What Are Shadow People?
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I'm a sucker for ghost stories.
"Ghost Hunters," the popular Sci Fi Channel series starring a crew of paranormally inclined plumbers is one of my favorite TV programs, even though hardly anything ever happens on that show.
I think that's partly why I like it. It's clear that the guys doing the investigating just really enjoy what they are doing, and while they seem to have stumbled onto a winning formula with the TV series, it never feels like they are inventing anything to grab viewers.
Quite the opposite: The team on "Ghost Hunters" always tries to debunk every thump and disembodied voice, and when they finally do come up with evidence they feel is compelling, it usually isn't. I mean, it's compelling to them. For the rest of us it's more like, well, OK. Maybe. But we're happy for them because we just participated in the whole escapade and we like them, now we have a little something to take with us.
Let's do it again!
The fun in the show "Ghost Hunters" is due in large part to how likable those plumbers are, how ordinary and recognizable they are (they could be our plumbers!), and to the fact that their televised investigations allow us to vicariously stumble around in the dark looking for ghosts without actually having to stumble around in the dark looking for ghosts. (I can never stay awake that long.)
So when the Sci Fi channel ran the fairly incoherent and overwrought documentary Children of the Grave right before the Fourth of July weekend, I watched it (of course!) but I was instantly annoyed.
First of all, what a bunch of drama queens. Second of all, dead orphans? OMG. Ever heard of taste? Third of all, stop telling me to be scared, I'll decide when that happens, OK?
It did happen though, near the end of that (truly awful) film when they got into an investigation of the urban legend of 'Zombie Road' Missouri, home to a whole legion of what has come to be known in paranormal research circles as 'shadow people.'
Shadow people are dark, humanoid-shaped figures that are generally seen out of the corner of a person's eye but will sometimes show up in photographs. Often shadow people show up on thermal imaging scans as person-shaped 'cold spots' (the dark parts of a thermal scan).
With the recent popularity of ghost hunting teams and paranormal research shows, 'shadow people' have been seen more and more often straight on (instead of out of one's peripheral vision), and have been photographed more and more often as well.
The photo above is from Children of the Grave and purports to show a whole army of shadow people atop an isolated ridge at dusk on Lawler Ford Road (AKA "Zombie Road") outside Glencoe, Missouri. Photos of ghosts can be easily faked, but I confess, I found this one frightening and kind of upsetting.
I think the photo looks like it could easily be a fake, and the research team that saved it for the finale of their movie strikes me as not only capable of faking a photo of a haunting, but likely to do so if there might be some money involved.
Even so, I think it's a really scary picture, and I don't react that way to very much in the realm of the paranormal. I tend to trust the specific type of intuitive emotional reaction I had to this photo, as woo-woo as I know that sounds.
In short, I think there is something to the whole 'shadow people' phenomenon, whether these guys actually caught any on film or not.
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Shadow people seem to have mass and they seem to be associated with extreme cold.
Mass and temperature are both physical properties, something in woefully short supply when it comes to paranormal phenomena and paranormal research. So I would think you could actually 'prove' these things were real, (if they are), rather readily, should you decide to make the efford. (Not like anyone is attempting that, but it would be nice if they would.)
If you shine a laser light at a shadow entity, the light stops, as if it has hit a solid mass. Likewise, when such entities pass through laser lights on their way to somewhere eise, they interrupt them, as if they are solid, even when they aren't visible to the naked eye.
(In other words, sometimes a camera or thermal imaging device will catch them even though the eye doesn't and they still behave as if they have mass).
The fact that they show up on thermal imaging equipment as dark humanoid (and sometimes animal) forms is interesting too. Researchers who have been able to capture them on film often report a rapid drop in temperature just before the photo was taken.
Weird details about shadow people include the fact that they are often seen wearing hats (a fedora type hat--I told you it was a weird detail) or cloaks. Sometimes, when they are witnessed face-on, they are seen to have red eyes.
Shadow people are also commonly encountered during hypnogogic and hypnopompic sleep states: the brief periods just before falling asleep and just before fully waking, when the mind is active but is in between full consciousness and true sleep.
People who experience sleep paralysis (a medical condition during which people feel conscious but are unable to move, and which is associated with hynogogic and hypnopompic states), often report encounters with dark human shaped forms that for all practical purposes sound like shadow people.
Such encounters are typically terrifying. During sleep paralysis, shadow entities are experienced as menacing, and the level of fear experienced by the paralyzed person is off the charts. This is not always the case when shadow people are witnessed in a conscious state.
I myself lived in a house for several years that seemed to be home to several such entities. At least half a dozen people witnessed them without being told they were there, and weirdly, one of the 'shadow people' seemed to be a 'shadow cat.'
We all saw this cat, or rather, what appeared to be the shadow of a cat, usually darting down the basement stairs or across the kitchen. At the time, we had no cat. People would come over and mention our cat, and we'd look at each other and get a little creeped out. It happened all the time.
Often, in this same house, we heard children playing. No children lived there. If we were in the basement we heard them upstairs. If we were upstairs we heard them in basement. If we heard them outside and we went outside and found no children.
One of the strangest things I have ever witnessed in person happened at this house. I was sitting at the kitchen table talking with my ex-husband about this phenomena, lamenting the fact that we had no way of really understanding what it was and no one to ask about it, and wishing we had some kind of proof we could take somewhere for analysis.
