I first heard this term a month ago, after talking to some friends about my odd experiences after waking up from dreams in a paralyzed state (this is known as Sleep paralysis). Over time the experiences have got more real and more intense. Here are my experiences:
1) When I was about 22, I stayed at a house where I felt very unconformable. I woke up in a paralyzed state, feeling the presence of two figures all over me. I felt they are abusing me.
2) When I was about 26 and 27 (when I started to get into inducing lucid dreams, and as a consequence started having many lucid dreams). I woke up in a paralyzed state about 5 different times over a year period, to see a tall humanoid dark figure standing at a door way (sometimes it was my bed room door, other times it was a doorway that was not really there). I knew I was awake and in bed and couldn’t help my self from yelling at this figure. However I didn’t feel threated. My girlfriend also woke up to my yelling, some of these nights.
3) When I was 29 I had my most threating and scary experience (I’ve never felt so scared). That night I was dreaming about M-theory (string theory). In this dream I got the feeling I was on to something big (maybe the answer to universe/multi-verse?). Anyway, during the dream I was showing a friend these invisible strings. We were following these invisible strings (I could see them, as it bent the light), when the invisible strings started to wrap around me and constrict me (like a snake). It was then I woke up to a short (about 1 meter tall) humanoid figure right next to my bed (only half a meter from my face), it appear to be wearing a hood and was looking right at me (and I was looking straight back at it). My heart was racing and my breathing was extremely heavy (I’ve never been so scared or felt so threated). The figure then started to move towards me, and I saw, what appeared to be an arm/hand moving in a stabbing motion at my chest. I was trying to yell at it but was too scared, I know I was also trying to wake up my girlfriend (via yelling). When I snapped out of my paralyzed state, I woke up my girlfriend to tell her about the dream and the figure (which I now know to be a “Shadow Person”). While I was telling her the story, I could still feel/see a moving shadow (no clear figure) back and forth in the corner of my ceiling, and was asking her if she could see that – she couldn’t see anything. Another odd thing, was as I was telling the story, my father was in the spare room and woke up and started walking about the house. When I told him in the morning about what happened, I asked “why did you get up?”. He said he didn’t feel right and just felt he needed to get up and walk around. How bloody strange!
Experience (3), was so strange and scary it made me re-think my experimenting with lucid dreams. I don’t know what I’m dealing with, and that small shadow person made me feel like I was tapping into something I shouldn’t. Who knows, but the last thing I would want, is to learn something my human mind can’t handle, and as a consequence, my mind crashes (like a computer, like “Snow Crash”).
So this begs the questions: “What are Shadow People?”, “If they are real, why do they exist? why during sleep paralysis? why a humanoid figure?”, “Can I be hurt?”. Since learning the name of these phenomena, and realizing they have been witness by other people, and recorded for centuries.
I’m not religious, but I’m very opened minded. And through my research of robots, the human mind and the universe/multi-verse. I know there is more to this multi-verse, than meets the eye. Hopefully one day science will understand more on this phenomena, but until then I have the following theories:
1) A very good mind trick (from a dream like state appearing in my awaken state, aka Hypnagogic hallucination).
2) A being from another dimension (or parallel universe), and when they cross into our dimension (or universe), they appear as dark shadow’s. Steven Hawking has talked about this and its connection to dark matter – watch the youtube video.
While theory (1) is well documented, the feeling I got and how it happened, makes me think there is more to this than “hallucination”. It felt so real, not like a figure in my dreams at all. So: Why did I feel threated? Why was it looking at me? Why did it come at me? Why did it happen during a dream about M-theory?, and why did my father wake up?
Anyway, I may never know why these figures exist or not. But I do know it was the most strangest experience I’ve never had. The mind and the multi-verse is one amazing place and the more I practice and learn about lucid dreaming and our multi-verse, the more I feel connected to the reasons why this world exists, and what we maybe required to understand, in order to develop a human-like robot/brain.
I have had experiences with the dark figures or “shadow people” My 1st 2 experiences were just the basic sleep paralysis symptoms, waking up though not completely awake, have the sense of a being next to me, etc., etc. I dont have these experiences often maybe 4 times in my life.
The last time I had an experience with a shadow person is what I would like to explain. I was 32 going through divorce. I did have a g/f and I spent the night at her house. We fell asleep at a normal time. What is weird and different about this dream is I actually think I had a dream within a dream. I started off dreaming about something irrelevant, not sure I even remember what it was. I then awoke the the bed and same house, same setting, same g/f (as if it were real life). I even thought (was sure) I was awake. Someone knocked on her door and my g/f went to answer. It was dark outside still. She opened the front door (which I could see from the bedroom, still laying on the bed). It was a tall blonde haired man dropping her kids off. She sent the kids to their room to sleep while she conversed with this man, a chair in the kitchen started jumping up and down by itself. She saw it and didnt say a word about it. She ended her conversation with the man and came back to the room to go back to sleep. I asked her about the chair and if she had seen it. She said yes and not to worry about it. Obviously I was concerned and asked her about it again…. she just shrugged, so I decided to investigate. I opened the door to the hallway, it was pitch black and a child play bouncy ball came bouncing down the hall, I could not see the source of where it came from due to the extreme darkness in the hallway. I stood there kind of rattled a bit and a dark misty material passed through my body. I felt it pass through me, it was very cold and sent chills thoughout my entire body, very weird feeling, I turned around to see a shadow person, I did not see a face if it had one, it appeared to be looking at the ground, wearing some kind of hooded robe. I was paraylized in fear. I again woke up on the bed with a case of sleep paralysis. This time I was really awake, I waited for the paralysis to pass and then screamed and woke up my g/f. I told her about what happened and how real it was. The funny thing is I described the man who dropped her kids off to her and she said I described the man who takes her kids to church to a T. Which is fascinating becuase I had never saw or heard of this guy before. Sorry for the long story but I wanted to go into as much detail as I could about what happened to me. It has been over a year since I have had any experiences like this. I too am very interested as to what the beings are or if Im dealing with some kind of stress / sleep disorder. Like the o.p. I am very opened minded, not really religious, yet I beleive there is something other than what we can see in our current states. Just curious about what kind of feedback I could get from my story and actually nice to know there are others willing to discuss their similar experiences.
