The Mysterious Shadow People: What Are They?

This happened to me when I was little kid, dont remember the exact age. I dont remember much of the details, however I believe my dad was out of town and I was sleeping in my parents room with my mom, dont remember exactly why I was sleeping in my parents bed that night, might of had trouble sleeping or was scared of something, not exactly sure. I remember looking out into the hallway from the bed and seeing what looked like a shadow of someone on a unicycle or maybe in a wheelchair, something like that up against a wall. I dont remember it moving and I kept looking at it. My mom told me it was just a shadow, but I remember the shape of it and it seemed to "perfect" just to be a shadow. I believe I kept on looking at, maybe looking away and looking back and it was still there. I believe my mom told me a couple more times at least that it was just a shadow. I dont remember much after that, not sure if the shadow disappeared and I went to sleep or if I fell asleep before it disappeared. It was very strange, but I dont recall lots of the details exactly because of how young I was.

Perhaps it was just a normal shadow that was for some reason in a shape like that. However like I said earlier, I remember the shape seeming to be to "perfect" just to be a normal shadow.



[edit on 10-4-2010 by FoxMulder91]

I started meditating before bed because it allowed me to remember and stay conscious during the hypnogogic stage of early sleep, which I was studying at the time. Unfortunately, it also brought on certain "side effects", namely shadow people.

Over a period of a couple of months, I saw shadow people quite frequently. Initially, I was overwhelmed by fear, but in retrospect, I believe that was just an instinctual fear of the unknown. Once I became used to seeing them, I never got that feeling of fear, only curiosity.

As for their behavior, they would just freeze like a deer caught in the headlights. I could see them as long as I didn't move too much, but if I sat up, they would disappear after a couple of seconds. I tried to use that couple of seconds to tackle them a couple of times. The first time it was gone before I got to it, the second I passed right through it and it was gone when I turned around.

Another time there was one standing at the foot of my bed, and I lunged at it and tried to hit it with a back hand swing. The thing actually jumped backwards and seemed genuinely surprised. It's self preservation instinct makes me think that they do possess physical bodies somewhere, otherwise why would it react to my swing? Perhaps I can't touch them in shadow form, but I took it by surprise and I think it momentarily forgot it was invulnerable to my attacks. Incidentally, they didn't react at all to my slow lumber charges.

Unfortunately, the shadow people weren't the worst of it. During that same period I was meditating before bed, I encountered something worse, although not as frequently as the shadow people. It was nothing I could see, but a presence I could most definitely feel, usually in the far corner of my room. If the feeling of malevolence shadow people give off is like a candle, then this thing was like the sun.

Never have I experienced such an intense malevolence and hatred. I'm 6 feet, 200 pounds, and brave enough to try to tackle the shadow people, but this presence left me cowering underneath my blankets like a small child. Even after it was gone, I was afraid to get out of bed for 20-30 minutes.

I only mention that bodiless entity because I associate it with the shadow people, or at least they both started showing up at around the same time.

Anyways, that was too much for me, and I stopped meditating before bed. Haven't seen either since.

[edit on 11-4-2010 by The Cusp]

I'm too late to edit my last post, but I wanted to mention that the times I would see them was when I would wake myself up from the hypnogogic state so that I could record the imagery in my DJ. Hypnogogic halucinations are notoriously difficult to remember otherwise. It's at those time I would see the shadow people.

I did consider that it was some kind of dream I was seeing, but if that were the case, then I should be able to have some measure of control over them. I had enough opportunities to try controlling and influencing them, it just didn't work. Plus dreams don't account for consistency of their appearance or behavior. If they were creations of the individual's mind, then there should be differences, and that just doesn't seem to be the case.

