Ancients Lore Concerning Shadow People

 

Egyptians called the shadow khaibut. The Egyptians believed that the khaibut was one of seven souls that each person had.

The Roman word for shadow was umbra, also meaning ‘the shade’ or the ghost of an individual who went to a place called the Land of Shades. The land of Shades was believed to be underground or part of an Underworld and after the person died, their shadow went there. In Greece, people were known to dedicate their shadows or give them over to a God such as Zeus. This was considered to be a marvelous sacrifice but at the same time or later on, fearsome. For instance, it was believed  that if a person went to the temple or sanctuary of Zeus Lycaeus, they would lose their shadows. For those who do not know, Lycaeus was believed to be the origin of Werewolves and from this particular story, maybe some of the lore concerning werewolves became born. In medieval times, werewolves and vampires were a phenomena that said that anyone cursed this way, lacked a shadow or reflection. They lacked soul.

Also in medieval times, cornering a witch and proving her to be one, the shadow played a big part. If someone sold their soul to the devil then they had no shadow—hence shadow being linked with the soul again. In Europe, people believed that the shadow beings desired blood and without it, couldn’t be reborn. Superstitions and fear spread like the black plague concerning a person’s shadow. People refused to let their shadows fall on graves, a rumbling river or near a cliff.

In biblical times, curses were spoken on a person’s shadow. For example in Numbers 14:9 –“Their shadow is departed from them.” Saying something like that meant undeniable doom and was the lowest of low. I gather that in today’s times, it would be worse than throwing shoes.

Now kicking aside the superstitious fear concerning the shadow, according to Pagans and those before them, in ancient times…a person who did not have a shadow was NOT a demon, a vampire, a werewolf or someone who had given their soul over to any devil.

They were believed to have went into some sort of eternal bliss.

Plutarch said, “At the end of the world, the blessed ones would be happy forever. In a state neither needing food nor casting a shadow.”

So if we take into consideration what the Ancients believed concerning ‘Shadows, Shadow sightings and people’, is it safe to say that the Shadow experience you have had, is indeed a spirit or ghost or someone who has passed on to the other side? Maybe, but then again I have to personally wonder…why are so many sightings the same? Why is the image that we see of the Shadow person always a common one? Is it that all dead people wear hats, or cloaks or are seen staring at the floor? Why are the shadows able to take full form or any form—animal, creature, man, while other dead people can only become orbs or when they take actual form, look like an actual person?

Where are the Shadow women?  Not one person I have interviewed, have I heard or read any reports concerning a Shadow person looking like a woman. I have read and heard of small shadow figures being no bigger than a child but people do not connect them with actual children. it is only the size that they are compared to verses the others who can be up to seven feet or more in height. No women…unless you listen to the incredible but draining stories of sex that some seem to link with the succubus and incubus theories. With respect, those aren’t enough to me. There aren’t enough of them being told on or off the internet. So there doesn’t seem to be any pattern there for me except maybe someone is having some awesome dreams and the rest of us should be simply jealous lol.

If the Shadow beings are ‘Watchers’ then does this make them some sort of guardian? And why do some attack or is it like Carry said, it was her own fear doing this to her. If they are Watchers, then what are they watching? Surely they know more than we do. Is there a reason some see them and others do not? The ones who see them, do they have a link or connection to these beings while others may have a connection to some other paranormal type thing? I know it has nothing to do with open mindedness. I have interviewed to many people that had no knowledge and or belief in them. It just started to happen and that’s when they started looking for answers. Some incidents start happening when people are children while others happened as adults.

I think we will need to look more into the Underworld or Land of Shades, which again means there will be more parts to this subject. We also have to look into the lore of the Spider and try to help people figure out what that is that they are seeing. Like the shadow people, there are very few stories out there but even less concerning the spiders. The only answers that these people are finding is that either they are crazy, dreaming or it is being confused with some spiritual symbolism or dream analysis. These people like my friend Carry know that this is not a dream. So pretty soon we will explore that one and I am sure we will touch base with some of our previous subjects as well.

Shadow People, Astral Spiders, & Hypnagogia

 

So what are Shadow People, Spiders and Beings?

We all know what spirits or ghosts are, so I suppose we can place them in that category except, there is no proof that these beings are dead, are repetitive echoes, a haunting or formless.

They appear void at times if not strangely solid. By solid, they are still dark as Shadow but an even blacker color outlines their features.

One of the most common sightings has been the figure of a man or someone in a cloak. Sometimes they are seen wearing a hat or hooded sweat shirt. Whatever they are wearing, they lack color.

Imagine– you are staring into an actual person who is nothing more than solid smoke or even slightly transparent at times. The strange thing is, you can catch detailed outlines concerning their face or clothes.

It’s hard to think that anything which appears to be solid or merely bleak can have any sort of outline about it. But people have reported that at times they can make out their features clearly as well as the smaller details of their clothes. Some reports claim they have glowing eyes, mostly red. Some reports claim that they act unaware (as if you are not there)– as if passing from one room, while others claim these beings have had their attention directly on them.

Many reports claim that the energy or feeling in the room changed to something fearsome. Other reports claim that the person witnessing this act was attacked, unable to scream, or paralyzed.

Now before we fix our minds on a notion of fear—let’s reserve that until later because I have some theories of my own.

When do these sightings happen?

