I wish to remain anonymous, but I just want to point out that The Hat Man I saw when I was a kid wasn’t just a nightmare or sleep paralysis. I experienced sleep paralysis when I was seven years old, and had non-stop nightmares about all the things you can imagine. But I never dreamt about those sleep paralysis demons; I’ve only seen them as shadows in the corner or crawling around my room when waking up from a dream.
When I was around 12 or 13, I was riding my bike up and down my street and my house at the time had wired gates. You can still see the backyard with the big tree standing there. I felt a sinister presence and turned my head to look behind me. When I looked at the big tree, I saw The Hat Man waving at me. The distraction caused me to hit a parked car, and I fell into a bush. I got up and ran to the tree to tell him to leave but he was gone.
My mother asked me what was wrong when I got home and how I got hurt. I don’t remember what white lie I had made up that day and told her but I have never forgotten that experience of seeing the man.