Summary
- Shadow people are a common phenomenon, often linked to sleep troubles and portrayed as frightening entities in movies and TV shows.
- Shows like Supernatural and The X-Files explore the concept of shadow people, with powerful entities that bring fear and danger.
- Films like Slumber and Lights Out depict the terrifying experience of facing shadow people, adding depth to the horror genre.
The paranormal phenomenon of shadow people is one that anyone who has had sleep troubles will have experienced at one time or another, and plenty of movies and TV shows have taken advantage of this frightening concept. Paranormal phenomenons will never not be a fantastic idea to make a movie about. Just about everyone has a story about experiencing something unexplainable, whether that’s hearing a strange noise coming from the basement, remembering a door was closed and is now open, or seeing something out of the corner of their eye.
That feeling of seeing something out of the corner of one’s eye is a particularly relatable experience. Late at night, when the lights are down low, and the room is covered in shadows, it can be hard to know what’s what. At these times, some people may have experienced the shadow people phenomenon. Often connected with sleep paralysis or that period in between awake and asleep, shadow people are the humanlike black shapes that are seen on the peripheries, as if through a veil. These movies and TV shows portray these figures as the frightening entities they are.
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10 Supernatural (2006)
Meg Masters Unleashes Shadow Spirits On The Winchesters
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Created by Eric Kripke, Supernatural is a fantasy/drama series that premiered in 2005. The series follows the adventures of Dean and Sam Winchester – two men wronged by supernatural beings as children who now spend their days investigating and hunting demons, ghosts, and monsters across the United States.
Cast Jensen Ackles , Misha Collins , Jim Beaver , Jared Padalecki , Katie Cassidy , Lauren Cohan , Mark A. Sheppard , Mark Pellegrino , Alexander Calvert Release Date September 13, 2005 Seasons 15 Showrunner Eric Kripke
In Supernatural season 1, episode 16, “Shadow”, Meg Masters (Nicki Aycox) returns to meet the Winchester brothers, and they soon realize that she is responsible for the same murders they are investigating. A step ahead of them, Meg unleashes a horde of shadow creatures to attack them and their father, John (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). These shadow creatures, known as daevas in the show, are some of the most powerful creatures in Supernatural.
These daevas are extremely dangerous entities that can be summoned. Invisible most of the time, they take the form of humanoid shadows when attacking the Winchesters but can be repelled by light. Their power plays a critical role in season 1. After defeating them,John realizes how vulnerable the family is when they’re together, and leaves his sons. If the daeva had not been so powerful, the Winchesters may have had the confidence to stick together longer.
9 Smallville (2008)
Clark Kent Takes On A Shadowy Foe
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Smallville is a Superhero television series based on the Superman Comic Book series created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. This television release was developed by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The premise revolves around a young Clark Kent as he arrives on Earth and attempts to live his life while simultaneously keeping his friends, family, and those around him safe thanks to his superpowers.
Cast Sam Jones III , Annette O’Toole , Jensen Ackles , Eric Johnson , Erica Durance , Cassidy Freeman , Michael Rosenbaum , Laura Vandervoort , John Schneider , Kristin Kreuk , Sam Witwer , Aaron Ashmore , Allison Mack , John Glover , Justin Hartley , Tom Welling , Callum Blue Release Date October 16, 2001 Seasons 10 Expand
Smallville, like many network shows of the 1990s and 2000s, often featured a villain of the week arc. The great part about Smallville is those villains could be from the catalog of Superman comic characters. But there was still room for original villains, like Randy Klein (Tyler Johnston). Randy appears in season 8, episode 6, “Prey”, where he receives powers from a kryptonite meteor, powers to shapeshift into a black shadow who appears out of the dark to attack people.
Randy Klein is not based on any one DC character, but there is a Hawkman villain named “Shadow Thief”, real name Carl Sands, who can turn himself into a shadow.
It’s revealed that Randy is taking credit for a serial killer’s murders in order to gain infamy but has not actually done any killing himself. It’s a dark and philosophical episode that considers different levels of villainy between someone committing a murder and someone taking credit for it. Randy’s attacks from the shadows work very well and are legitimately frightening when they do occur.