JP
I awoke lastnight to a dark figure at the foot of my bed at about 1:30 am. As I gazed upon it I found myself completely unable to move. I have never been so terrified in my life. It moved close to me in an eerie fashion, not taking steps, but instead as if it were floating across the floor. As it drew near I managed to make a meek cry and closed my eyes. As I reopened them it was gone.
I had an experience happen twice. A figure standing over me and it’s face about 2′ away from mine staring. I’m a Christian and felt fearful about it. What is odd is about 1 1/2 years later I saw the face in a movie. The movie is called the fourth kind and I saw the face on some of the figurines in the movie.
The figurine’s face were part of a collection of Sumerian art and figurines. I believe all experience are to be tested at a physiological, psychological, and then Spiritual level and in that order. These kinds of experiences are all quite subjective.
Well, that is my post.
Last night, I experienced the first time ever actually seeing anything but I have experienced sleep paralysis (or as we call it in the South, “The old hag riding you”) many times before. But last night was different. Last night, I attempted to wake up from an odd dream I was having. In the dream, I was being choked by something (I can’t remember if it was human or not). When I tried to awake from the dream, my eyes were about half open when I saw a short black shadowy figure to the EXACT description you provided. It even looked like it was also wearing a hood. Except it was standing by my feet at the edge of my bed on the side I slept on. I saw it move its arms, which were also black and very bony-like over my feet. I couldn’t move and tried to call for help but could only get out moans because I couldn’t move my lips or tongue. After that, I immediately was able to move and it whisked away. I’ve been creeped out ever since. I am also 21 by the way.
I had my fourth experience with these dark figures early this morning. Although my experiences are a bit different. I wonder if mine sounds like anyone else?
Firstly I do not feel at all paralyzed and the whole experience only lasts a few seconds. What seems to happen is that for some reason I wake up from a dead sleep to see a figure right next to my bed, staring at me. I then scream a blood curdling scream and yell at it. Next i’ve kicked at it or have thrown my pillow at it and when I look again it’s gone. I then get out of bed, turn on the lights and check my room. This has happened in two different apartments. I always feel extremely horrified afterwards and can’t sleep again that night. My heart is racing and my whole body shakes with adrenaline. It’s almost as if the feeling stays with me. I don’t really feel like i’m dreaming because I know i’m waking up to see this thing and then staying awake afterwards.
Also something that is different for me is that all four of my figures have been different. The first one wasn’t dark, more like a very pale young man with white hair and white clothes and he actually had some details to his face. The second one was a dark figure of a man, he was hunched over with his arms in the air and fingers spread apart looking as if he was about to pounce on me (this one was the most threatening). The third one was just a dark figure of a man standing and staring at me. This last one however really threw me off… I feel like this one was a dark figure of a woman, I couldn’t see her face but the shape of her seemed more like a woman and she was wearing a dark dress with dark flowers on it.
Thank you Luke for creating this blog. I’m sure a small percentage of us experience these phenomenon whatever it might be and it’s nice to know that I’m not alone in this experience. Any more insite over these phenomena would be much appreciated.
What i think is weird is my husband seen a shadow person when he woke up late night befor last.He told me abt it the next day.The weird thing is i saw 1 the same night.I was sleeping in the other room.Watched tv late so just fell asleep after i turned tv off.I have seen it befor but never told anyone.Why would we both have the same dream?And i sleep on my side and woke up that way.
The summer of 2008 I experneced something simular. I was not dreaming of super string theory, however I have studied it since I was 9. I have also been educated in it from a major University and devopleped my own theorys. I swear I was awake during my incident with the “shadow Figure”. I just layed down at my friends house after a long drive from South Carolina to Duke in North Carolina. About what seemed like an hour of restlessness and deep thought the shadow man appeared from a shadow like portal or worm hole. He stood approximitley 7 feet tall and was very large. Being trained in MMA and also being a very large man my immediate reaction was to defend myself. Unfortunitly my blanket suddenly felt as a heavy weight pressed against my body. I made attempts to notify my friend to get his gun, however my voice was mute. After several failed attempts to scream and move the dark figure that stood at the edge of the bed retreated back to the portal from which he came. The portal was dirrectly in front of my window outside the house. He passed through the wall as if a ghost. He walked right through the solid wall. As soon as he was apsent I was able to move freely and with voice. I woke my friend up in the other and explained the incident. Very much the most fearful event in my life. Please e-mail more detailed experence you had. Since then the immage has not reappeared, however years later it is still vivid in my memory.
in addition I do not beleive in ghost.