What are Shadow People and How to Get Rid of Them?

It’s late at night, and your room is dark. You’re exhausted, but you can’t sleep. There is something standing in the corner of your room, looking at you, studying you. It looks like the shape of a man, but it is not a man. It is a shadow, a shadow that seems to move, and think, entirely on its own.

What you saw was a shadow person, and you are not alone. Seemingly since the dawn of civilization, people have had encounters with shadow people, spanning all manner of countries, cultures, and societies. It is a global phenomenon, and encounters seem to be growing with each passing year.

What do Shadow People Look Like?

Many people who witness a shadow person are quick to claim they’ve seen a ghost. However, their appearance, and behavior vary greatly from your standard spectres. Usually, spirits are translucent and have an almost mist-like quality about them.

The appearance of a shadow person can vary slightly, but they are always dark, and nearly impossible to see through. Some shadow people are more abstract in shape–like a cloud or a tall black mass. Others are much more defined, with a clear head, torso, and limbs. Several individuals have even encountered a shadow person donning a bowler hat. In fact, the shadow hat man is reported to be even more terrifying, and antagonistic than ordinary shadow people. There are those who even speculate that the hat man is the de facto leader of the shadow people.

There has been an increase in sightings over the last few years, as well as some new developments as to the physical characteristics of shadow people. Some individuals have started to report that the shadow people are plagued by having distinct eyes, either all white, or all red in color.

But What IS a Shadow Person?

Collectively, we aren’t entirely sure, though many interesting theories exist–and one of them is bound to be right.

Some people are convinced that these entities hail from the underworld, and seeing black shadows in the peripheral vision indicates a brief moment where the fabric between our two lives has shifted or weakened.

Others agree, these creatures are not alive, but they think shadow people are demonic in origin. They are fallen angels, traversing the world with unholy agendas, doing the devil’s bidding.

Much like the theories you hear about doppelgangers, it is also believed that witnessing a shadow person is a bad omen, and may even be a sign of one’s impending death. This theory, however, seems less, and less plausible the more encounter stories you read online. There are many unfortunate individuals out in the world who have been tormented by shadow people for years.

Those who favor scientific, over supernatural, explanations theorize that shadow people could be time travelers, visiting us from the future. They believe this can adequately explain why shadow figures look human-like in form. It is the nature in which they travel that makes them unable to materialize as fully formed humans when manipulating the spacetime continuum.

Still, others suggest that shadow people are visitors from another dimension, one that exists all around us, but we rarely see. Mathematicians and string theorists believe there are at least 10 dimensions, but quite possibly as many as 26. Who is to say these extraordinary beings are not interdimensional visitors?

A smaller amount of people, those who have had more intriguing than scary encounters with these entities, surmise that shadow people are nothing more than guardians, or spirit guides, entrusted to watch over specific individuals throughout their lives.

Everybody has a theory.  The simple truth is we may never know, or we may not yet be capable of comprehending the truth.

The Issue of Sleep Paralysis

Skeptics claim that shadow people simply do not exist. Instead, they are manifestations created by the brain while under sleep paralysis. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, sleep paralysis typically occurs when an individual wakes up from sleep, but their body has yet to wake up. Thus, rendering them unable to move or speak. Episodes can last up to a couple of minutes and have been experienced, at least once, by half our population.

Sometimes these chilling episodes are accompanied by hallucinations. Many people have reported seeing intruders in their room while paralyzed. These intruders will either remain in the individual’s periphery, or–much worse–they will crawl over, and sit on the individual’s chest.

While these experiences can be quite frightening, they are different from that of shadow people. People are not paralyzed when they encounter a shadow person… not literally, anyway. We can’t knock anyone who becomes too afraid to move when interacting with a shadow person, especially because these inexplicable entities seem sentient when they interact with humans. Several people have reported that they feel as though the shadow person in the room is staring at them, studying them intently. This seems to be an entirely different experience from sleep paralysis, though it should be kept in mind that there are unfortunate souls out there who will come to experience both in their lifetime. A chilling thought.

What Does Seeing a Shadow Person Mean?

Simply put, they have an interest in you. The why of it typically stems from what theory you choose to believe as to the nature of shadow people. Again, some people think a shadow person is some form of a guardian angel, or protector, meant to watch over a specific individual.

Even wilder is the idea that a shadow person could potentially be your future self, or maybe a relative who does not yet exist in the current time. But if that were the case, why are shadow people known to be so aggressive? Why are some individuals targeted constantly, while others not at all? At this point, we have far more questions than answers.

If, however, you find yourself harassed by one of these entities, there are certain steps you can take to make them go away.

Getting Rid of a Shadow Person

If you’re trying to get a shadow person out of your home, the first thing you should do is clean it. Shadow people seem more prevalent in dark, messy homes, filled with clutter. Open the blinds, or turn all your lights on. Strip your home of unnecessary, unwanted items, and once you have that accomplished, begin sweeping, vacuuming, and dusting. Having a bright, clean, and tidy home will naturally deter shadow people.

Some individuals have also had success by performing a cleansing ritual on their property. There are many variations on how to do this, but most call for a sage smudge stick. Letting one end slowly burn, it is recommended that you take the smudge stick to every corner, every door, and every window of each room, letting the smoke purify each space.

Others have reported that ignoring the entity will often make it go away, because they either want or need, our attention. A few brave souls claim they’ve had success by making light of the situation–joking or laughing about the fact that this manifestation is in their house. Both of these solutions should be used with extreme caution, however, as they have been known to backfire. Ignoring or laughing at a shadow person could potentially trigger a more violent response out of them.

When in doubt, the best practice is to simply command the shadow person to leave. A lot of people have gotten the impression that, while shadow people like to pay close attention to us, they don’t particularly enjoy it when we pay close attention to them. Acknowledging the entity’s presence, then kindly, but firmly, commanding them to leave seems like a pretty straight forward way to go.

What If They Don’t Leave?

There are certainly shadow people out there who seem more stubborn than others. Individuals with chronic encounters can often be found on message boards, constantly on the hunt for new advice, and new insight. Do not despair, as there are still a couple of things you can attempt.

First, you can make a peace offering. You can accept these visitations, so long as the shadow person adheres to boundaries that you set. For example, if the shadow person likes to hover over you while you sleep, you can tell it that it is welcome to remain if it does not give in to that kind of behavior anymore. Be firm when you set these boundaries, and provide concrete consequences if the shadow person does not follow the rules. Some people have reported success with this, especially accompanied by a small trinket as an offering to the shadow person.

Second, you must do everything in your power to rid your life of stress. A tall order, right? But it can significantly help your situation. We may not quite know what shadow people are, but there is a general consensus that they feed off negative energy. Finding ways to strip stress, and drama from your life will naturally rid your home of shadow people because they have nothing to sustain them. In essence, you will combat these beings with happiness, pure, and simple.