Shadow People, An analysis Options

I encountered what I presume to be "Shadow People" as a child, though as a scientist I'm inclined to believe I was hallucinating.

Has anyone here GENUINELY run into a full-fledged shadow person before? I'm looking for some answers regarding their motivations, origins and scope.

I encountered what I presume to be "Shadow People" as a child, though as a scientist I'm inclined to believe I was hallucinating.

Has anyone here GENUINELY run into a full-fledged shadow person before? I'm looking for some answers regarding their motivations, origins and scope.

Do you mean person sized frightening black blobby things coming into you room at night an freakin the sh*t out of you?
Then Yes.

I still don't know what to make of them, they could have been the astral bodys of sleeping living people or demons sent to suck the life from children. i don't know.
Wasn't fun, wasn't fair.
Was real.

First bit of magic i ever did was to frighten it away, spent weeks in a tired sleepless nightmare, had enough,
new that doing it at age 4 could have negative far reaching consequence as an adult, did it anyway, made a little idol out of fly-mo to frighten it.
worked for 2 weeks, bliss.

I don't think they spend all their time in our immediate astral reality's, but frequent known places, maybe to feed, maybe to seed their intention in the people of our world.
I'd love to know but i suspect their motives origin an scope are as varied as ours.

This post has been edited by Draw: Feb 18 2012, 01:35 PM

Most astral beings that spend a lot of time hanging around and interacting with this level are on the order small rodents, parasites and ghosts. The first two are mostly mindless and feed off of leaked energy - emotions, extra magick left over from a spell, that sort of thing. A spirit of the dead can take a number of forms, but for the most part they are harmless if somewhat bothersome. Humans are not that bright to start with and trauma from dieing unprepared does not help the mater.

The things that are not from the above but hang around any way form a class of beings mostly pleasant or at least not out right hostel. When you first get into magick a lot of astral beings start to take notice and come for a look. People are not used to seeing things pop up from nowhere and hang around them, so they get a little spooked. I once new a clairvoyant who was just starting out, had not an ounce of talent, but the intent to "commune with the spirits" was enough to get their notice. Things go weird and he dropped out of practice.

It does not sound from your profile like you do a lot of magick or are trying to talk to them. However, if you notice them, they will notice you. It might be that your a tad more observant than most, which makes you a curiosity. If you worried about a charm or even simple banishment will likely take care of it.



By the by, I would love to know how a four year old managed it.

Amusingly, I was also four when this occurred. I don't practise magic (yet), as I have difficulty with some of the concepts involved. I'm not quite as spiritual as the rest of you. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)
Maybe that age has something to do with it.

That is interesting..
I'd love to here what you would consider the best conventional ideas why this occurs, subtle young minds prone to hallucinations etc..
Not sure why hallucinations are such an important part of being 4..

~IMO hallucinations get a lot of personal experience pigeon holed as 'invalid', which is a shame because it leaves people asking how rather than why.

fatherjhon; Well, i think it was the desperate need to do it that truly enabled me, my parents were atheist an thus useless, i took a long time thinking about it at school an decided that i wasn't good enough to make something to harm them so i'd make a glow in the dark model that would get really big an bright an scary to the 'shadows' next time they came.
Kid's aren't stupid an i knew belief was an element, an frankly i also knew i was going to be good at it one day and already knew how to do it because if magic was real then i was already in communication with my future self.

Never done magic? thinking that is your first mistake, almost everyone dose it a few times in their lives, most way more.
The hard part for you atm is identifying when you might have done it.
Any intense surreal moments?
What about times when you have seen someone making a decision, observed it, needed a certain outcome an got it.
What about times when you might have had other needs (hunger, tired, nicotine withdrawn) an the people around you start to get the same motive without the need.

Ever had a sharp pain in the chest, then found out the reason for your heart brake later?
I find stomach acid gets blamed for an awful lot of distance emotional relationships..

My god your old; i'm thinking you might just get the answers to all your questions before i do (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)
but then again i'm betting you already have them.

At your time of life it would be a shame if you were not contemplating doing illegal drugs while you still have a chance of obtaining them. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

This post has been edited by Draw: Feb 19 2012, 03:18 PM

That is interesting..
I'd love to here what you would consider the best conventional ideas why this occurs, subtle young minds prone to hallucinations etc..
Not sure why hallucinations are such an important part of being 4..