A buddy of mine encounters them all the time, he sees the little ones and the tall lanky guy. His sister once walked into his bedroom to find the tall lanky shadow standing by his head watching him sleep.

i cant believe other people have experienced these people, i used to call them guardians.
only saw them from about 5-13yrs old. they used to watch me sleep, most of the time i would wake up to them, there were 3 of them they each stood around me 2 at my sides and one at the end of the bed, one was the leader or head of the group, they were only shadows, now faces, but full figures, seemed like they wore full bodied hooded cloaks. if i woke up and was startled and jumped up they would vanish, if i lay in bed and didnt do anything they would stick around, although i rarely saw them move. i used to have an abussive brother, there were 2 occasions were they gripped his neck in his sleep, he said he had a great weight on his chest and couldnt breath. they never hurt me, i felt comfortable with them, they left me when my brother was kicked out of home, havent seen them since.

they are good... beings? i guess you would call them beings. treat them with respect if you encounter them, and send my thanks.

Originally posted by Noxaran
This is simply something made up to throw conspiracy sheeple off the track of real phenoms, sorry, its just smoke.

That's hilarious. So, you don't believe that their could be anything like described, meaning that you don't have any experience with it and yet, You somehow "KNOW" without ANY experience that such a thing does not exist.

Good luck convincing people who HAVE had experience that you are right, just because you say so.

You can say "show me the proof they exist" and I'll say "show me the proof they don't". Neither of us will have solid proof, but at least for the "they are real side" we have witnesses, for the "not real side", all we have are assumptions based on nothing more than an opinion.

All that said, true it may be nothing more than tricks of the eyes, brain, whatever, it's a discussion on peoples experiences and what they think it means. I can't say "they certainly exist" anymore then you can flat out say "it's just smoke"

My friend told a story that his family was working around with voodoo or some sort of black arts activities when him and his sister saw a dark entity in the corner of their kitchen. The lights were out, and it was almost pitch black in the kitchen aside from a few candles. They said it was in a shadow but it was darker than dark. It was like a shade darker than pitch black...however that works but I believe it. He said it stuck it's hand out and motioned with it's finger, the universal "come here" motion with one finger. It sounded creepy and he had a really hard time talking about it. His sister still cries about it so he says. Definitely not something I would like to come across alone. I really feel sorry for anyone who does...

I'm a religious man a believer in YHWH before i begin.

Now i had move out of the city into the countryside of portsmouth specifically arundel. I was walking home from a party, and as i looked at the bush's i saw shadows of people at first i thought it must be people, but something was wrong. There was no bodies with these shadows! I stood petrified not knowing what to do and i remember one shadow looking at me and trying to approach me. At the moment i said this "i am a believer in jesus, what can any spirit do to me" i chanted it louder and suddenly i could move! Now with that incident i blamed the alcohol but here's the funny part. I was due to start work at 6 it was dark and i was walking and guess what ? There they was again! But this time i wasn't scared!

reply to post by SimpleTruth


I have had my own experience with Shadow People, or rather person It was one Sunday, when I was doing a roast dinner for tea. I knew my husband was in the front room, which is just off the kitchen near the front door of our little flat. I was bent over checking the chicken and batter puddings, when I saw a shadow of a man's pair of legs go past me towards the spare room. I didn't see the legs of my husband, but a shadow of a pair of legs walking past the kitchen. Some time later, my husband and I had been in the city centre getting our shopping and visiting our local PDSA charity shop for some furniture. When we returned our neighbour and somebody else we knew claimed that somebody was in the property, as they could see them in the hall near the door. They couldn't make out any features, but saw them going from room to room. They are real, but I think they are interdimensional. Hence, they appear as shadows in our reality.

