Shadow people

[[File:Shadowman-3.jpg|right|thumb|165px|"Honey, I'm home!"]]{{paranormal}}
'''Shadow people''' are supposedly [[supernatural]] beings that [[Paranoia|believers]] [[Hallucination|claim to see]] [[Pareidolia|flitting about in their peripheral vision]]. While various creatures of this ilk have long been a staple of [[folklore]] and [[ghost]] stories, the modern iteration gained popularity from the discussions of Heidi Hollis on [[Coast to Coast AM]] radio talk show, in 2002.

==Origin==
The modern idea of the shadow people gained traction when [[paranormal]] author Heidi Hollis appeared on the [[Coast to Coast AM]] radio talk show around 2002 to promote the existence of shadowy negative beings whose purpose, she said, was to annoy, scare, or harm people.<ref name="Cerulo2008">{{cite book|author=Karen A. Cerulo|title=Never Saw It Coming: Cultural Challenges to Envisioning the Worst|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=FzqGic7iB_kC&pg=PA67|accessdate=25 February 2013|date=15 September 2008|publisher=University of Chicago Press|pages=67–}}</ref><ref>http://www.heidihollis.com</ref> Radio host and skilled [[crank]] enabler<ref>See [[Mel's Hole]]</ref> Art Bell had been independently endorsing belief in "shadow people" for some time already.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWOiSflrAv4 Art Bell, The Shadow People</ref> Bell helpfully encouraged his listeners to reinterpret personal experiences of [[sleep paralysis]], [[pareidolia]], and [[hallucination]] as genuine encounters with malevolent supernatural beings. Soon, hundreds of callers flooded his switchboard, convinced that they, too, were being stalked by shadow people. Hollis was promptly enshrined as a regular guest on Coast to Coast AM, and the term "shadow people" was firmly lodged in the pantheon of pop culture batshit.<ref>http://www.coasttocoastam.com/guest/hollis-heidi/5884 Coast to Coast AM, Heidi Hollis</ref><ref name="Kinsella2011">{{cite book|author=Michael Kinsella|title=Legend-Tripping Online: Supernatural Folklore and the Search for Ong's Hat|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=aBK8Nr4edm4C&pg=PA117|accessdate=9 February 2013|date=17 May 2011|publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi|pages=117–}}</ref> Poor [[Wikipedia]], burdened by its [[Neutral point of view#NPOV on Wikipedia|neutral point of view]], was once compelled to treat the subject as a credible phenomenon.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shadow_person&oldid=116880691#Paranormal</ref>

==Claims==
Other 
opportunistic scammers
 authors quickly jumped on the bandwagon to add their own "knowledge" to Hollis's, er, "discovery". Shadow people, they said, were actually naughty [[extraterrestrial]] entities such as [[David Icke|reptilian lizards]] and [[grey aliens]] that could choke or suffocate sleepers, and one especially fashionable example called "the Hat Man" rather enjoyed dressing like {{wpl|Zorro}} with a three-piece suit under his cape. Others claimed that shadow people were [[time travel]]ers, visitors from other dimensions, astral travelers, or just plain old [[demons]], because why the hell not? Hollis wrote in her 2001 book ''The Secret War'' that shadow people were evil spirits engaged in a battle with [[God]], and only through [[prayer]] could one avoid their attentions. (Not surprisingly, her follow-up book was entitled ''Jesus is No Joke''.)<ref>http://www.jesusisnojoke.com/theshadowpeople/id2.html jesusisnojoke.com, The Shadow People</ref> Hollis maintains that shadow people can also take the form of headless torsos, [[cats]], bugs, streaks, and blobs.<ref>http://www.jesusisnojoke.com/theshadowpeople/id5.html jesusisnojoke.com, Shadow Gallery</ref> Why so many conflicting descriptions? Shadow people, say believers, are endowed with the magical ability to disappear before someone can get a good look at them… which is oddly convenient.<ref name="Stambaugh2013">{{cite book|author=Chad Stambaugh|title=Paranormal Investigations: The Proper Procedures and Protocols of Investigation for the Beginner to the Pro|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=AWsIBB0E_H8C&pg=PA52|accessdate=25 February 2013|date=16 January 2013|publisher=iUniverse|pages=52–}}</ref> One man featured on A&E's {{wpl|Intervention (TV series)|''Intervention''}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=Skyler / Jessa|url=https://www.aetv.com/shows/intervention/season-11/episode-8|series={{wpl|Intervention (TV series)|Intervention}}|season=11|number=8|work={{wpl|A&E (TV channel)|A&E}}|date=2012-02-20|access-date=2019-11-22}}</ref> sprays mist to unveil shadow people in the refractions and even built a weapon which he claims is able to fight the shadow people (or "phase people" who telepathically communicate with him using stolen technology, but that may be the 
[[bath salts]]
 lack of sleep talking).<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLHQw34ZYlo</ref>

==Rational explanations==
Being shadows, or even just blobs of darkness, it's not hard to imagine that many cases are hallucinations or simple cases of [[apophenia]]. Many reports claim that these creatures are seen "out of the corner of one's eye", or peripheral vision. Peripheral vision still maintains the ability to recognize patterns, so it's likely that many just misinterpret shadows to be faces or bodies.<ref>http://www.journalofvision.org/content/11/5/13.full.pdf+html</ref> It's also possible that hallucinations of this nature result from hypnagogia, a sleep condition similar to [[lucid dreaming]] where someone is able to perceive their surroundings, but still suggestible to ideas in their subconscious.<ref>http://www.sleepdex.org/hypnogogia.htm</ref>

==See also==
*[[Ghosts]]
*[[Alien abduction]]
*[[Incubus and succubus myths]]
*[[Legend tripping]]
*[[Lucid dream]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}    
[[Category:Paranormal]]
[[Category:Horror]]

Categories: Paranormal, Horror