A cursory glance at this sort of phenomena indicates that it is stress-related and quite common.http://www.julianjaynes.org/related-articles_hallucinations.php (not sure why this didn't hyperlink).


In a more metaphysical vein, 4 is an unlucky number in Chinese for its association with death (the words sound almost identical). Maybe this is based on actual phenomena.

~IMO hallucinations get a lot of personal experience pigeon holed as 'invalid', which is a shame because it leaves people asking how rather than why.

In what sense? In the sense that people don't believe children who claim to have bugs crawl all over them (one of the most common descriptions)? The research seems to indicate that the focus is entirely on the why, rather than the how, so I don't see where you get this idea.

Never done magic? thinking that is your first mistake, almost everyone dose it a few times in their lives, most way more.
The hard part for you atm is identifying when you might have done it.
Any intense surreal moments?

I think everyone's life has surreal moments, but chalking that up to some sort of magical ability is too grandiose for my liking.

What about times when you have seen someone making a decision, observed it, needed a certain outcome an got it.
What about times when you might have had other needs (hunger, tired, nicotine withdrawn) an the people around you start to get the same motive without the need.

I believe in coincidence.

Ever had a sharp pain in the chest, then found out the reason for your heart brake later?
I find stomach acid gets blamed for an awful lot of distance emotional relationships..

I... don't feel emotions the same way normal people seem to.

My god your old; i'm thinking you might just get the answers to all your questions before i do (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)
but then again i'm betting you already have them.

At your time of life it would be a shame if you were not contemplating doing illegal drugs while you still have a chance of obtaining them. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I think it comes as no surprise that I am lying about my age. I wanted to remove my age entirely but the website restricts that. I find that presumed assumptions about age (and therefore life experience) affects interaction with others, especially in this sort of setting.

This post has been edited by Sasin: Feb 20 2012, 02:45 AM

Well frankly i'm glad you lied an told me but not glad you lied.

A cursory glance at this sort of phenomena indicates that it is stress-related and quite common.http://www.julianjaynes.org/related-articles_hallucinations.php (not sure why this didn't hyperlink).


In a more metaphysical vein, 4 is an unlucky number in Chinese for its association with death (the words sound almost identical). Maybe this is based on actual phenomena.

Stress; well i can't deny, i was under stress at the time. It's quite common for people worried about malevolent spirits to get a bit up-tight.
I've herd that about Chinese numerology aswell, it may well be an important factor.

In what sense? In the sense that people don't believe children who claim to have bugs crawl all over them (one of the most common descriptions)? The research seems to indicate that the focus is entirely on the why, rather than the how, so I don't see where you get this idea.

My bad, i'm.. intentionally talking out my arse their to see if you'd spot it.
Yeah.
I get the bug thing, not all the time, just now an again, i don't know what it is either but it's not small insects.
can you call any sensory distortion a hallucination?

I think everyone's life has surreal moments, but chalking that up to some sort of magical ability is too grandiose for my liking.

Why dose magic have to be so grandiose? you have to admit that once you realize it's existence seeing it as anything more than an ordinary biological function for humans (an probably other life) is quite foolish,
evolution would seize that advantage an take it much further as soon as it had opportune to do so, magic is just a name, your functioning mind will be using it's principles right now, it just gets weirder under certain conditions.
Its the extremes that teach us the quality's of the medians.

QUOTE
What about times when you have seen someone making a decision, observed it, needed a certain outcome an got it.
What about times when you might have had other needs (hunger, tired, nicotine withdrawn) an the people around you start to get the same motive without the need.

I believe in coincidence.

How good is your memory for remembering what you were thinking when something happens? because this is the science of the effects of your personal existence on everything else,
when something happens while something else is happening, repeatedly, you can use that knowledge like an algorithm, the tricky bit comes once you realize that your own knowledge of it can up-set the equation.

So much of the 'knack' to this stuff is objectively understanding what happens in day-to-day life and forgetting enough of it to let it continue undisturbed but still utilizing the process to get results.
Doing that without fooling yourself is important an vastly easier if you are 'true to your self', don't make promises you can't keep to yourself or break them when you do.
That's important because to learn what an how aspects of your existence effects the universe without effecting your state of mind you need to not-know what you know yet still be guided by your knowledge.

I... don't feel emotions the same way normal people seem to.

