Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis

Most of us have been frightened at some time by scary monsters in our nightmares, but that fear pales in comparison with the real mysterious and menacing figure who has people around the world shaking in their sheets. 

Known as the Hat Man, this tall, dark, featureless entity has been seen in people's bedrooms across the globe, watching over them from a doorway, cupboard or corner as they drift between sleep and consciousness. His name comes from the wide-brimmed hat victims describe him as wearing.

Reports of the Hat Man began appearing on social media and online messageboards in the late 2000s, attracting widespread attention and inspiring documentaries and the launch of a dedicated blog, The Hatman Project, for people to share their experiences.

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The figure's face and body are obscured, but descriptions of him are "remarkably consistent from one account to the next", said Rolling Stone. "It's the tall silhouette of a man in a brimmed hat, a presence that tends to appear when you're in bed at night, somewhere between sleep and consciousness."

The spooky being has "inspired its own lore and countless witness reports, lately fuelled by TikTok's fascination with the paranormal and occult".

Who or what is the Hat Man?

People throughout history have reported seeing a similar "nightmarish figure", reported Quartz, going back to ancient times and inspiring art and myths across all cultures. "People have described a frightening night-time vision that paralyses them with fear and seems to suck the breath right out of them, often by pressing directly upon their chest."

The phenomenon is known as a "shadow person", a concept that believers say is a ghost, but scientists attribute to sleep paralysis, when "the brain wakes up before the body does" and the person is unable to move.

The Hat Man is a modern-day example of a shadow person which, according to Rolling Stone, has become a "dominant character within the digital culture". The growth of reports on the internet has added to the power of the myth, with "suggestible youth" more inclined to "recognise" the figure in their bedroom and share their own experience.

What about the 'Benadryl Hat Man'?

For some, the Hat Man is a form of evil demon, sent from the underworld to hurt people. But users on networks like 4chan and Reddit have a more down-to-earth explanation of why he appears: cough medicine.

It's claimed that taking too much of the antihistamine drug diphenhydramine, which is sold to relieve symptoms of a cold and allergies under the brand name Benadryl, can bring on hallucinations, including sightings of shadow people. This particular form has been nicknamed the "Benadryl Hat Man", said Drugs.com. 

The Hat Man has become both an "inside joke and mascot" to users on these forums, who send "trip reports" of trying to see the figure, said Rolling Stone. 

However, it may not be only Benadryl that brings him out. "Any mind-altering substance taken to excess is thought to grant access to the Hat Man, even caffeine."

What is sleep paralysis?

This condition occurs when the line between sleep and wakefulness blurs. The sleeper starts to become aware of their surroundings, but is still in a state of temporary paralysis called muscle atonia – the body's way of stopping us moving and acting out our dreams.

Pinpointing the cause of sleep paralysis is tricky. Family history, stress levels, substance abuse and certain mental and physical health conditions appear to correlate with a higher likelihood of experiencing it, according to science magazine Discover. It can also be a side-effect of some medications, including "SSRIs, tricyclic antidepressants, anticholinesterase inhibitors, beta blockers, and sleep medications".

Around 20% of people have an episode of sleep paralysis at least occasionally and of them, as many as 75% suffer hallucinations, according to the Seattle-based Sleep Foundation. These are often informally referred to as "sleep paralysis demons".

What are sleep paralysis demons?

These "nightmarish hallucinations" often accompany episodes of sleep paralysis, said The Telegraph, adding that one study found 58% of sufferers "sensed a presence in the room, usually something non-human" while 22% claimed they saw a person "usually a stranger".

"Certain themes tend to occur more often than others," Chris French, a psychology professor at Goldsmiths, University of London, told the newspaper. In the Middle Ages, sleep paralysis was blamed on "sex-crazed demons" who had their "wicked way with their paralysed, helpless victims", a belief "beautifully illustrated" in Henri Fuseli's 1781 painting "The Nightmare".

This idea is where the term "nightmare" comes from, reported Sleep Foundation. It was originally "night-mare", referring to a usually female supernatural being that would sit on top of someone's chest "to suffocate them". The word "haggard" derives from the same phenomenon, The Guardian said, with the people of Anglo-Saxon England believing victims were "ridden by the hag" – a witch who descended on them as they slept.

Sleep Foundation goes back even further, citing the Mesopotamian legend from around 2400BC of Lilitu, while author Ryan Hurd, the founder of Dream Studies, described the later Judaic tradition of Lilith, an "owl-footed half human demoness" who "steals upon men at night" to breed half-human/half-demon babies. 

Greek physician Paulus Aegineta, in the seventh century, thought sleep paralysis was caused by Pan, "the faun-like God of nature and the wild", said The Guardian, who leapt onto the chests of victims.

Culture also affects reports of sleep paralysis demons, clinical psychologist Brian Sharpless told Global News, which is why they look "very different from one era or country to another". People from East Asia are more likely to see a ghost, while "dreamers" in Zanzibar say they have been "attacked by a giant black bat called a popobowa". "Every culture puts their own little spin on it," he added.

Why do people experience sleep paralysis demons?

The exact cause of hallucinations like the Hat Man is unknown, but experts believe they "occur when people experience the vivid dreams of REM sleep while they are awake", reported Sleep Foundation.

Some say the figure of the Hat Man may be the subconscious reworkings of figures from popular culture, including horror films, in recent times. For psychology professor French, "A Nightmare on Elm Street" character Freddy Krueger is the obvious suspect for today's sightings. He told Quartz: "This notion that you can be attacked when you’re asleep, that’s when you’re vulnerable. And of course, Krueger wears a hat."

Cultural beliefs "can have a profound impact on how people experience sleep paralysis", Dr Baland Jalal, a researcher at Harvard University's department of psychology, wrote in Scientific American. People who believe their paralysis is caused by supernatural demons are more likely to suffer. 

"It appears that the more people fear sleep paralysis, the more they experience it, and the stronger its effects are," he said. Accompanied by a belief in the paranormal, sleep paralysis can therefore be not just frightening, but potentially traumatising.

"The human mind is vastly more mysterious, and occasionally malevolent, than one would have thought."

Can you stop sleep paralysis?

It "remains something of a mystery", said Discover, which means there is no single cure for sleep paralysis. Sufferers are advised to focus on breathing and awareness and to "try to initiate movement with a small muscle", such as a finger or toe, an action that "can help bring an end to the paralysis episode".

With stress and trauma appearing to be contributing factors, meditation and relaxation can help reduce the chances of being affected. In one study, participants who used these techniques cut the number of episodes they experienced by more than half, and hallucinations by more than one-third.