New member here. I just want to share my experience.
It was about 5 years ago. I had just laid down in bed to go to sleep. After turning the lights off, I pulled the covers to go to sleep and noted a corner of the room darker than ususal. I dismissed it and attempted to go to slumber, then a shadow started to move. I again, dismissed it and then it began to darken the room more as it moved around. It did not have any shape, but was just a dark cloud of such. I became completely immoble, unable to speak, nor move in any way. The shadow took full control, moving about the room at it's will. It then came in front of my face, unable to move, I starred at it... It was the most horrible sight I have ever seen, nor ever wanted to see. As I peered into it visually, it became a dark black blob, of which it became a color of black darkness that I did not realize could exist within the color spectrum of Black. To add to the indescibable color, I felt this further feeling of hate, evil and darkness within the far corners of lonliness that I thought could ever be felt. Trying to scream was nor move was not an option. I prayed very hard and wished this vile thing to go away. It did not. It sat there, stared back at me and took control of my every attempt to escape. I began to get angry and prayed further.... it then,so I felt, physically went into my head, and I felt like I was falling backwards towards infinity with residual paralysis, then I got up instantly. Stood up immediately, if a full sweat, and ran to another room.
I did not sleep that night, nor much for the next week, and very little for the following month or so.
I had a room-mate at the time who was visiting family in the UK during this experience, and after her arrival back she commented that there was something wrong. After disclosing this event, she frantically went about blessing and cleaning the house.
I have only told about this to a friend in Houston, who has since passed away. He was a very devout 'christian' and told me never to speak of this event to anyone, as it was something I was to be a "witness of".
Of what?
Nothing in my life has ever scared me more than this!
I have never had night terrors, do not do drugs and feel that I am emotionally, mentally and psychologically stable.
To this day, I have not seen any shadows in my room.
To this day, I want to know.... What the hell was that? or, Who the hell was that? Someone, please comment. Thanks!

In my family, my younger siblings and I used to see them when we were small. My house is about 80 years old and we're next to a church we used to attend, but don't anymore because of certain factors it would take too long to explain.
I was the one who saw most of them, but all of us were terrified of the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom. I think there have been at least two experiences in any of those rooms, and even some downstairs more recently, like whatever it is is leaching into the first floor.
Anywho, the earliest experience I remember was when I was in, like, the first half of elementary school. My family at the time numbered 6, including parents. I was the last kid awake, like I usually was, because everyone else had disciplined bedtimes and were heavy sleepers.
When I was about to start going up the stairs, I saw what I thought was my little brother's head peeking out from the room off to the left. All I could see was the silhouette and I was confused by that. His head didn't move, and it looked rather big from my perspective, and as I studied it further, it seemed to resemble a balloon shape... and too big to fit my little brother's body proportion.
I couldn't make out any eyes, smiling, or features at all, but it appeared to be 2D and 3D at the same time, and very short.
Well, my dad came by at the moment, and asked me why I hadn't gone up to bed yet, and I wanted to know where Alejandro was sleeping...he was actually snoozing on the couch with the only other person who could've been what I saw: my littler brother, Xavier.
As I processed this, my dad was becoming irate because of my disobedience, so I checked to make sure it was still there...I could still feel it there...and was forced to run upstairs lest I face my dad's punishments.
I ran to my own bedroom, which I always share with someone, but today was empty. I locked the door and said some muddled prayers I half-remembered from my mom, but it didn't dissipate the feeling of fear that was radiating from behind the door, as if it were standing there.

and yeah, I still lock my bedroom door at night.

But these shadow people... I do not wish to mess with them or invoke them or whatever in any way.

All they've ever done to my sibs is run past their bed right before they go to sleep, or camp out in the middle of the room between the two beds, or screw with them while they were taking baths(still happens to me and my second sister). They just want to prank on us and make us pee ourselves for their entertainment, it seems.

Also, they can be a little perverted, because something likes to tug on the shower curtain when I'm in there, and makes the lights dim/gray, and turn the air cold, until I'm shouting to myself to "Stop that right now!", "Respect my privacy!" and "I have a zero-tolerance policy on that!" Until my mom comes in and asks me if I'm doing drugs.

They're kind of pigging out on my fear.

As a side note, I've had a few episodes of panic attacks, and very interesting instances of sleep paralysis. Here's a drawing I made of one of the more recent experiences I've had:
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/29da0aa6cbf1.jpg[/atsimg]
Note the four little bumps, or horns, on top of the thing's head. It was very clearly 2 dimensional, but the horns were in focus.
(I had my glasses off; their prescription is 46=16, which means everything is blurry, but the horns were actually very clear to me.)
[edit on 5/16/2010 by Elaethyr]

[edit on 5/16/2010 by Elaethyr]

[edit on 5/16/2010 by Elaethyr]

I hadn't really noticed the shadow people since I was younger, until a few weeks ago. I was downstairs with some friends, and upon entering the room, I saw a figure dash out of sight and vanish. I don't believe the others saw it, but it really put me on edge. On thursday, I witnessed other, and on the proceeding two nights, I've had incredibly vivid, and strangely coherent dreams in which I've seen them. The latest sighting was only a few minutes ago at around 8 PM when I headed down stairs. As soon as I turned the lights on, I noticed a transluscent figure in the corner of the room (in direct view) that quickly faded away, leaving a distinct image burned into my retina. The figure was around 3-4 feet high, oval shaped head (or where the head would be) thick-ish neck, and what looked like a cylindrical body.