As a said that, a large dark shadow flew out of a mirror next to the back door and rushed through the house and out the front door. It clattered as it moved, not exactly like wings but not exactly like metal either, but it definitely was flying. It was opaque, dark, loud, and very visible, but it was also quickly gone.
I looked at my ex, and neither of us said anything for a minute. Then he said, "Did that really just happen? Did you just see that?'
"Um, yeah," I said.
At which point we both kind of freaked out.
The mirror was between the back door and the basement stairs, in roughly the same place people often saw the shadow cat.
I don't know. I don't really have any answers. A lot of weird things happened in that house. None of them were harmful or dangerous. Lots of people saw them. Eventually I divorced my ex and moved to another state. He moved to another house. So we never really got any answers. But I still wonder about it.
I can tell you the 'thing' that flew out of the mirror did not look like a passing car or anything 'iffy': It was pretty dramatic. It was a big black thing, opaque, noisy, moving very fast.
Now it's just a story. Which is maybe what shadow people are too.
I'm not so sure.
What do you think?
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Comments
Hi getpaidtopost--Have you posted that here at Hub Pages? Gosh, I'd love to see that! I hope you write about it and put it up. Thanks for commenting!
EXACTLY...it's that they seem skeptical throughout the whole process that makes the show for me. And I always respond to people that obviously enjoy their work in a positive way! Great hub.
Ah so you did make a hub out of it. Good! Ever wonder if they are in another dimension such as us, but they show up as dark and cold. Do you ever wonder if they see us in that same way?
I love this hub--I am a Ghost Hunters fanatic, I admit--so I thoroughly enjoyed reading your thoughts and opinions on the paranormal!
I watched "Children of the Grave" also, and felt the same way you did about it...but I guess when you watch Ghost Hunters, and see how quick they are to de-bunk stories, you tend to be a little suspicious of others who don't even try...at least I am, anyways! :)
Your story is fascinating, and while I've never witnessed such a thing myself, I completely believe that you saw something "otherworldly", for lack of a better word...
Thanks for such a great hub!
I have experienced hypnopompic state encounters which I put down to my subconscious working overtime, but I did feel someone touch my ankle through the covers, as if to shake me awake. I did not see anything, but the touch was so real I find it difficult to believe no one was there.
The stories about your old house are fascinating. Thanks for writing about this topic.
I used to share a house with an old boyfriend some twenty years ago. One night I dreamed that the bed had lifted up, and was floating around the room. I told him about my dream in the morning, and we checked the carpet. The bed had definitely moved two or three inches to the right, as there were fresh indentations where the bed had been standing previously. I never saw shadow people in that house, but I definitely have seen them out of the corner of my eye on many occassions. Very spooky.
Hi! Great hub! I don't know if I've seen shadow people or not in a conscious state, but I have had dreams on occasion where I saw just the black outline of a human form.
I also know of one person who saw a ghost, not as an apparition, but as a shadow cast by a streetlight outside. There was no person or object standing in front of the light, but the shadow outline was there and it was of a person she knew who was no longer living at the time she saw the shadow.
Another person claimed that she'd been reincarnated, and could give dates and events from her past life that did mesh with what history said. I trust both of these people so I know that these two cases are true.
For this reason, while I don't believe every UFO and paranormal story, I do know some are true and even though I may not have proof, I don't dismiss all accounts automatically.
While I haven't watched Ghosthunters, I do give them more credence and, if they do come across something that says they've indeed found a ghost, or very strong evidence of one, I'm much more likely to believe them as a result of their approach to the subject.
I do believe your account, as I also take personal accounts like yours more seriously than I do from shows and movies that try to 'sell' people on belief. And from what you've written, Ghosthunters is not that type of show.
Again, great hub!
I'm so glad you wrote this. I hung on every word! Now, I'm feeling a little freaked out and it's the middle of a bright, sunny morning. Glad I didn't read this at night!! You may recall the shadow people in the movie "Ghost" - they come to take the character, 'Willie Lopez' to whatever nasty place slimy guys like him go to. I remember that scene really freaking certain people out because those figures were a little too familiar-looking to them. I've heard of them harassing addicts of hard drugs pretty heavily, with more of the menacing behavior you mentioned. In any case, I am sure they exist - whatever they are. My curiosity goes wild wondering about it, but I may be too chicken to pursue something like that very far! Fantastic hub!!!
Hi consultjr--That show is so addictive isn't it? And it seems that people either love it right away or totally 'don't get it'. My sweetie 'doesn't get it' and I know other couples who are the same way, one addict, one 'doesn't get it.' It's OK. I love it, and it's harmless. Thanks for stopping by! :0
Lady Guinivere--HI! Yues I did hub it up, thanks for the link. I embedded it in the hub. I do wonder if they are insome other dimension and see us too.That comes up a lot. I My gut instinct is that they 'follow' people and/or objects around. I think the mirror was the key at our house. My ex was a big collector of weird old objects, and that was one of them.
Tam Cor--Thanks for your thoughts on this. I'm gald to hear you had to same reactions to "Children of the Grave." I thought those guys were too, too cheesy, especially the director, but I did learn a lot about orphans in the 19th century and will probably do some more research and a hub on that eventually, so it wasn't a total loss, just a disappointment.
