The Hat Man phenomenon; what are shadow people?

[McFucks]

There are a large amount of people who experience sleep paralysis and recall seeing “shadow figures” sometimes they see a shadowy figure with a hat on. The stories often share some similar tropes.

- The person who spotted them was feeling a mix of fear, anger, and sadness at that moment.

- Occasionally, there was a noise that sounded like people whispering along with the shadow figure.

- The shadow figure appeared to be more solid than a typical "ghost," but you couldn't see any details.

My theory is schizophrenia and sleep deprivation, or MK ultra conditioning meant to drive people insane.

 

[baqqrih]

I've heard before that this figure also appears when people take severe amounts of Benadryl.

 

[Cortex]

or MK ultra conditioning meant to drive people insane.

I don’t think so. Sightings of shadow people have existed since the Native Americans. Like the Stovepipe Hat Bigfoot from the Tall Man Spirit in Lakota lore.

 

[Dawood]

It's me, I just wear a hat because I'm nonchalant and lowkey don't give a frick

 

[Seraphim]

I don’t have much to add, but I find it curious how 4chan tries to memory hole this.

 

[nagolbud's #1 Fan]

Thats just a negative entity trying to scare you from to keep you from astral projection. Its not allcthe same being. This is common when you get started on astral projection 9nce youcdont allow them to control your fear, you can do anything because humans can think amd create in the astral realm and kill them by just thinking you have a gun and shoot the Fag man

 

[Spas]

If I were to get a bit faggy and boring about it I'd say it could be a case of mass hysteria. Perhaps a few people had a vision of this "black figure with a hat" due to some shared preconceptions or experiences. Black figures or "shadow people" are a somewhat common and intuitive trope that people could dream up/hallucinate on their own. Hats also carry a certain connotation, so a number of people could've definitely independently dreamt up of this specific shadowy figure and shared their experiences online, the uncanny similarity between them or what not. At this point it would enter the mass consciousness and pop culture, and from there the idea would infect minds and this entity would "manifest" itself in other people, and people would start ascribing identity and patterns to an impersonal phenomena.
It could also be a demon or something, really no way to confirm either way

 

[panchito]

I don’t think so. Sightings of shadow people have existed since the Native Americans. Like the Stovepipe Hat Bigfoot from the Tall Man Spirit in Lakota lore.

 

[Cortex]

At this point it would enter the mass consciousness and pop culture, and from there the idea would infect minds and this entity would "manifest" itself in other people, and people would start ascribing identity and patterns to an impersonal phenomena.
It could also be a demon or something, really no way to confirm either way

You can apply this to cryptozoologists, too.