Here's a pretty picture to illustrate.

reply to post by Amanita93


Uh... Apparently the picture does not work for me, because the school computer is not displaying it.
Can you check the link thingy again please? :3

reply to post by Elaethyr


Well, it's a pretty lousy drawing on my behalf, but hopefully this illustrates just what was going on.

Thank you for the link!
Unfortunately, I'm back on the school computers and have forgotten how to circumvent their system that blocks pages. Your link is being blocked.
I know I have to do something to it... something about bookmarking it so it can be accepted?...
But I'm not sure.

I could have swore I already posted in this thread. After going through all the pages, I guess I was wrong.

When I was 4 I used to share a bedroom with my mother. While I was lying there (before she went to bed) I would see a figure come out of the corner of the room. It was blacker than black if that makes any sense. The room was usually pitch black (my mom wouldn't let me have a nightlight) and this figure was always clearly visible. It would stroll over to my bed (almost appearing to move in slow motion) and just stand there, for hours (till my mom came in)!! Never did anything, never tried to hurt me, it just stood there. I always ducked under the covers, taking a peek every now and again to see if it was still there.

This happened every night from the time I was 4 till I was 8 years old. It happened so many times that it was forever burned into my memory. I never saw it again after that, and I'm extremely happy about that.

I'm happy to see that others have had similar experiences. All of a sudden I don't feel so crazy anymore.

I've told this story to a few people over the years. They've never believed me. Who would really?

[edit on 26-5-2010 by DaMod]

reply to post by Elaethyr


What kind of blocking system do they use? I know my way around a few of them.

Also @DaMod. I believe you man, after having some of these experiences, I know how genuinely difficult it is to convince people of your story since it just sounds so ubelievable. Their loss I guess. Some people would rather blunder on through life, sheltered from anything unusual,

Deleted double post. That was weird.

[edit on 27-5-2010 by Amanita93]

I am only recounting what I was told, and I did not witness this event, so please don't shoot the messenger. I am an open-minded skeptic, and am not asserting any facts regarding this one way or another other than that this is what I was told, and that I was on the phone with this person at the time, and can attest to how frightened and disturbed they sounded.

About two weeks ago, a close and trusted friend of mine (who as a young child, along with his brother, used to have recurring nightmares and waking dreams of "shadow people" at the feet of their beds) said that he was hearing strange noises in his hallway. Initially he heard a strange, high-pitched voice that he couldn't make out. He thought about opening the door to look, and at that moment he began to hear scraping sounds against his bedroom door. He immediately opened the door and looked around, but everyone in his house - including their pet cat - was sound asleep. He began to feel extremely uneasy and remained so for much of the night.

A few nights later, he heard the strange voice again. It was coming from the kitchen. He ventured out to take a look, and saw nothing unusual. However he suddenly heard a footstep behind him, and as he quickly turned around, he saw what he described as "another shadow, quickly 'running' into my own as if trying to hide before I saw it."

He tried to recreate the effect, thinking that it must have been a double shadow caused by a second light source, diffusion, etc. but no matter how he stood or where he positioned himself, he could not recreate the effect.

So far nothing else strange has happened.

[edit on 5/27/2010 by AceWombat04]

reply to post by AceWombat04


Ewww... that's creepy. Whatever it is/was, a shadow runnning into another shadow is just...
I would like to see that adapted into a movie!!
And it made noises too...
All of my shadow people do not make their own noises. They're pretty much silent... unless they mess with something solid or move stuff around.
My experiences are more visual. I'd be twice as freaked if there was sound involved!!

[edit on 5/27/2010 by Elaethyr]