Two 12-year-old US girls, charged as adults and facing up to 65 years jail time for trying to stab a friend to death, were inspired by a fictional character, local media reports say.

The two pre-teens, fans of a horror story website, had planned the attack months earlier to please Slenderman, a fictional villain featured on the CreepyPasta site, according to Fox 6 Now.

The girls wanted to become “proxies” for Slenderman, according to the news site, citing court papers.

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According to the indictment, posted by to the site, one of the two girls said they wanted to kill someone to show their devotion to Slenderman.

Their victim, a fellow 12-year-old girl, was invited to stay over at the home of one of the accused on Saturday in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

She was lured into the woods and stabbed 19 times – with one cut landing just beside an artery – before being abandoned.

A bicyclist found her and helped her get to the hospital, where she was in stable condition on Tuesday.

During a press conference on Monday, the Waukesha police chief alerted parents to the dangers of the internet.

“This should be a wake up call for parents. Parents are strongly encouraged to restrict and monitor their children’s internet usage,” Chief Russell Jack said.

The two suspects, who are being held in a Wisconsin jail, are set to have their next court appearance on June 11.