My 13 year old daughter has been seeing the Hat Man for about a year. When she use to tell me I just brush her off and say you have a vivid imagination, you were just dreaming. she use to get upset and be like mom every time I have seen him I was wide awake. But as time went on she would come to me more  and say mom I seen him again and again. As a parent i started to get very concern so I began to ask her questions about the Hat Man. I asked her to give me a detailed description she said he is tall he wares a black long trench coat and a brim hat. I asked what does his face look like she said he does not have a face at all, no eyes, mouth, nose just a black face. I asked what does he do when you see him? She said all he does is walk pass her. I asked does he look at you? She said No, all he does is walk pass and then he just disappear. I asked her how she felt when see him? She said, I don't feel any type of way. I asked her was she scared she said, No not all. So I decided to search the web and came across that many people have shared this same experience. Now my question is does this Hat Man has a purposeful meaning in my child's life?

[FlamE]

Is your daughter sleep deprived?

Does she take any medication?

Does she read a lot into the subject / talk a lot about the Hat Man ( with friends maybe? )

Is she suffering from any mental condition?

I hope none of my questions offend you, but if she reports the sightings to be so real, it must be due one of the reasons above.

Here in my country ( Romania ) , the 'shadow people' are represented by only one major figure: Baubau. Parents use this name to scare off their children if they attempt any dangerous deeds( eg: Don't go so close to the river bank , Baubau is lurking over there , or Don't go in that abandoned house , Baubau is there ) and many kids develop a fear of this 'Baubau' which they usually get rid off only in their late childhood. This Baubau's behaviour differs because of the way their parents imply it ( some are evil , 'killing' you if you enter their 'den' , some will kidnap you , some will laugh at you , some will slap you and so on ) and every child who's been scared by their parents with this 'Baubau' thing swears to have witnessed such particular events.

IN CONCLUSION : Don't worry , there's no such thing as the Hat Man. You should probably talk to her , telling her that the Hat Man is just a children story, and that the more she thinks of it , the more she'll see it. If it affects her social life at all , take her to a psychologist, but I think that you'll do fine by yourself. After all , she's still a child.

Whilst I disagree with FlamE with regard to the existence of hat men/shadow men...I would agree that it's advisable to explore other, more mudane, explanations before accepting that what your daughter saw was a hat man. This isn't to discount what your daughter has said, and what she believes she has experienced...not at all, simply that there may be another explanation.

Interestingly, many people who report having seen hat men, are found to have been in either hypnopompic (before waking) or hypnogogic (before sleep) states...is there any pattern to what your daughter has experienced?