Shadow People

SHADOW PEOPLE
BY: Shelly Beard

What are shadow people? This question has been asked time and time again by people that have experienced them and those that research them.

Some researchers believe that they are extraterrestrials or beings from other dimensions as well as ghost or disincarnate spirits. Stories and experiences in regards to shadow people have been around for years. Those who experience them describe them as "Watchers" that seem to observe the person while he or she is in bed. They are also described as very tall beings usually six-and-a-half feet tall sometimes wearing a hat, coat or nothing at all.

One person I have talked to about their experience calls him "The Hat Man".

The Hat Man is the most common shadow person reportedly witnessed by numerous people during the night. Who or what is The Hat Man? Maybe we will never know. That is why there is still ongoing research into this phenomenon. Two people who have shared their experiences with me say that they have had encounters with the hat man since they were small children and still continue to see him. Another person I spoke with has only had an encounter once as a child and once as an adult. One case I worked on here recently, reported they had only experienced the shadow man while living in the home. One question I have, is why do certain people encounter him more often when some do not? Are the ones who experience him more often more sensitive perhaps to this phenomenon?

Another commonly reported shadow sighting is the hooded shadow, which has the same watching characteristics as the Hat Man, only wearing a hood.








Shadow people fall into different categories.

RoseMary Ellen Guiley has classified the different categories in her Encyclopedia of Ghost and Spirits. Pages 444-445 See below.

Bedroom Watchers: These figures are discovered standing by a bedside or in a corner of the room when a person awakens in the night. They seem to stare at people in bed, even though they have no visible eyes or facial features. Most do not behave in a threatening manner, though their presence is often terrifying. They can remain for long periods of time and when observed, disappear suddenly or melt through walls and ceilings. Some act aggressively toward people, causing choking sensations similar to the "old hag".


Shadows on walls: These figures appear suddenly as dark human outlines on walls, which detach from walls and move about rooms.

Moving Shadows: These figures appear abruptly and move quickly through a room, as thought on a mission. They come through walls and melt into walls. They may seem to pay no attention to people present or else watch them intensely. They may be seen out of the corners of the eyes or in full view.

Background Visitors: These figures usually are not seen, but are captured in photographs. They appear in backgrounds, their forms noticeable on walls, doors, and so forth.


Haunting presences: These figures appear in places known or thought to be haunted. They move about, act with intelligence, and appear and disappear suddenly They may follow people. In some cases, shadow people are associated with bad luck.


Some expierencers that I have interviewed, feel very uneasy when they encounter them, Though they have never been harmed by them they often feel like they are malevolent or negative. Some people even feel as if they are demonic in nature. However, shadow people rarely interact with the eyewitness and claims of harm or injury from them appear to be rare.



Another theory suggests that shadow people are time travelers or visitors from another world/universe. Do they come here to check on us for some reason? Are they simply curious about us? They apparently do spend a lot of time here. Why? Maybe they’re not even here at all. Is it possible that they’re simply “people” that live on another plane of existence? Could we be getting a glimpse into that parallel dimension? Perhaps we also appear as shadow people to them.

As to whether they are interdiminsional beings or ghost I can not say, since I am still collecting stories on them, but if they are ghost I believe the reason they show themselves as shadows is maybe that is the only way they can manifest themselves, like that is all the energy they can collect at that time and show themselves in that form. The reason I say this, is on one occasion my team and I were doing a preliminary of an old abandoned hospital. I was taking random pictures and upon review of my pictures I had photographed a shadow person that looked like a nurse, I did not see this shadow person she only showed up in my picture. Was it a former nurse who could only manifest as a shadow? In my personal opinion I would say yes, I believe that was all the energy she could gather at that time and that is how she appeared in my picture.

Other articles I have read mention seeing shadow people in the woods. One such place is Zombie Road (pictured right )where numerous shadow people or kids have been photographed. You can view this strange incident in the Children of The Grave Documentary. Also shadow people figures have been seen at various alleged haunted locations such as Waverly Hills and Ohio State Reformatory.



So the research into what shadow people are continue to this day and I encourage all researchers to share their theories, findings, and resources about these beings so that we may all have a better understanding as to what they are and what the phenomenon is.





Sources:

The Encyclopedia of Ghost and Spirits pages 444-445 By: Rosemary Ellen Guiley

Rosemary Ellen Guiley's website www.visionaryliving.com