. Depending on who you ask, these might be considered more paranormal phenomena than a cryptid, but just roll with me for a minute here. Also it’s my show and Know Your Cryptids is catchier than Know Your Paranormal Phenomena.
I think most everyone has had an experience with shadow people at some point in their life, whether it’s that fleeting movement out of the corner of your eye, or the figure that watches you from the foot of your childhood bed.
There are a lot of explanations for this, from optical illusions and sleep paralysis to aliens and ghosts, but there are some things that all shadowpeople have in common: They are usually featureless, the size of an adult, and darker than the darkness around them. They don’t speak and seldom move, though sometimes they hover or glide around, and very rarely you might see one walk or run, darting across a room as though afraid of being spotted.
There’s one subset of shadowpeople I want to mention in particular, however, because it shows up in Midnight Radio, and that’s the Hat Man.
The Hat Man, like other shadow figures, is generally tall and slender, appearing as a darker void in an already darkened room. As the name suggests, however, it does have two distinct features: the silhouette resembles a man in a fedora and trench coat.
The Hat Man is distinct because it also may or may not have red or black eyes. Typically, it stands in a corner, watching, observing, or maybe leaning over you as you try to sleep. But by and large, it’s harmless and keeps its distance, even if sleep paralysis—and the sensation of being watched while you sleep—can cause feelings of fear and panic.
While shadow figures of various types associated with sleep paralysis can be found across every culture, the hat man specifically is the New Guy. Many scientists believe that this is because the fedora is the brain reworking the black shadow person template, so to speak, to match with something from popular culture. While descriptions of shadow people go back decades at least, the hat man seems to have started showing up in the 2000s when he began visiting the dreams—and waking states—of hundreds of people.
In my own writing, I’ve used him as an ill omen and a hint that all is not as it seems. Who is he? Why does he seem intent on watching our main characters?
Well, you’ll have to read the book to find out.
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