Paranormal Story Archives
April 2002 –
Page 17
Shadow
Man of the Alcove
by D.J.
I grew up in a very old house. The creaks and noises never seemed to bother me much. But there was one thing that even I found a little strange! My brother and sister used to tell me that they kept seeing a "man" in the living room. Only he wasn't a real man, but a shadow of a man. We had an alcove in the front of the living room with a window and bookshelves flanking each side. Nobody ever went over there because there was a huge bush right outside the window, so you couldn't see outside and only a little light filtered through the window. That was the spot where my siblings insisted he stood. They described him as "Humphrey Bogart-like." He had on a hat and trench coat, but no discernible features and they could never see feet! I used to tease them about it and make jokes. They said they only saw him for an instant, usually after falling asleep on the couch or living room floor, they would wake up and see him. They said if they moved or made any noise, he'd disappear.
One night, however, while we had some friends sleeping over, we were all sleeping in the living room and my brother and one of his friends woke me up and said the Shadow Man was just there and it looked like it was raining on him! The room felt really cold and damp. So we turned on the lights and went over to the alcove. I had the strangest feeling that I was standing really close to someone, and the carpet right in front of the window was damp! I can honestly say I never actually saw the Shadow Man myself, but have often seen things out of the corner of my eye in that old house. There was also one corner in the attic that was always dark, even if you put a lamp over there. Maybe that's where the Shadow Man hung out when he wasn't in the living room. We never had any problems with him, and my brother and sister said they continued to see him, as well as some of their friends, for some years after that incident. Maybe he's just a lost soul trying to find his way.
I always figured he was a spirit or ghost, but maybe he was one of the shadow people. Our Shadow Man was definitely benevolent and probably liked being around people. There were seven kids in my family and we always had a bunch of friends over! After we all moved out, my mom said she sometimes felt like someone else was in the house with her, but it never scared her. She has since sold that house, so I don't know if the new occupants have inherited our Shadow Man, or if he just faded away after all the kids were gone from the house. The happenings in that house (and there were many more!) while growing up there have made me more open to the paranormal!
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