Shadow Men

Blink and you’ll miss them. Shadows on the wall, watching you while you slumber. Don’t worry, it’s probably just aliens!

Now, I’m sure you are probably thinking: “Wait. Aren’t Shadow Men just spirits? Shouldn’t you just have mentioned them in the ‘Ghosts’ category?” While I understand your confusion, the answer is no. Shadow people, more commonly referred to as Shadow Men, are a completely different batch of lore and coincidentally a whole different kind of alien. These new extraterrestrial connections do share some threads with their ghostly friends, however, so it might be a good idea to check out my previous article on ghosts.

Shadow men are a pretty popular folk lore tale. So popular, in fact, that they have inspired a whole mess of spin offs (Slenderman, for example). While many countries and even ancient religions have their own shadow men, the stories we know are actually a much newer invention. Ancient religions saw shadow men as spirits, demons, or even hungry ghosts. Since, I’ve already covered those topics, I want to focus on the more recent invention of Shadow Men. More specifically, the tale of The Man with the Wide Brimmed Hat.

He is patient zero when it comes to Shadow Men. Tracing each different subset of lore always comes back to him. He seems to be the complete origin story.

Many people report him coming around during times of stress, or in their bedrooms while living through a bout of sleep paralysis. They can’t see his face. He wears a long coat and seems to float over the ground. He is more commonly found in basements but has been seen in other household rooms as well. He also seems to haunt whole families. When one member begins seeing him, usually other members begin have sightings of him as well. It’s heavily debated whether he is good, evil, or neutral but the consensus is, he gives off a real heebee-jeebee vibe for sure. You can read more about the lore and sightings of this man here.

While most people credit Art Bell, the host of Coast to Coast AM, with making Shadow Men popular in 2001, the story is a little older. Sixteen years older to be exact. The ‘Hat Man’, ‘Man with the Wide Brimmed Hat’, or simply The Shadow Man was the center of a segment in the Revamp of The Twilight Zone in 1985. It features a shadow man that lives under a boys bed and emerges at night to attack tweens. I’m not sure where Rockne S. O’Bannon got his inspiration for The Shadow Man episode but he seems to be the earliest instance of this phenomenon in the live stream.

The problem is though, that people have seen this man before. Thousands of people can’t really be lying, can they? I’ve even known some people personally that have seen The Hat Man, and I have had run ins myself with shadow people when I was younger. His story has to have root somewhere, even if the internet is convinced that he is just a made up tale floating around on creepypasta. I’m here to tell you that I am convinced I’ve found the seed that started it all, his name is Papa Legba, and he is an extraterrestrial (or race of special extraterrestrials).

Papa Legba is a Loa in Haitian Vodou. He has been around for ages. More importantly, he is an inter-dimensional being with a wide brimmed hat. Sound familiar yet? Papa Legba is the gatekeeper to the spirit world in his religion. He can speak any language, and only he alone can open the door to the otherside. It’s said that if you wish to commune with spirits or perform rituals, you must first make an offering to Legba for that to be possible.

It is also said that he is not hard to please but he is a playful spirit. He loves jokes and riddles and will often make people look like fools (in the fun way). It’s easiest to just laugh along with Papa Legba because he doesn’t mean harm by it.

Now, if we strip away the folk lore from Papa Legba he is essentially:

• A human looking man that can shift between incorporeal and corporeal
• can travel between many or all of the dimensions
• can be seen at any time he desires by humans stuck in the first four dimensions
• can be an intermediary to communicate with other dimensions

Like most people with power, Legba expects and deserves respect for the things he is able to do for humans. This is an extraterrestrial being that actually enjoys being involved in human affairs. There are countless stories from folks about their experiences with him from many walks of life, not just those who practice Vodou.

If we overlay stories of Papa Legba with those of The Hat Man, they begin to show a pattern. As I said before, The Hat Man usually appears to people who are going through times of great stress. Papa Legba is a crossroads spirit that helps people change their lives for the better. It’s entirely possible that he is simply watching over you, either in the hopes you will come to him for a change or to simply see how you fare in your situation. Either way, he is probably the most interesting inter-dimensional being I’ve had the pleasure of researching.