Teresa--I have experienced sleep paralysis too, and it truly is creepy. Have lots of thoughts about it, too many to list in comments, but there is a really interesting book about it that was written by a famous folklorist--can't recall his name. Now I think I have another hub cookin'... thanks!
Amanda--What a cool story. Weirdly, moving beds, being grabbed in bed. feeling someone sitting on the bed, or having the becovers pulled off you while in bed are all common haunting experiences. Maybe it relates to the sleep states, I don't know, but it's fascinating. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Hi myway--I'm with you, I don't dismiss these accounts automatically either. I think there is something to many of these phenomena and the challenge is separating the wheat from the chaff in terms of evidence and then looking for patterns and just following where they lead. Usually 'researchers' start with a preformed explanation and then look for evidence that support what they already think, but if you just take down the stories (like folklorist would) without judging, you are left with elements of genuine experience. Maybe no explanation, but you can distill the thing down and separate oout narrative elements from experiential elements. Thanks for your thoughts. :)
Roo Bee--Thanks for reading this. Sorry to spook you! I kind of felt the same way about these photos. They are definitely creepy at a higher level than most. I do remember that scene in "Ghost" now that you mention it, and I have heard of people being 'stalked' by these things too. Makes you wonder what's up with that for sure.
Why does this spook people so much? (Pun intended.) Does anyone with eyes open really believe that this is the only level of existence? that it's all over when we "die"? I believe we do not see what you call "shadow people" more often because of the bias almost all of us hold about death. A bias we have instilled in each other. But spend time with your children (especially before the age of 7) and ask them about their playmates that we can't "see".
Steve has a point. My daughter had a playmate when she was five up until she was seven. She said that it was her cousin who was born around when she was seven. He is my only sister's son. She is also my only other sibling so there were no maybes about it.
Hi Steve--I'm not really spooked by ghosts or much of anything else paranormal, I just thought these photos had an ominous feel. I completely agree with you and am convinced people are just trained out of seeing this stuff around age 5 or 6. Kids pick up what they are 'supposed' to see by then, and for most, the other stuff fades into the background and soon isn't even a memory. I've thought about writing a hub on how to do a 'reading' of a person or place, and honestly, the first step is that you just have to have absolute confidence that you CAN. If you think you can, 9 times out of 10 you will indeed get visual or auditory information or sometimes spontaneously 'know' things that turn out to be fairly accurate. Thanks for the comment.
Lady G--All my kids talked to people who 'weren't there' and one of them carried this into adulthood. Sadly she was alarmed by it and actively tries to shut it down most of the time. It's weird to see a kid talk to an imaginary friend. Some of them you can tell are truly imaginary, but others--it's like someone is really there, carrying on the other half of the conversation.
Considering that all the scare factor about these shadow people and ghost stories in general is the fear of seeing them, or fear felt at seeing them, I wonder about it sometimes too. I've seen a few things in my life, especially when I lived in New Orleans but also in other places.
Only I never got scared.
There's an intrinsic fear of dark backlit people that has to do with the threat of other human beings. Once I know it's a ghost, it's not scary. People can hurt me. A guy with a hat deliberately blocking the light so he could attack me without my recognizing (and describing or drawing) his features -- yeah, that's a real fear.
But the ghosts are scary only by projection. People assume they are angry or lonely and jealous of the living. But they're not doing anything. It's a sensation of cold or something seen out of your eye, afterward everything's the same as always. They don't rob you. They don't stab or punch you. They don't even say things that wither your soul, usually they're silent.
Many many ghost stories involve ghosts guilt tripping their living killers, which does make some psychological sense if they are capable of feeling guilty at all. But if you haven't killed people, what's to fear from someone who's not actually there but only an illusion of a person dressed like a Nazgul?
But both the image of the "man with hat" and "hooded figure" represent types of people who were in the past a real threat. Hooded robed figures for centuries meant that the Inquisition was coming after you and you were toast. The guy in a hat and a duster might be an armed and dangerous outlaw. These are classic images of fear. Take them out of that context and put them in a comic book and you have traditional cliche villains.
Wearing clothes I've liked occasionally, at that.
One reason I don't write that whole subgenre in horror is that I can't make them scary enough. Vampires, werewolves, corpses animated by someone's evil spell to attack -- hey yeah, there's plenty of monsters that can do some damage. But the ghosts seem far more pathetic.
In terms of all the ones I actually encountered, what they wanted was attention and to be known, to have their stories told. If I ddi ever tell a ghost story it would be of that sort and end once the truth was out.
The shadow cat sounds rather pleasant. I love cats anyway so having an extra one, even if insubstantial, roaming around would be pretty cool.
Scary stuff!
Thanks Garrett!
Hi Robert--That is very insightful--the bit about hooded figures and figures in hats that are backlit being representative of people who at one time in history were a real physical threat. That's excellent. That explains the additional fear factor (over 'ordinary' ghosts), and it also kind of raises the question (in my mind at least) of whether some of them aren't projections from the people seeing them (ie. their own 'embodied' fears, literally), or attempts by ordinary ghosts or others to suck energy out of people by inducing fear.