Dude, i was assumbing you had 98 years of experience to look back at when i wrote that, i wouldn't have otherwise.
i'm going to assume your not even in your late teens yet,
i didn't start to get emotional about lots of stuff until my mid twenties, now i cry my eyes out watching silly films, i think it's a boy thing, from ages 8-17 i didn't feel them in the same way either.
Your not the first person to say that, you won't be the last.
That must really piss you off, i can see why you would lie (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I think it comes as no surprise that I am lying about my age. I wanted to remove my age entirely but the website restricts that. I find that presumed assumptions about age (and therefore life experience) affects interaction with others, especially in this sort of setting.

While i knew their was a high chance you where lying about you age, but i like to assume honesty in the kind of environments where lying isn't productive to understanding.
Because despite the frustration of seemingly being talked down to you will benefit far more from people who know your limitations.
Most 98 year olds have a very different agenda concerning this stuff, they are stubborn an much less capable of changing their mind and primarily concerned with the pressing engagement with death.
i.e. no ones going to challenge them about anything, they have had enough already.
You will probably want to get laid an impress your friends an work out whats actually happening in the world an your future place in it, nothing wrong with that,
that's still my agenda if i'm honest.
i.e. old gits like me will see you as an opportunity to unload as much worldly advice as possible in the vain hope you don't f%*!-up as much.

Basically your right, your young age will effect your interactions with people here, but hopefully for the better.
You can still be arrogant, you can still pretend to know more than you do an you get the bonus of being able to be childish if it suits you.
Nothing to loose everything to gain.

Do they still bother you?

This post has been edited by Draw: Feb 20 2012, 09:25 AM

I think everyone's life has surreal moments, but chalking that up to some sort of magical ability is too grandiose for my liking.

I... don't feel emotions the same way normal people seem to.
I think it comes as no surprise that I am lying about my age. I wanted to remove my age entirely but the website restricts that. I find that presumed assumptions about age (and therefore life experience) affects interaction with others, especially in this sort of setting.

I agree... surreal moments in life count as endorphins maybe but probably not magic. What do you mean you don't feel emotions the same way other people do? Do you feel them much less than other people seem to? Or do you feel them stronger? Or do you have reactions that seem out of place, such as laughing at something scary or running from something funny?\

Also, what do you mean you are a scientist?

This post has been edited by ☞Tomber☜: Feb 21 2012, 09:03 PM

I agree... surreal moments in life count as endorphins maybe but probably not magic. What do you mean you don't feel emotions the same way other people do? Do you feel them much less than other people seem to? Or do you feel them stronger? Or do you have reactions that seem out of place, such as laughing at something scary or running from something funny?\

Also, what do you mean you are a scientist?

I have GAD and comorbid depression, I feel emotion MUCH less than others seem to, especially at the upper end of the spectrum.


I'm a microbiologist.

Why dose magic have to be so grandiose? you have to admit that once you realize it's existence seeing it as anything more than an ordinary biological function for humans (an probably other life) is quite foolish,
evolution would seize that advantage an take it much further as soon as it had opportune to do so, magic is just a name, your functioning mind will be using it's principles right now, it just gets weirder under certain conditions.
Its the extremes that teach us the quality's of the medians.

This is a common misconception about evolution. Evolution isn't the survival of the fittest, it's the survival of the "fit enough". Magic isn't necessary for the dissemination of genes, and so it is not an evolutionary trait any more than innate carpentry skill would be.

i'm going to assume your not even in your late teens yet,
i didn't start to get emotional about lots of stuff until my mid twenties, now i cry my eyes out watching silly films, i think it's a boy thing, from ages 8-17 i didn't feel them in the same way either.
Your not the first person to say that, you won't be the last.
That must really piss you off, i can see why you would lie

Nice try with the age guess, but you're way off. This sort of discussion is the reason I choose to hide my age online as much as possible. One of the benefits of anonymous online discussion is that it strips away assumptions regarding age, gender, SES, race etc.

Going back to actual shadow people. I only experienced one interaction with them.
Is there any legitimate canon on them or is a disparate collection of sources from cryptozoological websites and the like?

This is a common misconception about evolution. Evolution isn't the survival of the fittest, it's the survival of the "fit enough". Magic isn't necessary for the dissemination of genes, and so it is not an evolutionary trait any more than innate carpentry skill would be.