8 The Twilight Zone (1985)
Combines The Monster Under The Bed With The Shadow Person
The Twilight Zone (1985) TV-PGDramaFantasyHorrorSci-Fi
The Twilight Zone (1985) is a revival of Rod Serling’s classic anthology series, delivering eerie tales of suspense, horror, and the supernatural. The series explores the human condition through stand-alone episodes, often with unexpected twists and moral lessons, retaining the essence of the original 1959-1964 series while updating the storytelling for a new generation.
Cast Robin Ward , Charles Aidman , Richard Mulligan , William Atherton , Julie Khaner , Roberts Blossom , Heather Haase , Ellen Albertini Dow Release Date September 27, 1985 Creator(s) Rod Serling Seasons 3
The Twilight Zone revival from 1985 is a severely underrated TV show that will, unfortunately, always be unfairly compared to the legendary black-and-white original series from the ’50s and ’60s. There are plenty of great segments to be found in this Twilight Zone, including season 1, 10A, “The Shadow Man”. This segment follows a bullied young boy, Danny Hayes (Jonathan Ward), who’s afraid of the dark. When Danny’s mother forces him to turn off the lights, he discovers a shadowy figure under his bed who will get violent revenge on his tormentors.
It’s not just the heavy-breathing, shadowy figure that’s frightening in this episode, it’s Danny’s increasing willingness to use the powerful figure to attack his enemies.
It’s not just the heavy-breathing, shadowy figure that’s frightening in this episode; it’s Danny’s increasing willingness to use the powerful figure to attack his enemies. The all-powerful and looming appearance of the shadow man is a recognizable one, and an eerie representation of the dark figure many people claim to see late at night.
7 Once Upon A Time (2013)
Peter Pan’s Shadow Becomes A Sinister Character
Once Upon A Time
Once Upon a Time is an adventure fantasy-drama series created for ABC that features fairy tale characters and their Disney incarnations in a modern setting. When Emma Swan and her son Henry accidentally drive into the town of Storybrooke, they soon discover the inhabitants are those from fairy tales, and they have no knowledge of the modern world inhabited by Emma and Henry. Robbed of their pasts and given new identities by the Evil Queen known as Regina, the hope of the town’s residents lie solely in the hands of Emma, who has stronger connections to the town than she knows.
Cast Ginnifer Goodwin , josh dallas , Lana Parrilla , Robert Carlyle , Jennifer Morrison , Jared Gilmore Release Date October 3, 2011 Seasons 7 Showrunner Adam Horowitz
In Once Upon a Time season 2, episode 21, “Second Star to the Right”, Pan’s Shadow makes its first appearance and sticks around until season 4. The original Peter Pan shadow was always mischievous, but this one from Once Upon a Time is downright sinister, abducting young boys against their will to bring them to Neverland. The shadow is a shape-shifting menace, capable of mimicking the appearance and voice of those it meets.
Despite the name, Pan’s Shadow is not literally Peter Pan’s shadow, as it lived in Neverland before Pan ever arrived.
Voiced by Marilyn Manson, Pan’s Shadow is an unnerving and evil force. It originally made a deal with Peter Pan (Robbie Kay) to grant him eternal youth, showing him the magic hourglass timer that counts down his life. With its glowing white eyes and elongated limbs, Pan’s Shadow is a representation of the more monstrous shadow people that are often described by those who have seen them.
6 Slumber (2017)
Maggie Q Stars In This British Horror Film
Slumber is a 2017 supernatural horror film that follows Alice (Maggie Q), a logical and practical sleep doctor who meets a family claiming they are beset by a parasitic demon known as the nocnitsa. The nocnitsa is a nightmare spirit from Slavic mythology known to torment people at night, especially young children. Alice must forgo her scientific way of thinking to confront this supernatural threat.