I'm not really scared of ghosts either. I find these images creepy, and now thanks to your comment I think I understand why! The cat was indeed not all that upsetting. Even the thing that flew out of the mirror was not upsetting, just dramatic and weird. I think you are right with ghosts and the need to tell a story too. In my experience, intelligent hauntings are about a story that hasn't been told. Once you figure out the story, the haunting goes away.
Crazy stuff pgrundy, I grew up back east and have been spooked several times in some of the old houses that are there. I don't know if old houses have anything to do with ghosts but you just think more about it when you are in them. Cretainly gives us something to think about.
Thanks and Pura Vida!
Thanks for stopping by Gary. I appreciate it. Pura Vida back at ya. :)
I don't go for the Ghost Hunter type thing much. Have seen too much in real life. Seems many paranormal....things, are dark. I have seen at least 3 different types of "dark" or shadow things. Ghost hunters dont seem to find it, and I no longer want to. Your hub did give me the willies. Mirrors seem a dangerous thing. After I had my own mirror encounter, I saw a film where Jewish People cover all of the mirrors in a house after a death. This is not from wanting to abstain from vanity. :O
I too love Ghost Hunters/Ghost Hunters International; I record every show...I believe ones spirit moves to another realm after death. Maybe a ghostly state is one of those realms...Thanks for writing about my favorite show and subject...Great hub and yes, I have had my own experiences....
I alwways say I do not believe in such hocus pocus but I am never 100% certain.
Paper Moon--Hi. Thanks for commenting. Mirrors do have that reputation--lots of lore around death and mirrors. I'm drawn to this stuff, but I suspect more people feel like you do.
Nancy--I think that show was a real 'sleeper'. It's definitely the particpants that make the show. I've seen others and they aren't half as good. Thanks for stopping by.
Ethel--I think lots of folks feel like you do. Thanks for saying hello. :)
Shadow cats are NOT pleasant if they don't like you. I've been repeatedly attacked by such creatures at varying degrees of sleep, in multiple ways, and in certain dreams or 'dream' states. They have also shown themselves to conscious, awake people in a particular house in North Carolina, in which I no longer live. Their more humanoid counterparts also tend to be voraciously unfriendly to me, sometimes seeming to have morphed from the cats themselves.
The most benign of these has only pressed on my back; the worst has actually tried to rape me. My own theory on 'shadows' is that some might be literally amassed memories, but how would I know? I just know they aren't ever nice to me.
sbeakr--Wow, those sound like very frightening experiences. When I was reading about shadow beings, the descriptions did tend to match your descriptions fairly consistently. Not that many people were comfortable with the creatures. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
This is very interesting information. I am always having people ask me about things like this. Your post is a good one to pass on to people. Thanks for sharing. I am just getting started on HubPages, but I will have to check out more of your posts.
An interesting hub made even more interesting by the comments that followed. I was fascinated by ghosts when I lived in England--5th grade, mind you.
Mormonism has an explanation for your shadow people that you might find interesting. LDS theology states that the 1/3 of people who sided with Lucifer in the Great War in heaven were denied the experience of coming to earth and receiving a body, which is a damning impediment to those souls, since earth life is a necessary part of salvation, a kind of testing and trying period, where you accept Christ or you don't. Anyway, what I always thought to be a little creepy about this theological belief was that those people are still around and still want to possess a body. Think about the devils cast into swine. Shadow People? Maybe.
My mom has always been plagued by "seeing things in the dark." She sleeps with her dog, and that brings her some comfort.
Hi lholitza--Glad you liked it. Welcome to Hub Pages!
wannabewestern--That really IS a creepy explanation. Hope it's not correct. What a horrible fate. I kind of learn towards the idea that they are projections of dark energy from living people, but I don't really know. Thanks for the info and for dropping by. :)
Yes it is interesting that what some people take for granted others find a little "off". That is what is so nice about this community. All sorts to make a world, and all that.
Was exceptional hub. My sister talks of Shadow People out a Riverview Cemetery in Parkersburg, WVA. Her site is www.hauntedparkersburg.com Was a great hub.
Hi Chris--What a cool site you sister has! Thanks for posting the link. Glad you enjoyed the hub.
You managed to raise the hairs on the back of my neck! I'd never heard of the urban legend in Glencoe, MO. And I've lived in the backward state most of my life. There is another urban legend of the Witch tree just south of Columbia, MO. I'll try to get photos of the tree if it is still standing and tell the tale for you. BTW Great HUB!
Thanks Raggits! I'm looking forward to your hub about the tree. Sounds fascinating!
Ooooooo spooky! LOL. I love to get the story as to what happened to them that they are still attached to the property. Some deaths are gruesome, some dramatically sad without gruesome attached. Would have been interesting to know the circumstances. I've not seen 'shadow people' but have seen entities, perhaps it's the same thing with a different 'cloak.' Not sure on that.
Hi jewels! Yes, I'm not easily creeped out but I think the top photo is chilling, I'm not sure why. Even if it's faked, it's creepy! I'm not sure what these energies are either. Some of it is surely just misidentification, but there's a ring of truth to it too. I'd like to know what that thing in my house was too!
