I’m 27 now. I had an experience with “The Hat Man” when I was 17. I have never seen him again. I heard a radio show recently that referred to “shadow people”. It sounded ridiculous to me until someone described the “hat man”. I instantly remembered my experience. I woke up one summer night when I was in high school. I used to sleep on my side. I rolled over to check the time on my alarm clock and there was a dark shadowy type figure of a man with a hat and an overcoat standing right beside my bed seemingly staring at me. He was completely black and I could not make out any details other than the outline of his body and what appeared to be clothing. The best I can describe him is simply as a silhouette…he was completely black. He did not move and I felt like he was looking at me. For some strange reason, I did not feel threatened at all. Perhaps it was because I thought I was dreaming. I can simply tell you that the presence did not threaten me one bit. I remember feeling completely indifferent about the whole situation…almost as though this was a normal occurrence!!!
Again, this had never happened before so I don’t know why it didn’t scare me. Maybe since it was summer and my brain decided that no burglar would wear an overcoat and that type hat in hot weather therefore this must be a dream. Who knows! Anyway, I looked at my alarm clock, which read exactly 3:33 and I rolled back over and went to sleep. When I awoke the next morning I thought it was just a dream, albeit a very vivid one. I didn’t think anything more of it until I sat down for breakfast and my mom asked me what I was doing up late last night. I told her I was asleep the whole night and didn’t get out of my bed at all and she said, “Well you must have been sleep walking because I heard footsteps around 3:30 in your room (my room was upstairs, directly above my mother and father’s room and my mom is a very light sleeper). At that point the light bulb went on and I realized that what I thought was just a “dream” may have very well been real. I told her what had happened and it freaked her out. Now, after hearing that discussion on the radio show, I am curious as to what it was. I googled “hat man shadow people” and this is one of the sights I founds so I thought I would share my story. The silhouette at the top of the page is very very close to what I recall seeing. I remember him being a large overbearing figure, but not threatening. It just seemed like a large man wearing a hat and overcoat, watching me sleep. Very odd. Interesting website, hope you people find some answers. I wouldn’t be scared of this thing though. Since I turned over and went back to sleep after seeing him, I would say I was pretty damned vulnerable and he didn’t harm me so I don’t think there is anything to fear. Anyway, this is the only paranormal type event I have ever experienced and I’m pretty skeptical when it comes to this type stuff.
I just read through some other posts. Wanted to make note that there was no occult involvement from anyone in my family whatsoever. No wiji boards not even a magic 8 ball..hahaha. I don’t know why he paid me a visit. The only think significant that happened in my family’s life around that time was a year later over the summer my room was struck by a bolt of lightning. The lightning bolt stuck the wall directly behind my alarm clock and left a hole in the wall. Insulation in the wall caught fire and there was a decent amount of fire, smoke and water damage. Luckily, firemen arrived quickly enough to contain the fire to my room and the attic. Nobody was injured. I had a Bible on my night stand which had soot all over it but strangely was not burned in the fire. That was the only really significant thing that happened though. I do however distinctly remember a lot of smaller bad/unlucky type things happening that year and really on and off ever since. For instance, I hit a deer while driving (not rare in the south), I broke my leg, my dog was hit by a car, while walking down a sidewalk a bus tire blew up as the bus passed me and sent gravel/pebbles/grit into my legs causing me to have to go to the emergency room (this I thought was very unlucky!!!), hit by a golf ball which broke my hand, generally a lot of bad luck but small things, nothing major (other than the lightning strike). Maybe that SOB cursed me. It is kind of strange now that I think about it that all those unlucky things happened after seeing the hat guy. Probably just coincidence though…my luck has never been that great.
— JR