Shadow Beings and Shapeshifting

While a number of witnesses believe that shadow beings act as benevolent guardians watching over us, just as many witnesses have no doubt they are demonic. Some believe shadow beings to be ghosts, but the many stories received and compiled convince others that these beings are a type of inter-dimensional phenomenon from which apparition is only one sub-category. Serious research into this paranormal (and possibly psychological) genre will paint a clearer understanding of the nature and make-up of these dark mysterious images. One thing you can be certain of is that the experience is real enough to those who encounter this strange phenomena.

Shadow-like creatures of modern folklore are attested by many witnesses who claim dark forms, seen mostly in peripheral vision, appearing like flitting phantoms in cloaks, hoods and sometimes hats. Reports of shadow beings are not dissimilar in many ways to sightings of ghosts.

Shadow beings are typically described as black humanoid silhouettes with no discernible mouths, noses or facial expressions, child-sized humanoids, or shapeless masses that sometimes change to human like form and featuring eyes that are either glowing or not apparent. Movement is said to be quick and disjointed, and some stories describe the visible outline of a cloak, and sometimes a wide-brimmed hat.

Images seen in peripheral areas of vision can be caused by pareidolia, a condition in which the brain incorrectly interprets random patterns of light/shadow or texture as being familiar patterns such as faces and human forms. The same condition can also be observed in macular vision in low light conditions, or when viewing a complex but random image. A common example would be perceiving a shadow, thrown by an item of furniture in a darkened room, as being a person. Hypnagogia, also known as "waking-sleep," a physiological condition in which a person is part-way between sleeping and waking, can also account for such perceptions. During hypnagogia, a person can be conscious and aware of their environment, but also in a dream-like state where they can perceive images from their subconscious. People experiencing waking-sleep commonly report the sensation of lights or shadows moving around them, as well as other visual hallucinations. A feeling of dread is also a sensation that occurs when experiencing hypnagogia. Hypnagogia is sometimes known as faces in the dark phenomenon because those who experience this state commonly report seeing faces while experiencing waking-sleep. Similar hypotheses have been put forward linking this condition to a number of other apparent paranormal experiences, including alien abductions, paranormal nocturnal visitations, and religious experiences such as contact with angels or demons.

My own view is that the experience could be any of the above. I am always struck how the aliens in popular culture, sometimes called "greys," frequently resemble depictions of demons in past ages; especially medieval paintings. I do not believe in alien abductions or aliens walking among us. I do, on the other hand, know that demons sometimes invade our environment and sometimes attempt to interfere in our lives; even to the point of possession.

Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology and folklore, as well as in science fiction and fantasy. In its broadest sense, it is when a being undergoes a transformation. Commonly the transformation is purposeful, and not a curse or spell. In some folklore once the shapeshifter transformed, it began to get harder and harder to change back to ones original form. Vampires and werewolves are somewhat similar. Vampires, in older pieces of mythology and folklore, were thought to be able to transform into a wolf or a bat, thus giving the vampire bat its name. Most shapeshifters change into an animal. They were believed to only be able to change into an animal, or person that they had seen.

The most important aspect of shape-shifting, thematically, is whether the transformation is voluntary. Circe transforms intruders to her island into swine, whereas Ged, in A Wizard of Earthsea, becomes a hawk to escape an evil wizard's stronghold. A werewolf's transformation, driven by internal forces, is as hideous as that which Circe enforces, and when Minerva transforms Cornix into a crow, Ovid put into Cornix's mouth that "the virgin goddess feels pity for a virgin and she helped me" because her new form enabled her to escape rape at Neptune's hands. When a form is taken on involuntarily, the thematic effect is one of confinement and restraint; the person is bound to the new form. In extreme cases, such as petrifaction, the character is entirely disabled. Voluntary forms, on the other hand, are means of escape and liberation; even when the form is not undertaken to effect a literal escape, the abilities specific to the form, or the disguise afforded by it, allow the character to act in a manner previously impossible.

Shapeshifting, or metamorphosis, is a phenomenon most familiar to the nether region of vampires.