Great hub! Hung on every word and even got goosebumps for a minute. Have never seen one myself but don't doubt it. There have been some paranormal instances that have taken place in my childhood home over the years. The most recent being with my Aunt. She will spend the night with my family at least once a month and no matter when she comes or which of the rooms she sleeps in, there is always something messin with her! She hears what she thinks is a mouse (that has NEVER, in 30 years, been seen or heard by ANYONE else in the home), and she will inform us the next morning that it was under her bed, making noise, and climbed on her or ran across the bed. This happens EVERY time. The rest of the family finds it amusing since it only happens to her. THERE IS NO MOUSE! However, I don't doubt her.
Hi Chloe--Thank you for sharing that story! It seems most people have had at least a brush with the paranormal. I appreciate you stopping by and I'm glad you enjoyed the hub. :)
I have encountered cold spots, once saw a dark figure move across a graveyard by Llandaf Cathedral that I have thought of as a ghost, and once saw three black-cloaked figures in a vision I had when trying to sleep on Carn Ingli mountain in West Wales and Laurence Maine of the then Dragon Project was with me and recorded what I had to say into a tape recorder. In the other tent at the same spot was King Arthur and a young lady hitchhiker called Megan, who was from Nova Scotia but going to Ireland. Arthur said he had been fighting psychic battles with Ring Wraiths - the beings in the Tolkien stories - that had come for Megan. I said I had seen three dark figures!
Otherwise I am thinking these shadow people sound a bit like the Men In Black that get reported. They wear Fedora hats. L Ron Hubbard said that beings from the Marcab alien race wear these hats too.
Hi Steve--I never thought of the Men in Blackas being related but now that you mention this, it makes sense. Great story about the Ring Wraiths. Thanks for sharing it!
Hey you should have called the Ghost Hunters to come check out your old house. I've seen shadow people, I've seen a lot of weird stuff. Most Nigerians will tell you they've seen a ghost-like creature, at least once. Lol. Love your story-telling style. Enjoyed it to the full. :)
Thanks CJ! I love weird stuff like this. My mom was one of those woo-woo witchy psychic people, and I still am attracted to all the weirdness. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi,pgrundy I 've heard that dead pets sometimes come back to their owners to visit.
Hi someonewhoknows--that's an interesting idea! Maybe I had a visitor from earlier times. :)
Why do shadow people insist on wearing hats?
Yes that's weird isn't it? I mean, it's comical weird.
I just found your hub...it was awesome! I am also a Ghost Hunters fan...some of the things they have found while investigating have freaked them out! I guess due to legal stuff, they don't want to claim a whole lot, but they do a great job! In your pic, the one on the left above the stove, hmmmmm Great hub!!
Thanks Wealthmadehealthy! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)
This has been a most interesting string of comments, so far. But it seems that most people are seeking to pigeonhole these shadow beings in a very small way. Who says all shadow beings are the same? Perhaps that is just how we as humans most often perceive the spirit world. My own experiences lead me to believe that similar appearing shadows can have different aims, purposes, and personalities, and, indeed, the same one on different days can be in a different mood or state, just as we can.
I fully believe animals sometimes do come back to visit after their deaths...my husband and I had a cat that hung around for over two years after he had been shot by a cat-hating neighbor. We both saw him, heard him at the window he regularly got in and out by, and felt him jump onto the bed in the evening. We saw him in a can-I-be-sure-about-that kind of way, you understand - yet at times he seemed quite tangible. Of course, I'm not certain this cat was normal even when he was alive...he once let himself out a high basement window which opened inward, and fastened with a hook. No one saw him do it, but there was no other way out from the room he was shut in (he was sick, and being quarantined), and occassionally, before that, he would seem to appear literally out of nowhere, with no noise to speak of, except a small greeting meow. It seemed he had an ability to teletransport, or what you will.
Wish I had that shadow back. Alas, he seems to have quit coming by some while ago.
omg. I shouldn't have read this! But I couldn't stop reading this frightening hub.
Thanks for sharing.
If you are interested in hunting ghosts or proving the existence of shadow people then it is important that you collect the right type of evidence. For example, a photograph is better than a eye witness account.
Well ok about shadow people,what about bad luck from words of your friends,family,partners?I think this is worst-and imagine that ghosts and shadows only in movies are bad.Do you agree?Do anybody have the medicine for bad luck?
Thanks for the info Supernatural Pro.
gusripper--People can only curse you if you accept the curse. If you send good energy back to them right away you neutralize it. Try it and see how that goes for you. :)
Look its very serious,i am seeing my life destroying and i believe its from bad bad bad persons who speaking about my and my wife every minute
gusripper: I would lke to direct you to another Hub I just read that may enable you to conquer this: go to http://hubpages.com/hub/When-i-Died
Back to the present:
Now, this hub caught my attention because I too have experienced a simialar phenomenon, thought not in the visual sense, or so I believe. It is during this period when I fall asleep, or wake up. I often here something auditory, that snaps me awake. Sometimes it's a voice, a laugh, or a bang. But it's loud enough to wake me up and make my heart race.
Hi donotfear--That's a very common experience, but it doesn't make it any less mysterious or unsettling! I'm really not sure what it's all about, but I don't just shrug it off as nothing. I do think there's something to the phenomenon. Thanks for sharing. :)
I have a good friend who's had a series of experiences quite scary. One of them involved a pair of dolls that she had on top of the mantel of a chimney in her room. Those dolls many many times were not at the same place where she left them, either before going to work, or when she went to sleep at night. Coming back from work or waking up in the morning she would find them not far away from their original spot but several inches away and not in the same pose that she left them (the dolls were folk dolls representing man and woman).
