(Describer) Emily’s brother:

-[phone ringing] -(speaker) Hello? -Hey, man, what's up? -Hey, how's it going? So, I'm filming an episode right now, and I remember you used to have sleep paralysis, right? -That's right, yeah. -So my question is, did you ever see the Hat Man? Have you ever seen this guy?

(Describer) A shadowy figure in a wide-brimmed hat.

This one? Or maybe this one?

[suspenseful music]

Many people have seen him in their nightmares or while falling asleep. And those reports are all strikingly similar. His dark and featureless silhouette wears a signature wide-brimmed hat, and his very presence brings a sense of dread. This strange figure has been seen by so many people that he's earned a name: the Hat Man. The Hat Man seems to be accompanied by sleep paralysis, a phenomenon where the body is unable to move or speak while often experiencing vivid, terrifying hallucinations. Why does the Hat Man and other so-called "shadow people" appear so consistently across cultures? And what does his presence reveal about the nature of sleep paralysis and the human mind?

(Describer) In front of a faded handwritten letter, title: Monstrum. Doctor Emily Zarka:

[gentle suspenseful music]

Accounts of the Hat Man began to circulate on the internet in the late 2000s, then picking up steam with the introduction of TikTok over a decade later. But shadowy figures during sleep are by no means a modern phenomenon.

[soft music]

Throughout history and across cultures, people describe almost identical encounters with fearsome shadow people in that confusing state between being awake and sleep. The similarity of these visions feels so surreal, it might only be explained as supernatural. As far back as the second century, Greek physician Soranus of Ephesus, describes sleeping patients experiencing demonic attacks that evoked "a feeling of heaviness and oppression "and sort of choking. "They imagine that someone has suddenly attacked them "and stunned their senses, exhausting them and preventing outcry." Some people have proposed that shadow people are a shared hallucination, a psychiatric condition where one person's delusion becomes shared by two or more other people. In rare cases, shared hallucination occurs in larger groups. The idea that so many people separated by time and place would experience the exact same rare medical condition doesn't hold up as an explanation for shadow people in general, but it could be the case for the Hat Man variation, if we see the people sharing sightings of him as part of a close-knit community on, say, the internet.

[gentle mysterious music]

(Describer) Emily sits and opens a book.

The Hat Man variation of the shadow people lore wears a long coat and wide-brimmed hat.

(Describer) She writes notes.

He is six feet tall, a dark silhouette, and an undefined void where his face should be, and brings with him a sense of terror. Sometimes his eyes glow red or white. He lingers even after you spot him, sometimes approaching you, and he may sit on your bed or chest.

(Describer) She fills a page of the book opposite an image of the Hat Man.

[mysterious music swells]

A semi-popular explanation for Hat Man's appearance on 4chan and TikTok is that he appears after taking too much Benadryl, which some people are doing intentionally, I guess, in order to see the Hat Man? Please don't. So, what are some of the theories of what Hat Man is? Some say he's a demonic figure, while others believe he's an interdimensional extraterrestrial, or even the literal Devil himself. To me, the Hat Man is giving Freddy from "Nightmare on Elm Street" vibes-- a dark threatening man who wears a hat and haunts your dreams. Freddy might have influenced the modern perception of the shadow people myth. Regardless, as the Hat Man becomes more popular, the more people claim to have seen him. Similar stories of a presence sitting on someone's chest while sleeping can be found in accounts of "ghost oppression" in China, the Sebeteledi of Botswana, and the Bakhtak Jinn of Iran. And these are just a few of the numerous examples from around the world. The entities inspire the word we associate with sleep and fear-- the nightmare-- which comes from the old English "mare," an evil being that torments people and hinders their breathing at night. These original mares, like other shadow people and our Hat Man, reflect common characteristics of sleep paralysis, a disorder where the body is asleep while the mind remains partially awake. In typical deep REM sleep, the muscles of the body relax into temporary paralysis. This is a good thing. It's our body's attempt to ensure we don't physically act out our dreams. But during sleep paralysis, the person is conscious enough to be aware that they can't move. The condition is almost always accompanied by fear and often, hallucinations. People with sleep paralysis report difficulty breathing and pressure on their chest. The sensations of fear and anxiety are almost universal. At least 20% of the population have experienced sleep paralysis once in their life. So, I actually do know someone who used to suffer from sleep paralysis-- my brother. You used to have sleep paralysis, right?

(Mikey) That's right, yeah. A number of years ago. So, my question is, did you ever see the Hat Man?

(Mikey) I would say yes and no. You know that feeling of kind of some presence sitting on you? But I did also have experiences where I saw, you know, what I would call like "persons." Dark, shadowy, unrecognizable, but still, you know, like humanoid. -Oh, Mikey. So, sorry. -(Mikey) Yeah. -Definitely an experience. -That's so scary. I'm so sorry. Some doctors theorize that the experience of a menacing shadowy figure during sleep paralysis is caused by a little neural mix-up. The right side of the brain shapes how we see ourselves-- our literal self-image. It's also where we process environmental threats. So, sleep paralysis might induce that self-image into a hallucination, like a shadowy figure we see outside of ourselves. There's still a lot scientists are trying to understand with sleep paralysis, so it leaves a lot of room for interpretation, like the supernatural. While sleep paralysis is neurological, the way people experience and interpret it is influenced by their cultural background. And often that means attributing these nighttime figures to something supernatural-- witches, ghosts, demons, incubi, vampires, and other monsters, like malevolent animals. Today we are inclined to interpret these hallucinations as alien encounters or the trenchcoat-wearing Hat Man. Not all sightings of shadow people happen during slumber. They sometimes appear in alleyways at night or in the recesses of a closet, or during paranormal investigations of haunted places. But more commonly, they turn up just before or after falling asleep. I'm not saying that we should completely dismiss the possibility that these events are extra-natural, but sleep paralysis offers an explanation more rooted in science. That these stories have endured, suggests, to me at least, that we are fascinated by what happens when we sleep, and how much we still don't know about our bodies and our brains. And it speaks to the inherent vulnerability we face when asleep. Sleep is essential for our mental and physical health, and that means we need to turn off and allow our consciousness to be suspended, which can be a scary thought. I literally used to sleep with the covers completely covering all parts of my face except my nose and one eye, so I could spot any nighttime intruders, both human and supernatural. Whether your nightmare takes the shape of the Hat Man or a big cat or an alien presence, fears tied to sleep are natural. We've even evolved biological and cultural defenses to mitigate vulnerability during sleep. Our fear response naturally increases at night. We've also adapted our behaviors, like sleeping in groups, or by training animals to guard us. The Hat Man has his own subreddit, which began in 2014, and is still very active as users share their experiences with him alongside inspired artwork. I think part of this community is about finding comfort in knowing that others have similar encounters. The Hat Man might be a product of sleep paralysis, but perhaps he represents something more profound-- a shared archetype, a reflection of our subconscious fears, or even a phenomenon beyond full scientific explanation. My guess is the shape of this monster will change, but it will never go away.

(Describer) Outtakes:

The Hat Man variation of the shadow people lore...

(Describer) She tries to open the book.

If this would open...

Or while falling-- [chuckles] Sorry, let's pause.

(Describer) Accessibility provided by the US Department of Education.