I started having strange dreams around the age of 4-6 (I’m 25 now) involving this “Hat Man” which I kind of shrugged off for over a decade until telling my story to a girl who lived not too far from where I did as a kid who had a similar experience! My situation was rather strange, from what I can remember clearly: I would be dreaming normally and then something would happen inside my dream that would be a very clear signal that something bad was about to happen, and I immediately knew that I was dreaming, but could not wake up from the dream! Generally I would be looking at something and then it would start to distort, or spiral. At this point I would try desperately to wake myself from the dream… but it was unsuccessful every time. Once the spiral/distortion consumed me and my current dream world, I was placed into another dream setting, a very dark setting with something coming after me, or chasing after me, or trying to hurt me. I would run but it would always catch up to me and I would lose the fight. At this point every time: the hat man made an instant appearance in my consciousness and as soon as I screamed/acknowledged this figure I was allowed to wake up. The last time I ever saw him (yet) around the age of 5-7 (I don’t remember my age too clearly, but I remember being very young): I woke up and ran to my door screaming like usual — but this time I looked back at my bed, and he was standing there with what appeared to be my immediate family at the edge of my bed. This was the first time I had witnessed him out of dream state. My version of “Hat Man” was a tall, well dressed man: business suit, bowler cap, briefcase. He never did anything to me directly.. he just stood there watching (even in my dreams) Location: USA – Maine
By Jared Hodgkins