Another of her spooky adventures was that a couple of times she realized in the middle of the night that a huge being, similar to the description you give Pam, was lying in bed close to her. I don't know how she didn't die from a heart attack. She was horribly scared no doubt but she had the courage to shout at him telling him to go, and the being would disappear. After the second or third time she requested the help of a Tibetan Lama and the being never came back after that.
If I remember correctly, this happened all in the same spot, an appartment where she lived for several years. Since then she's lived in many places and different countries and never again had any other such misadventure, so it seemed related to that particular spot.
WOW very interesting Hub. I enjoyed reading every single detail of your hub. Me and my husband love watching sci-fi movies. WE enjoy the action and thrill.
Watching movies is the kind of treat we give to ourselves (me and my husband) after a weeks work.
rosario--That is a REALLY scary story. I'm glad you friend was able to get some help with that thing! Next month I have a chance to see a real 'ghost buster' who is speaking near here and write it up for another site I write for. I'll have to do a hub on it too--it should be really interesting.
1weddingsource--Thanks for commenting. I LOVE sci fi and anything strange too.
Pam, could we have the url for the other site? I'd like to read all of your accounts about that real ghost buster, mainly when they speak of the real thing, and of their real take on the matter. I mean, people who do that spend half of their time explaining how they debunk fake things, but that I'm not so interested. What is interesting is when they encounter true things, and what they really think about it, which they often times don't say, lest they loose public credibility. I hope the one you are going to see is not shy.
pgrundy - I have recently started watching Ghost Hunters and so love it, I think is funny to see how scared Tango looks when we is wondering around.
I have wondered what they mean when they start talking about shadow people, thanks for the info.
To be honest, I don't believe in a lot of the things being described here and think that the mind is very powerful and can make you see and hear things that are not really there.
That being said I was amazed at your comment on sleep paralysis. This has happened to me on several occasions in a variety of places. I have woken in the night completely awake yet unable to move. Each time I have been absolutely terrified without knowing why.
The last time it happened I was in a hotel in Scotland. I woke up in the early hours of the morning terrified I couldn't even open my eyes.
After a while I managed to move my thumb to open an eyelid (thankfully I had slept with my hands near my head!) Once I had opened my eyes I could move but I was still terrified.
I started to analyse what I was dreaming about and noises in the room and nothing could explain the fear. It took hours to calm back down again but I put it down to a strange room and lack of sleep/overactive imagination.
I love reading about this, and I'm also pretty sure I've had a "close encounter" - I was driving and not paying attention, looked back and seen a figure darker than the night! Yeesh
Hi Rosario--Sure, my page at Examiner is at:
http://www.examiner.com/x-16975-Grand-Rapids-New-A
It's a conservative area, so I'm not that hot an item there but I'm having fun and the revenue isn't bad--comparable to Hub Pages. I agree with what you said, BTW, and am looking forward to meeting this lady. :)
Sean--Thanks for sharing that! I have had these experiences too. I've written about them more personally in some of my other hubs. I always love hearing from other people who have had them.
Junker Bob--I think more people than you might expect have had these kinds of experiences! Thanks for stopping by. :)
Do youguys believe in humans holding special abilities?
Great hub! Shadow people are a daily part of my life!
Always wondered why they named it "Dark Shadows"? Think about it...
Very interesting and informative hub. Thanks.
I myself did experience many times years ago sleep paralysis out of which I force myself to wake up with very extreme effort when I start to feel that I might have trouble waking up.
In the last time I was conscious of a dark shadow pressing on me which I fought off. I had always put it off as my imagination.
This hub gives me further food for thought.
T0816--Thanks for stopping by and commenting. :)
Yeah that probably is a fake at the top, it probably was the whole cast standing out there. If the sun was behind the photographer then it would probably be a bit more convincing. Still kind of chilly though I must admit.
Now the other photo I still don't know whats going on there. I think that is just the shadow of someones head that is standing outside the window the light is coming through.
Hi Wengelman--I thought the top one looked faked too--but still pretty creepy. Thanks for commenting. :)
I enjoyed your hub very much. I have had several experiences in my life that I can't explain scientifically or logically. First since I was a child my mother always told me she knew when a family member was going to have serious health trouble (ususlly death). If mom dreamed of these people in water that was a very bad omen. Every time she told me of such a dream and who was involved that person was dead within no longer that 3 months.
This started with me at age 13 with differing manifestations. At 13 on a Sunday afternoon I was cruising with some older frinds in their car. All at once I just absolutely knew that my grandmother had died. I began crying and asked my freinds to take me home. As I entered my home I was still crying and both mom and dad asked me why. I asked them if they had not heard anything about grandma. They had not yet heard about grandma so they called my aunt that she lived with. My aunt went to grandma's bedroom and found her dead. Mom was not surprised at my revolation as it had been happening in her family for generations. There are other instances, I am not a one hit wonder. These are difficult to talk about. It drains me emotionally so thats it for now. Except to say my older daughter seem to be cut out in her daddy's mold.
