Shadowmen Options

I wanted to put this in one of the entity forums but there didn't really seem to be any appropriate headings. I'm trying to find information on shadowmen, or shadow people. I've heard a plethora of different information from different sources and I'm not exactly sure what fits together and what doesn't. Some say that they feed off of fear, some say any kind of negative energy, and some say any energy at all, good or bad. No one seems to have a very clear idea where they came from; there are beliefs that they are kind of crossover spirits from another plane that show up as shadows, there are beliefs that they are somewhat egregorical and have been constructed from leftover fear and dark energy, and some sources say they were human in origin who's spirits have been altered into freaky life-sucky things. There also don't seem to be any references on how to banish them or protect from them apart from typical long ceremonial banishings, which you can't really do if you're walking down the street. Anyways, any information there might be floating around on shadowmen would be much appreciated. Thanks:)

8. They prefer to observe than interact, unless they are fulfilling the role of a child's imaginary friend, something I have read about in certain cases online, and that my ex girlfriend had personal experience of.

Perhaps they are the spirits of the cynical, the critical, and the negative, all in search of inspiration of childhood innocence. Perhaps this is why some children view them as friends rather than as things to be feared. That makes sense to me. After all, if I was like that, I would view a child's innocence as a gateway back to some better form or another.