About a year ago, I had a very disturbing dream with the Hatman. I was in the upstairs of a home and had an overwhelming urge to look through a floor grate into the basement. Quietly, I got down on my hands and knees and peered through the grate, only to see a black shadow man with a black hat sitting on the basement floor. His body was not well defined and almost blurry. However, he had glowing red eyes that were fixed on me. Instantly, I felt a sense of impending doom, and I could sense that he was conniving and taunting me.
Despite the eerie feeling, I also had an overwhelming urge to confront him. So, I quietly snuck across the floor, taking care not to reveal my intentions, and made my way towards the basement stairs. I can’t recall if I had any sort of weapon, but I remember descending the stairs quietly. Unfortunately, I woke up before I could see or confront the Hatman.
I’m now 47 years old and never before have I dreamed of the Hatman. However, when I was a kid, there was a newer Twilight Zone series that had an episode featuring a showdown man living under a kid’s bed. Throughout my adult life, I have had recurring dreams where the lights in a basement or bathroom suddenly dim to a dull orange glow or turn off completely. During these moments, I sense the presence of pure evil emanating from a pitch black corner of the room. Overcome with an uncontrollable urge, I begin walking towards the evil. As I get closer, I lose control of my body, and my legs start marching faster and faster towards the darkness under the command of the evil. Breathing harder and harder with each step, I try to scream for help, but no sound comes out besides my hyperventilating breaths. Fortunately, my wife always wakes me up from this terrifying experience.
On a different occasion, while sleeping in my in-laws’ guest bedroom, I had a horrifying sleep paralysis dream. I laid in bed, contemplating getting up to join my wife in the living room, when suddenly, I heard a demonic voice coming from the floor to my left. The strange thing was, I couldn’t turn over to see what it was because I was completely paralyzed, lying on my back. The evil presence, represented by the demonic voice speaking in an incomprehensible language, seemed to move clockwise around the bed, starting from the foot before reaching my right ear. As a scientist, I understand the science behind sleep paralysis, but the recurring feeling of pure evil makes me wonder if there is something more sinister at play, beyond my brain’s imagination.
Finally, I’ll share one of the most terrifying dreams I’ve ever had. When I was four years old, my bedroom had two single beds with identical blue-green bedspreads. In this dream, I woke up in the middle of the night, unable to turn on the lights, and saw a pure evil version of my four-year-old self jumping on the bed, taunting me. Once again, I could feel the evil presence. Evil has plagued my dreams throughout my entire life, with the Hatman appearing only once. I can’t say for certain whether these dreams stem from some psychological phenomenon explainable by science or if they involve a malevolent consciousness beyond my own. Nonetheless, I would greatly appreciate any insight you might have.