Hi Tom--I believe you. I think such abilities do run in families, and you and your daughter clearly seem to have inherited them. Thanks for sharing your experiences. :)
creepy stuff...
Adding my two cents in. I’ve down several studies in demonology. These dark shadows/figures are known as “human spirits.” They are the results of a person(s) releasing their will to a “supernatural” force allowing it to have a, lack of a better word, “physical” presence in the earth realm. This practice is highly linked to persons who practice witchcraft.
There is a book by a physician Rebecca Brown who documents are encounters with these human spirits.
Hi Lady Summerset--That is a fascinating interpretation and I must say something about it rings true to me. I do believe such things are possible (although really creepy). Thank you for sharing that here.
Is that default shadowy hatted shape that represents people on HubPages before they post their own avatar, a shadow person? If so, I have seen a lot of them.
LOL! Rochelle, that's IT! You've solved the mystery. :)
Great Hub. What's with the hats? I've lived in a house with shadow people also. We were able to see 4 distinct shapes. I personally believe that these shadow people are negative attachments and can cause quite a bit of discord in a home. Again, what's with the hats?
Hi Gina--Good question about the hats. The hat detail is so weird and almost impertinent, almost like an inside joke--which is why I sometimes think it's some kind of projection that is part of an occult or magical practice. Thanks for stopping by!
Ah... I just love this spooky stuff!
I also love watching Ghost Hunters and the like. and have a couple friends who have seen and know people who have seen shadow people. and have been watched by them. i have and a couple of weeks ago i was outside at about 1am and had what looked like a "shadow dog" walk towards me. a black dog like figure with its tongue or something hanging from its mouth. saw some sort of light in its eyes and i backed away around the corner of the house and didnt see it pass. when i walked back up and searched for it, it was gone.
Russell--That is one creepy story! Thanks for stopping by. :)
Every religion has some sort of ghost stories like in islam there are JINNS or SHATAAN(SATAN), in hinduism there are ATMAS,etc. But most people don't beleive in it.
Sounds like old hag syndrome to me! Something that people confuse for something else. aOld hag syndrome often causes sleep paralysis and makes noise or shows itself when being given attention. I know someone who had that problem and it used to freak her right out. I used to have to remind her to stop talking about it becuase it would start with the footstps and the breathing and the toilet flushing.
It is believed that "shdow people" are parallel dimensional beings. Which is why they dont really take any notice of us. However the dark spirits you were talking about with the red eyes are something else entirely. When you see those its time to get the house blessed or move. Particularly if you have children, they enjoy scaring little kids. I loved your hub I am very into all this stuff I go on ghost hunts and everything its great. I hope to see more like this from you!
Great info Phoenix Arizona--I love this stuff too! Thanks for posting. I appreciate you coming by. :)
What do I think? I think I shouldn't have read this sat in the dark at 5 in the morning :( lol, luckily it'll be light soon.
I've never seen one outright (thankfully) but have seen them (been attacked by or dreamed that was the case) whilst experiencing sleep paralysis, terrifying.
At least I can convince myself that mine was just a sleep disorder (if I try really hard) if I ever saw one without that excuse like you did, well, it's still dark, I think I'll put a funny DVD on and stop thinking about it (for now) =)
Hi Mr VooDoo!
I've also had sleep paralysis in the past. It is VERY scary. Haven't had it recently though. I had the same reaction the these things that you did--and not much scares me! Thanks for stopping by. :)
A couple of friends (on separate occassions) have told me that dead people, or ghosts have been with them. One pointed to the corner of the room and said 'Look at that child', which I did and saw a dark shadowy thing that was not a child and not even human. Thinking back I didn't actually see it with my physical eyes, more my minds eye, or the corner of my eye.
The other friend said her two dead aunties were with her and she was extremely distressed. I saw them and they were tall black shapes, not her aunties! Could shadow people be the Apostle Pauls 'elemental spirits'?
Hi aslanlight--Hard to say what they are! I suspect that what we each see depends as much on who we are and where we are in our lives as it does on the thing being seen. There are so many mysteries on this earth! Thanks for stopping by. :)
I have always been very skeptical of ghost stories throughout my life. My mother gets into Sylvia Brown and Ghost Hunters and all that junk, and I simply think it is rediculous. I, however, was watching A Haunting on the discovery channel the other night and their program dealt with shadow people and instantly I got the chills. I can remember two times when I was younger that I have seen these things(in between third and sixth grade). I was lying in bed and couldn't sleep. This happened one time at the house I grew up in, which was built when I was 4 and another when we were on vacation in Florida. Both times I can remember staring at this very tall, dark, transparent figure in a doorway. I never felt threatened, but I did not dare get out of bed. I do not remember seeing a hat or noticing if it was cloaked, but I can remember making out the outline of the head and shoulders. Both times it was very tall (up to the top of the doorway). Now I am in college and live in an old house. The other night I was making salsa in our kitchen and as I was turning a dark figure went across the doorway. I kind of shrugged it off, but later that night one of my roommates came running upstairs to tell me he was in the kitchen and saw a dark figure go across the doorway out of the corner of his eye. I do not know if two people could have the same illusion, at separate times in the same night without consulting each other. Either way, I have recently become interested in these things because I have no doubt they exist
Scott--Thanks for sharing that personal experience. I was surprised when I posted this how many people have actually seen these things. Don't know what they are, but I agree with you--they're creepy.
