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The Ragged Shadow Man

 

The first experience I remember was before I was school age; I am guessing I was about three years old. I was in my grandmother's living room, sitting in front of and end table. My grandmother was sitting on the sofa on one side and my mother was sitting in a chair at the other side of the table. I was playing with cards or small toys on the table. It was evening, so the rest of the house was darkened.

I turned to look at the hallway to my left, about twelve feet away, and saw a figure of a man about four feet tall, all black, wearing a low hat with a very wide brim. I did not see a face or any features, but I did see that his coat was covered with hundreds of little strips of black cloth, each maybe an inch wide and about six inches long.

They asked me what I was looking at, and when I turned to look at them and then look back, it was gone. I told them what I saw, and while they assured me that there was no one, I insisted that I saw it. I don't remember crying, but I must have looked frightened, both for them to ask the question of what I was looking at, but also because they made a show of looking through the rooms down the hallway and assuring me that nothing was there.

This happened so far back in my memory that I was inclined to think it may have been a dream. But it has stuck in my memory all my life, and so many people have seen a similar figure with the hat and/or ragged clothing, perhaps it was real?

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The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, 113, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

Shades666 (1 posts)
 
12 years ago (2011-10-09)
When I was 7 I had this one day when it started. For no reason at all I saw a lot of them so did my friend.
This kept going on until I was 9 when everyone of them seemed to just vanish in front of me. Then this year I saw them again and when I went on holidays they appeared when I meditated and appeared everywhere. My friend and I seem to have almost a sixth sense. He can glimpse the future like I can But I can glimpse the past. I'm wiccan and an expert at seeing auras but It seems I can sense death. They were like your description apart from the fact that they never had a hat they were always dressed head to toe in a ragged cloak.
I used to be terrified of them but now I'm not. They show me their past while I figure out a way to free them. So if you see one of them again don't be scared either beckon to them to come over to you or go over to them they arent bad they just want to leave. Ask them a question about the happiest moment in their life then say to them to cling on to it. It seems they choose us for some reason. I think we might all have a secret sixth sense. Use that to your advantage and try to free them.
troyarn (5 stories) (479 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-01-13)
Thanks for the story, 113! Very weird. And I don't think that you imagined it. I have to wonder why their were pieces of cloth on it. Whatever the reason, I do believe you saw it and hope nothing else has happened. Again, thanks for the story!
Coyote42Dances (2 stories) (12 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-01-13)
I don't think you were imagining him, and you were too young to make something like that up. I too have seen a shadow man, and I was surprised to hear/read that the one you saw was short, because most people say the ones that they have seen are very tall. The one I saw was short as well. I am only 5 feet tall, and the shadow man I saw was just a few inches taller than me. I know what you mean about not being able to see or rather make out his features, I was standing right next to one, and could not see or rather make out his. He was just way too dark for me to make them out, although I could clearly see that he had features. One of my theories is that they could be some kind of an alien, as well. But I just don't know enough about them to be certain of what they truly are. I however felt no sense of danger or despair in his presence, just a sense of curiosity. So I wasn't afraid of him, and if he meant any harm he could have certainly done it, as I was alone at the time, and he was so close to me. I am sorry that I can't offer you any help, but I can say that I have also seen what you have seen, and so therefore you are not alone in your experience.
510mot (3 stories) (262 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-01-13)
When I was a child I would have nightmares about an entity like the one you saw. It wouldn't attempt to harm me but seemed to beckon me. Believe me, I stayed in my safe little bed. I haven't thaught of it in years and it still gives me the creeps.
Shelby427 (6 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-01-12)
It's amazing how far back we can remember. Only few things really stand out for me when I try and think back to the age of 3. But this incident, for you, was traumatic enough for you to NEVER forget it. I, like so many others, have seen "The Traveler" or "The Shadow Man". The last time I saw him was in 1995 but I've seen and felt worse than him since then. The one I saw did not have a tattered coat though. I have really never put much into aliens, not that I don't think there is some other life forms out there in the Universe, but lately, I have started thinking that it is possible that these specific shadow people so many see are actually the aliens people claim to have been abducted by. Why is it that so many people around the world describe seeing the same being? I have always experienced these shadow beings at night when they wake me up out of a dead sleep. Maybe people that are sensitive too their presence wake up before they are abducted. Every time I have been awakened by their presence that's when they decide it's time to go and they glide off and disappear before reaching the bedroom door. Are they just observing? I'm sorry. When I talk about this kind of stuff my mind goes in all different directions trying to understand. I don't necessarily believe in alien abduction or things like that but it's strange how so many people, bizzarely, disappear without a trace. And then sometimes they show up a long time later with amnesia. Who knows. It's something to think about. Especially after warching the movie "The Fourth Kind".

Thanks for sharing.

Shelby 😊
113 (2 stories) (2 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-01-12)
I asked them a long time ago if they remembered it and they said they didn't - that is why I started to think it was a dream. When I have told this story to other people, some have seen similar things. The hat is especially common, but one person said that "the devil wears the souls of the damned" and that is what I saw. The lack of negativity at the time and in the subsequent 40 years at that house, suggests to me it was not a persistent demon, let alone Old Scratch Himself.
roseinbloom (4 stories) (117 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2011-01-12)
Dear 113, I wonder if there is any revelance to the fact, that the spirits' coat, was covered with strips of cloth.
I would tend to believe you, because of the fact of your very percise discription of the coat. A 3 year old would not tend to make up something this unusual.
Please keep us updated, and thank you for sharing. ❤ 😆
KimSouthO (27 stories) (1960 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-01-12)
Have you ever had any other encounters or situations like this one? Now that you are older, have you tried to ask your mother and/or Grand Mother if they recall the incident adn if they have ever had a sighting or other problems such as this one?

Look forward to hearing more...

God Bless!
vulcan10 (5 stories) (332 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-01-12)
Maybe so. There are so many shadow people stories out there. To me, they seem to be the most mysterious. I've heard (or read) several theories, but really, no one knows. As many as there are though, there must be something there.

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