experience with the Rake.

The Rake is the titular main antagonist of the Creepypasta story of the same name. It is a humanoid creature that stalks victims when provoked and usually kills them at night out in the woods or in their houses.

Pre-1600s
According to mythology, stories of the Rake seemingly began in the early 12th century. However, most material documentation or reports have been mysteriously lost or destroyed over the years.

1691
The first recorded incident of the Rake was documented in a mariner's log dated in 1691, who traveled to the Northern United States from England. The Rake attacked the mariner in his sleep and allegedly demanded they leave, to which the mariner and his crew complied.

1880
A Spanish journal entry dated from 1880 came from an individual traumatized by the constant stalking from the Rake and was unable to sleep or relax due to being in constant fear and panic. It is unknown what happened to the author.

1964
A suicide note written before a man took his life in 1964 detailed a similar experience to the author of the journal in 1880, as constant stalking and attacks from the Rake caused the author to live in constant paranoia and fear. However, this one resulted in the victim taking his life, leaving behind two empty envelopes addressed to individuals known as William and Rose, and one loose personal letter with no envelope reading: "Dearest Linnie, I have prayed for you. He spoke your name.".

2003
During the summer of 2003, the Rake was allegedly captured on camera and sparked media interest until the creature was mysteriously blacklisted from publication, and all of the records from the event were mysteriously destroyed. Later that year, a team of researchers and investigators began collecting evidence of the Rake and archiving it, which included the aforementioned reports and the following account.

2006
An eyewitness account in 2006 came from a woman who told about her tragic encounter with the Rake. Her husband woke in the early morning, woke her up, and pointed out a humanoid creature seated at the foot of their bed. The Rake scurried up to the woman's husband and stared at him, then turned around and headed for their children's rooms.

The woman and her husband chased after it, only to find it hunched over the body of their daughter (named Clara), covered in blood and having seriously injured the child. The Rake escaped and the woman's husband got the dying girl into the car. He drove to a hospital, but ran the car into a lake on the way there, killing both himself and Clara in the accident.

The woman and her son stayed in a hotel for a while after the event, then returned home. When they did, the woman began researching the creature and discovered all she could about it, and set up audio monitors in case she could hear it. Eventually, she heard it speaking on the audio device, though she refused to share what it said. She claims that, while she has not directly seen the Rake since the incident, she knows that it has been in her room while she sleeps.

As of the time of the incident, the aforementioned investigative team gathered over a dozen material documents and reports of the Rake's existence, which they plan to publish in a book.

Appearance
The Rake appears as a pale, thin, humanoid figure, often seen as having white eyes. The Rake also has incredibly sharp claws, which is why it was dubbed 'The Rake'.

Personality
The Rake is very mysterious, but it seems to be quite sadistic, cruel, and misanthropic, preferring to stalk, torture, and then murder its victims. The Rake is not always evil, sometimes it just prances around in the wilderness, if it gets looked at or pictured it will either attack or stalk you and then kill you later. Nether the less, the Rake is still a dangerous threat who will not hesitate to slaughter anyone in a sadistic and monstrous way.

Powers and Abilities
The Rake has been alive for hundreds of years, dating back to the 17th century, proving it to be an immortal entity, it doesn't seem to be able to take physical damage, or has been attempted to be captured. The Rake is also incredibly stealthy, fast, and strong, being able to maneuver around destinations quickly without being seen and able to utilize its rake-like claws as a weapon, able to inflict massive damage to the victim.

Fictional Origin
The Rake's existence is unclear, it is rumored to have been a human at one point that was mutated and gifted immortality, which seems likely due to its humanoid appearance. It is also possible that the Rake is some kind of alien from another world or planet. It is even possible that the Rake is a proxy of the Slender Man, due to their similar skinny and human-like appearances.

Danger Level
The Rake is a feral misanthrope who will not hesitate to kill anyone who it deems to get in its way, its strength, stealth and speed allow it to get the better of humans and overpower them with ease. However, the Rake cannot teleport or fly, which would prove to be its downfall if its victim escaped to another town, city, or country. The Rake is also not hostile unless looked at or photographed. Thus scoring it a 9 on the danger level.

Trivia

 * The Rake was inspired by H.P. Lovecraft.
 * The Rake has appeared in several series' connected to the "Slenderverse", the most popular being EverymanHYBRID.
 * The Rake received two spin-off movies, one in 2017 titled "The Raking", and one in 2018 simply titled "The Rake".