Do you see fleeing beings out of the corner of your eyes? Do you often see shadows that move or that just shouldn’t be there? You might be seeing Shadow People! It sounds like the newest type of mental illness, but it is a growing phenomenon that has been hearing increased reports and higher numbers of sightings by people all over. But what are these Shadow People? Does anybody truly know? I’ll be going through a series of possible theories and explaining to you why or why not they may be true. An in-depth study of the shadow men phenomenon, by Sarah Miller.
When you think of shadows you think of perhaps your own, or someone else’s as they walk alongside you. But over the past few years, there have been more and more stories and sightings surfacing into the mainstream telling of strange “shadow men:” Shadows with intelligence, with the ability to move on their own. They often are seen as a quick, fleeting shadow out of the corner of your eye, like they don’t want to be seen. Is it a new type of phenomenon popping up or one just raising to a higher frequency? Or is it just that with the raise in interest in paranormal studies recently, people have been more willing to come forward with these stories?
While there is no telling for sure, perhaps it is a little bit of both. The recent raise of interest in the paranormal has made it more acceptable to the general public to be more open minded to the possibility of otherworldly beings in our presence. More and more people are realizing that it is no longer so much of a stigma to believe that they have had an experience with one. Years ago, if you talked of a ghostly experience, it was thought that you could possibly be suffering from a mental illness. It was wrong to talk of spirits. This is the stigma that we’re still fighting off today. But as more people realize that there are others like them, the more we start to hear stories of beings such as shadow men. It has also spiked the interest in ghost research, and many investigators have reported having experiences with them. Because more people are actively investigating and seeking out these beings, the sightings have gone up as well. So really, if you put it in perspective, we’re seeing them more, which leads to us hearing about them more.
Nonetheless, these shadow men are the hot topic of many discussion groups, forums, and radio shows. A recent caller to the Art Bell radio show (a show dealing exclusively in paranormal phenomenon) brought up shadow men. That one call sparked a flow of 4,500 e-mails from people who had experienced similar paranormal activity. Eerily enough, it is reported that all of the pictures submitted were strangely similar to one another. Perhaps this could help validate the true existence of these beings, or spark interest into a more in-depth study of the phenomenon.
So, now back to the question that is on everyone’s minds: What exactly are these shadow men? No one really knows for sure. However, there is a long list of theories as to what they might be. I’d like to go over some of the more popular ones and give you, the reader, an idea of which ones may be more plausible or true.
The most common explanation made by skeptics is that it is the imagination running away with people. Yes, this may account for some cases, a stray hair fell to the side of your face causing movement, you’re in a dark area and your imagination is running wild. But the frequency and number of stories heard about this phenomenon suggests something different.
Another explanation is that they could possibly be ghosts. The shadow people seem to vary from ghost phenomenon however. Ghost apparitions almost always appear in a white vaporish form with a decidedly human appearance. Clothes are usually discernable. Shadow men, however, only appear as the outline of a human with no detailed appearance. Numerous people have also reported being able to make out red eyes on these shadow men. This may be sparked by the imagination of people in a society where black means evil, and red eyes are associated with possession and demons. Society, I believe, made up that detail to create a more evil creature—to back up the stories that these shadows might be demons. As an investigator, I personally do not feel that the stories of red eyes offer any legitimacy to the serious investigative community.
Numerous reports also include a feeling of malevolence and dark emotions. Many people speculate that these beings may be demonic in nature, as stated above. However you see it, there are just as many speculations as to why they might be thought demonic. What people do not remember when thinking these things through is that there are just as many “white” appearanced spirits that can be malevolent as there are “dark.” While shadow men may prove to be at a higher percentage of malevolent behavior than regular ghostly manifestations, we cannot truthfully say that all, or any, of them are demonic.
Others speculate that they are otherworldly beings that are casting a shadow because they are made of material too dense for light to pass through. They state that it is possible because orbs and vortices occasionally cast shadows in pictures and tapes. However, if this is the case, how are investigators getting pictures of them in open areas where there is nothing to cast a shadow on, or even in the shade? In the shade, a person does not cast a shadow, but the shadow men are visible in pictures taken in the shade. This theory tends to be too limited to be considered as an actual explanation. They offer evidence (the orb and vortice shadows), but they do not take into account that there have been pictures and evidence testifying that they shadow men cover a broader range of being than just actual shadows.
One theory comes from a woman stating that shadow men are “ghosts seen at different stages by people, depending on the person’s ability to bring in the signal clearly.” She offers that it is like a television - a person’s ability to see an apparition goes along the same lines as picking up reception. According to her, people have varied receptions depending on their psychic ability and the current atmospheric conditions. If that is the case then, how is it that these same people have also been able to see other manifestations of ghostly phenomenon? The same person that sees a shadow man will also see a traditional ghost apparition. So, in theory, it is not right to say that certain people can only see one type of ghostly apparition when so many people have professed to seeing both types. Therefore, I don’t feel that this is an accurate explanation either.
Another theory that was run across was one in which the theorizer offered up that they may be what we in the field typically call parasites. Perhaps they are. In some accounts, they did act off of the person’s emotions being mean and dominant when feared, and becoming more tranquil when peaceful or good thoughts entered the mind. Any one person may commonly think it is only a “nice” ghost and give it a name, allowing it to develop a personality. The person reacts with it more, and it becomes attached running off of the fuel provided by the unknowing person. However, this does little to back up the stories that some are seen at a distance, staying away and observing, then quickly disappearing at any sign of a person approaching. However, it may seem to some like they are almost scoping them out. After some time of “hanging around”, even communication has been attempted. As Shane Sirois, the Director of the True Ghost investigative team, mentioned himself, “…something else I learned from experience, if they come around often enough, eventually they do try and talk to you…It was whispering in a hissy type voice. I could not understand what it was saying even though I felt like I should be able to.” It seems, to me, as though these present activity closest to that of a parasite. It appears as though it is scoping you out—as it may very well actually be doing, and when it picks you, you become more interested and friendly—or perhaps you haven’t even noticed it yet. Then, right when your guard is down, it strikes and becomes the parasite that those in the paranormal field are familiar with. Activity increases, and you see more of it (or start noticing it.) If you learn to put up mental guards, and it can no longer feed off of you, it disappears and leaves, or goes into a dominant stage.
A theory similar to the one right above is that when a person dies, and they become an earth-bound spirit, they can become one of two things. If they were bad in life, a criminal, or anything else related to the “dark” side of things, their soul leaves the body black. If they lived a good life, the soul will leave the body in the white form. They can interact with people the same way as a parasite feeding off of emotions and energy, and they seem to become attached to a certain person or place. The shadow men can also cause a sense of anxiety or nervousness for no reason. If you act interested and try to engage them in conversation, they will try to respond in any way possible. Shane’s experience above would be a good example. They also have been known to act upon request or feelings. If you were happy, they would be docile, if you were fearful and scared, they would become dominant and over-bearing. This is very close to the parasite theory, only it states it is an earthbound spirit rather than a parasitic entity.
While I am unsure of the actual truth behind the shadow men, I have speculated and come to the conclusion that the two final theories are the most reasonable. I cannot say for sure which is more correct, for no one is entirely sure what these beings, in all actuality, are. I leave the rest up to you, the reader, to come to your own conclusions based on the evidence I have presented. I hope that you will strive to find the TRUTH through the fog.
Sarah Miller
I would like to thank Sarah Miller for sharing her work with us. She is becoming a friend in the paranormal community and I know she will be successful in the field.
~Shane Sirois