Very interesting hub, I have experienced some of these entities and concluded them to be "thought forms". After reading your hub and all the comments it does put light on the differences I have encountered, some with great fear at the time. Thank you, I look forward to reading more.
Thanks Psychic Gwen for sharing. I like the thought form explanation.
wow... Is this for real?...
Now come on. There is no such thing as a ghost. And I do not believe anyone. There is such thing as the human brain breaking down, such as stress. On TV some people had others believe they were Vampires. Wait until that catches on.
Well there are all kinds of vampires in the world, not all have physical fangs, but their venomous tongues make vampires seem like pussies!
shadow people do excist i dont care who says they dont im a witness to shadow people since i was six and i tell you they creep me out a bit i think that pic can be real but i do belive cuz ive witnessed!
Wow, pgrundy you have a lot of fans! I didn't think I would never get to your comment box! lol But it's all good. I just wanted to add that I love reading your articles we share a similar interest in writing I love mysteries and suspense. You're welcome to read some of my short stories although mine are not as detailed but similar. You're a good writer and I'm sure you have years of experience especially with your freelance work which is great! I just wanted you to know that you have another fan! Yaaaa!
On the subject of shadow people, I see them everyday and night. In every dark corner, they are there..looking. I ask my husband all the time "did you see that?" and he ignores me. But yes, and they move very quickly. I used to think that they were angels watching over me..but the older I've gotten its become more unusual. Try walking around at night with no lights on that way you will get rid of the fear! I leave nite lights on at night in just about every room and it has help some. I've gotten so use to them that it doesn't really bother me but shadow people do exist. Thanks for the story.
I am sorry but that top picture looks like any other underdeveloped, low light photo of bare trees in front of a stand of arborvitae reflected in a swamp. The second one pretty interesting. My nephew took a picture of two family members hugging goodbye at a family gathering. Between them appeared a girl of about 8 years old with a red coat on. This was taken at his mom's house a few months before she(his mom) died suddenly of a stroke. She, (my sister, his mom) had been doing research on a girl in our family Elizabeth, age 8, (my father's sister) who had been drowned in the 1913 flood in Ohio. She had been wearing a red woolen coat which her own father first spotted the color of her coat, while searching for her and he then found her body as a result of the color which drew his attention.
I love reading your articles as my entire family has had "paranormal" experiences our whole lives. But I've had a couple that puzzle me and I would like to know if anyone else has had similar experiences.
If I dream that I'm checking up on my Mom she used to call me and ask why I didn't tell her i was coming for a visit. When I explained to her that I wasn't there she would be very adampt in telling me what I did while in her house. She's gotten used to these strange night time visits. But I don't understand how I can be asleep in my bed and at her house (which is thousands of miles away) at the same time.
The other thing that puzzles me goes hand in hand with this one - a former boyfriend and both my deceased husband and my exhusband have all told me that I literally disappear at night. I would be asleep in bed and the next thing they knew poof I'd disappear even from under thier arms. It creeped the ex-boyfriend and my ex-husband out so badly that they would avoid being near me and it's one of the causes of stress that ended those relationships.
When the first one told me I just thought he was having nightmares but a second and then a third person saying the same thing----
I've heard of biolocation that may explain the first discription I gave, but what explains the second? It really worries me because now I'm single and have two children at home. What if they are unintentionally left alone after I fall asleep at night?
Hi, I wonder if you sleep walk? It's not uncommon. In fact, some people actually get up, go to the store in their PJs, come home, never wake up. It's happened.
I was married to a man once who used to have the same dreams as me. We'd literally be in each other's dreams. That was weird. Thank you for commenting.
Dream sharing seems to be pretty common in families and with loved ones.
I wonder if I do sleep walk, my youngest son is a sleep walker, and my sister was a sleep walker in her teens. I should get and set up a video camera someday to see what exactly it is I do at night.
Until the 1950's when people Men, women and children got dressed up that included wearing a hat.
I can't say much about whether others should believe or not, but I had an interesting experience related to a shadow animal.
There's an interesting story to it as well. Bottom line, a very good friend of mine had a cat. Eventually this cat died. Since that time for several months thereafter, she (my friend) would wake up with the feeling of the cat curled up with her, when there was no cat in the house.
Myself, I saw the cat several times in the corner of my eye. Once I stepped into a 'cold spot' near the floor, (the hallway was dark) and I felt something dash away from my foot.
And on one occasion I saw the cat dart out of a recliner in the living room and into the kitchen (my most direct viewing of the cat). The recliner in the living room which had been sitting still, was rocking.
Its Just Me, it's called astral travel. Your body is just a shell or your puppet.
Interesting Hub. Have you ever experienced seeing a monk? Or what looked to be a monk with the hood and rope belt. But too dark to see the face? Was wondering what the meaning of this visitation was. Thanks! fascinating.
Peace n' Blessings! ~K
getpaidtopost says:
4 months ago
Great hub, Love all supernatural stories, I even have video of one of these shadow people running across a car park in Jordan, I also have a photo that my wife took of one of our friend, 1 year after the digital photo was taken a women appeared next to our friend dressed in white with black eyes. This image still freaks me out today as I know its 100% genuine.