Well wait a minute their, a species as a whole has a far better chance when it produces skilled individuals with the ability to help the community in some way. Human's have been around for little while now an basically every recorded one in
history has had shaman/priests an magical teachings available, except in some European country for 4-5 hundred years, as a racial habit it would have disappeared thousands of years ago had it not presented a significant advantage.

Going back to actual shadow people. I only experienced one interaction with them.
Is there any legitimate canon on them or is a disparate collection of sources from cryptozoological websites and the like?

Black people type things happen all the time, could be anything, it's just the way they appear to us sometimes. the distinct lack of visual data can be seen as sinister but it might not be so.
I think the most editions of the monster manual have shadow people if you after something specific.

I have GAD and comorbid depression, I feel emotion MUCH less than others seem to, especially at the upper end of the spectrum.
I'm a microbiologist.
This is a common misconception about evolution. Evolution isn't the survival of the fittest, it's the survival of the "fit enough". Magic isn't necessary for the dissemination of genes, and so it is not an evolutionary trait any more than innate carpentry skill would be.
Nice try with the age guess, but you're way off. This sort of discussion is the reason I choose to hide my age online as much as possible. One of the benefits of anonymous online discussion is that it strips away assumptions regarding age, gender, SES, race etc.

Going back to actual shadow people. I only experienced one interaction with them.
Is there any legitimate canon on them or is a disparate collection of sources from cryptozoological websites and the like?

That's really interesting. I have never seen a "shadow person" though. So what is the difference between this and say a ghost?

Going back to actual shadow people. I only experienced one interaction with them.
Is there any legitimate canon on them or is a disparate collection of sources from cryptozoological websites and the like?

The gist I get from your description is that its an non-corporal entity of some kind, though, exactly what might not be possible to find out given the nature of your encounter. Cryptozoological might not adequately cover these sort of astral critters. Demonology is likely your best shot even though it will inevitably deal with beings that have no relation to the sort of things you experienced. Unfortunately there are many many types of being that your shadow people could be and very few occultists have bothered to say much about them being as they are either pests or harmlessly curious. I cannot therefor suggest a popular, reputable occultist you might look up, but man called Conway (1800 something) put together a book of devil-lore which has a chapter on Shadows and Nightmares.

Edit: Internet Archive has a copy.

This post has been edited by fatherjhon: Feb 22 2012, 05:00 PM

That's really interesting. I have never seen a "shadow person" though. So what is the difference between this and say a ghost?

The Shadow People I encountered were only vaguely humanoid. They also only appeared on the walls and I've never heard this description used for ghosts before. Imagine a shadow puppet show; their eyes and mouths were created by allowing light to shine onto that spot.
I always got the impression that ghosts were deceased individuals whose forms were almost always human in nature when they were visible. I'm not ruling out the possibility that they were/are ghosts, but they definitely don't match any description I've ever heard of.

Edit: Actually, my display picture is a fairly good representation of what it would look like, except the heads were much pointier, as if they were wearing party hats or something.

This post has been edited by Sasin: Mar 29 2012, 12:18 AM

I'm going to have to say I've ran into a good few. I used to see them a lot as a child. The most terrifying memory I have of such a thing happened in the middle of the night oddly enough. I was asleep, but woke from some none specific unsettling dream. Nothing malevolent really, just uneasy. I knew something was watching me, something strange and alien and unknowable. I looked at the wall and there was a shape. It was darker than the darkness in my room and it had eyes. They seemed red. I closed my eyes and waited. The feeling remained, but I had hoped it was just my imagination. I opened them again and it was still there. Then it moved. I hid under the sheets for the rest of my life. I have a few more stories of varying amounts of fear, but from what I can tell they watch. They watch with a purpose that might be beyond human comprehension. I have a feeling it isn't good.

I encountered what I presume to be "Shadow People" as a child, though as a scientist I'm inclined to believe I was hallucinating.

Has anyone here GENUINELY run into a full-fledged shadow person before? I'm looking for some answers regarding their motivations, origins and scope.

Yes I have seen shadow people a few times. I have moved house many times and and have seen them both in houses/flats/appartments and also once in the garden. I have seen them only in the day time. I always see males. Twice they were dressed in brown monks robes.
I never give it much thought is just something that happens. As to origins and motivations I have read a bit about it online after I got on the internet and I have my own thoughts about shadow people . Just my opinion which I keep to myself. Others might have different views/opinions.