I call it the Twilight (No, Stephanie Meyers has nothing to do with this) but a more technical word is Hypnagogia. Basically, it is known as a sleep paralysis which has the attention of many doctors and scientists who are studying it. The easiest way to describe it is–

You go to bed, close your eyes, go to sleep.  Only you do not sleep deeply nor are you fully awake. You are stuck somewhere in between.

Now do not confuse this with sleep walking. That is NOT what it is. People who experience this are completely aware of everything that is going on around them. They can sit up in bed, walk through their house, pet a dog or see their wife or husband sleeping beside them. They can talk and interact even though their minds are not fully awake.

So what is so different during this time that they seem to think they’re partly asleep? Good question.

Even though they can interact with their normal environments, not everything is the same. It is as though they are lingering between two worlds. Their subconscious mind is in equal balance with their conscious mind.

Meaning, they are open to whatever may come, eyes open beyond the veil but their conscious minds do not have the draw backs–jerking them out of this moment or to prevent them from seeing, experiencing, and interacting with whatever may be.

This is when some people experience the Shadow Beings, Spiders, or other types of Other Worldly phenomena. It is NOT the only time, but this is a common one, as well as wide spreading.

Now it should be known that Science and Doctors have their own explanations of this but NOTHING is for certain simply because they’re pretty much clueless as to what Hypnagogia is and what these people are really discovering during this phase. The experts are blaming it on sleeping positions, among other things, saying that if someone sleeps on their back– that this is what causes it.

Now it should be noted that I did say above that this phenomena is becoming widely spread. That doesn’t mean  it did not exist before. I think because of the internet and the loss of fear in speaking about these things has made it possible for others to realize that they are not alone.  It should also be mentioned that Shadow beings have been reported since Ancient times but we will get more into that later.

A direct quote from Wikipedia concerning Hypnagogia:

Early references to hypnagogia are to be found in the writings of Aristotle, Iamblichus, Cardano, Simon Forman and Swedenborg.^[11] Romanticism brought a renewed interest in the subjective experience of the edges of sleep.^[12] In more recent centuries, many authors have referred to the state; Edgar Allan Poe, for example, wrote of the ‘fancies’ he experienced “only when I am on the brink of sleep, with the consciousness that I am so.

So you see it is not new by any means, only our awareness of it since we still seem to be in the Dark Ages concerning anything other than what is socially accepted. Being taught not to believe in such things or that it is against some sort of religion– has really blind sided us I think. 

Let it be also known that during Hypnagogia or what I call ‘Twilight’, Shadow people or beings are not the only thing experienced.

Many people claim that they have got up from their beds, walked out the door to new or past worlds. Some have experienced or revisited past lives or countries.

One woman I read about, reported standing by her bedroom window, waving to people who were passing by outside her home. They stood there waving at her while she waved back at them. At some point she snapped out of it, finding herself standing there waving– only the people she remembered in every detail were no longer present.

Other people report having long conversations with deceased relatives who are possibly standing by their bed or sitting in the same room with them. Some people claim that they are visited by those who are not dead. They have absolutely no idea what they are, but they do know death did not bring them to their bedrooms.

Now even though Twilight is not the only time this happens, this is one of the biggest reports of the Shadow Beings that people claim to experience. Possibly because our minds are so open during this stage and we can see beyond the Veil—my theory.

Now the down side–some people say that they are attacked. That this black mass or presence paralyzes them so that they can not move or even scream.

Others claim that they are not attacked but wake up finding these beings standing over them, simply watching which may be how they came to be called, ‘The Watchers’.

One woman I know claims to have woken up, been fully awake, while a young man in a hooded sweat shirt swept through her room and went out the window. Now she did not think that he jumped, but simply  leaped through his doorway, to where ever he came from. This woman has had this happen quite a few times, same boy, same details (except the exit)– only she was not experiencing Twilight during any of those times. In fact, she told me she had never experienced Twilight. She sees them wide eyed and awake.

So you see Twilight is not the only time you can experience this.

Many reports say that they were standing in their kitchen (or somewhere), felt the energy or the room temperatures change, caught something in the corner of their eye, turned around quickly and the Shadow Being was standing there, watching them.

Shadow or Astral Spiders

People claim to be sleeping or rather Twilight, while watching these HUGE spiders of abnormal size crawl around their beds, glide down over their heads from webs and so on.  By big—sizes ranging from fat puppy size to smaller.

At times they see smaller ones but it is usually the bigger ones that cause them the greatest shock and fright. It is usually scary enough to snap them out of the Twilight completely, where the spiders are then gone.

There hasn’t been to many people offering them any enlightenment concerning this. In fact, I was shocked that on these forums that I researched, to find that quite a few people who rattled away concerning their belief in the Shadow People in other threads, literally make fun of the people who were seeking answers concerning the spiders.

Unfortunately I can not give anyone any hard crusted evidence here but I can explain some common points about them.

One, you do not have to be in twilight to see them. Some people will see them there, wake up completely to find them still in their reality—fading away.

Two, no reports of anyone being bitten.

Three, no reports of anyone being attacked.

Four, some believe they are other dimensional.

Five, others don’t have a clue as to what the hell they are, although freaky, they don’t seem to be harming anyone or anything.

 

Well I hope we have touched based on some of this as I will probably write more about it later.

 

However, let me leave you with this question…

Have YOU had an experience with any of these Paranormal beings that you’d care to share?