Shadow People

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THIS IS NOT AT ALL REAL

"This scares me and I don't know what it is. I have been seeing them since I was a little girl. Always outta the corner of my eye a tall black shadow. I always feel like something or someone is by me. Last night I went down to my bedroom. There it was. Standing next to my dresser. I ran upstairs crying to my mom. She went down and looked saying it was only 'cause I was overtired. But I KNOW what I saw. It was so scary. I don't know what it is. I need all the help I can get!" - Jessica's cry for help, 10, January 2010.

Tales of walking Shadows come from across the world. Some of these Shadow People wander through the periphery of our lives; others stay for years. People can rarely make out features of these darker-than-night, human shaped entities other than an occasional set of blazing red eyes. Shadow People often appear dressed as a Medieval monk, wearing a fedora, or bald and sexless. These entities may simply trek through our bedroom at night never to be seen again, while others may lurk in doorways, just watching, day after day. Still others attack with energy-draining fear.

What are they?

I've studied the Shadow People phenomena for the past decade, and have come to the conclusion the term "Shadow People" is a catchall for entities that exhibit certain characteristics - but their origins can be wildly different. Through research and personal experience, I've categorized these creatures by behavior.

Benign Shadows: Shadow People that seem to travel briefly through a person's life. I saw these entities as a child. They appeared to walk with purpose through my room, never acknowledging me, and never straying from their path. I never felt an unholy fear, just the fear of watching a dark human-shaped trespasser walk past my bed.

Negative Shadows: Although these Shadow People tend to simply lurk, they are associated with a feeling of unnatural terror.

Red-Eyed Shadows: These entities are always negative, but stare at experiencers with blazing red eyes. Victims often say they feel this creature feed from their fear.

Hooded Shadows: Dressed as an ancient monk, people who encounter these Shadow People feel a deep rage bubbling behind the black cowl.

The Hat Man: This entity is the most curious. Dressed in a fedora, and sometimes appearing to wear an old-time business suit, the Hat Man appears to people in cultures across the planet.

Shadow People may be demonic entities, ghosts, inter-dimensional travelers, or other denizens of the dark realm we call the Unknown. Regardless of their label, Shadow People could very well be more than just one type of being. Brad Steiger, author of "Shadow World," has studied the paranormal for more than 50 years and agrees - there are many possible explanations for Shadow People. "I would say that experiencers are seeing all of the above and giving them/it the name of Shadow People."

Whatever these entities are, they're shocking to those who see them.

A gray sheet of clouds stretched across the sky as 12-year-old Doug ran to the corner store. "It was overcast but not raining, and in the middle of the afternoon," Doug said. The day was shadowless, and decades later he still doesn't know what he saw on his way home from the store, arms laden with food. At first, he thought it was a friend. "As I approached the corner to turn onto my street, I saw something black sticking beyond the bushes in the front of my house," Doug said. "I yelled, 'Andre,' and started running toward my driveway where the bushes are."

The dark figure wasn't his friend Andre. A black, man-shaped Shadow grew from behind the bushes in this quiet afternoon and began running toward Doug's house. "After a few steps I saw the Shadow running down my driveway toward the back yard," he said. "I ran up the driveway to the gate that leads to my back yard. I couldn't believe my eyes."