I saw the ‘hat man’ once in an old house when I was very young, maybe ten or eleven. My family was house hunting in Tennessee. We had looked in quite a few places already, and we were now in Franklin. There was this great old house, civil war era or earlier. I was left alone while my parents talked to the real-estate woman, and I had gone down a hallway to see the other rooms. As I got closer to the end room, I felt a sense of inexplicable dread. There was with this, the feeling that someone had recently died in that room. It’s a hard feeling to explain, but if anyone reading this is sensitive to things like that, you’ll know what I’m talking about. I walked into the room, my curiosity getting the better of my fear. the white painted ceiling was sloped for the staircase above it, and right beside the closet door was another, much smaller door that a lot of old houses have. This sight scared me more than even the little flitting things left by a death that were already in the room with me. I turned then, and saw out the door at the end of the hall, the figure of a man, broad shouldered, a wide brimmed hat on his head. I was paralyzed with fear. My dad was coming down the hall to get me; I could hear his steps coming towards the man. I was afraid for him too then, surely this malevolent presence would harm him if he came to close. I thought to warn him, to yell, but no sound would come from me. As my dad appeared at the other end of the hall, the man vanished.
I think maybe this being is just another shadow being who has become more powerful over time, either from people making deals with him, or just the natural evolution of these beings. He could be as a giant wild boar with a head four feet long is to the rest of the wild hogs in the woods. He may have been a sentient being at one time, but who has since fallen into shadow. He may be a demonic entity (not in the Christian sense) or even a powerful spirit summoned a hundred years ago by a long dead and careless caster. Whatever he is, I urge anyone who reads this not to let him follow you, and to under no circumstances try making contact with this being. I’m convinced that he is dangerous.
— Shax