A 14-year-old girl is facing charges after detectives said she set fire to her family's Port Richey house early Thursday morning.
The girl has been charged with one count of arson and two counts of attempted murder in connection with the fire, which broke out in a home on Hermitage Lane shortly before 2 a.m., officials said.
When firefighters responded, they found heavy flames and smoke pouring from the garage and through the roof of the single-story home.
Deputies said the girl lit a bed sheet on fire in the garage doused in bleach, while her mother and brother were asleep, then left the house.
The girl's mother and her younger brother made it out of the home safely.
The girl was later found at a home on Little Road, where she was taken into custody.
Detectives said the girl admitted to intentionally setting the fire after she got in an argument about chores with her family the night before.
Investigators said they determined the girl had also visited sites related to the Slender Man, a fictional character who allegedly inspired two teenage girls to attack another girl earlier this year.
The middle schooler had also been reading a violent online fiction novel called "Soul Eater."
"Theres a part in this book where characters get in a fight with each other," said Sheriff Chris Nocco. "That clicks in her mind, she decided she was going to kill her family."
Officials said they believe the girl set the fire because of the content she read.
"It's awareness to parents that there are things on the Internet that are disturbing and causing kids to lose a sense of reality," said Nocco. "It caused a horrible incident, and could have been worse. By the grace of God the family was able to live."
Neighbors and friends said they saw no signs.
"It does not even sound like this young girl," said one friend.
The girl went to Chasco Middle School where she had no record of disciplinary problems. A crisis team at the school is working to educated parents about similar fiction novels and the danger associated with them.
We are not publishing the girl's identity, as it is not known whether she will be charged as an adult.