The build-up in Slumber features some fantastic horror moviemaking and the ratcheting up of tension is enough to unnerve even the most veteran scary movie fan. While the end of the film does falter, Slumber is one of the few movies to accurately depict what the awful experience of sleep paralysis feels like. Maggie Q’s confusion makes for a disorienting watch that feels very much like a real nightmare.
5 Be Afraid (2017)
A Man Begins Having Frightening Visions In His Sleep
Brian Krause stars as Dr. John Chambers in the 2017 horror film, Be Afraid. John Chambers has recently moved with his family and has begun to experience sleep paralysis in his new home. While paralyzed, Johns sees shadow people. Though they do him no harm, John comes to learn these shadow people plan on abducting John’s seven-year-old son, leaving him on a journey through realities to save his boy.
There’s an end credits note in
Be Afraid
that says, ”
The Tall Man and Shadow People were not harmed in the making of this film.
”
The creature effects and sound design in Be Afraid are excellent, crafting a dreamlike atmosphere and ensuring the shadow people John confronts always feel sinister and never silly. A prank that takes place in a tunnel towards the climax of the film is particularly frightening and an excellent way to showcase the terrifying presence of shadow people. Be Afraid nails the gloomy atmosphere and inability to affect one’s surroundings which are characteristic of sleep paralysis.
4 Doctor Who (2008)
A Different Take On Shadow People
Doctor Who (1963) TV-PGAdventureDramaFamilySci-Fi Where to Watch
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Doctor Who (1963) is a British science fiction television show that follows the adventures of the Time Lord known as the Doctor, who travels through time and space in the TARDIS, a time-traveling ship disguised as a British police box. The Doctor, played by various actors over the years, encounters numerous foes and allies while striving to right wrongs and save civilizations.
Cast William Hartnell , Patrick Troughton , Jon Pertwee , Tom Baker , Frazer Hines , Nicholas Courtney , Pat Gorman , Elisabeth Sladen Release Date November 23, 1963 Creator(s) Donald Wilson Seasons 26
Vashta Nerada, translated to “the shadows that melt the flesh”, is a microscopic, organic creature in the Doctor Who universe. The creatures appear in series 4, episodes 8-9, “Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead”. Generally harmless to humans, the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna (Catherine Tate) arrive on a planet where the Vashta Nerada have swarmed together to create shadowy, humanoid figures capable of stripping a human to the bone in minutes.
The Vashta Nerada are some of the scariest villains in Doctor Who. Referred to as “piranhas of the air“, these creatures leave behind nightmarish carcasses and present one of the worst-case scenarios of what shadow people could be. These two episodes are also notable for the introduction and heartbreaking sacrifice of River Song (Alex Kingston), beginning the heroic legacy of the mysterious character.
3 The X-Files (1995)
Scully And Mulder Investigate A Shadowy Force
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The X-files takes the police procedural formula and applies it to sci-fi mysteries. Conspiracy theorist Fox Mulder and skeptic Dana Scully team up to solve cases surrounding alien invasions and other unexplained, paranormal phenomena.
Cast Gillian Flynn , David Duchovny , Robert Patrick , Annabeth Gish , Mitch Pileggi Release Date September 10, 1993 Seasons 11 Showrunner Chris Carter
In season 2, episode 23, of The X-Files, “Soft Light”, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) help their ex-student, Det. Kelly Ryan (Kate Twa), investigate a spate of disappearances. At first, they consider spontaneous combustion, but then the team finds Chester Ray Banton (Tony Shalhoub). Chester, a scientist, was experimenting with dark matter when his shadow gained sentience and the ability to disintegrate people.
It’s an unsettling episode, particularly as the shadow person is attached to the man who created it and suffers the most because of it.
This was the first episode of The X-Files written by Vince Gilligan of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fame, and Banton feels like one of the tragic, exhausted male characters Gilligan often depicted in his later shows. It’s an unsettling episode, particularly as the shadow person is attached to the man who created it and suffers the most because of it. Banton’s horrific ending, strapped to a chair and bombarded by lights, is the type of insanity that sleep paralysis can often feel like.
2 Shadow People (2013)
A Fake And Frightening Documentary
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Shadow People is a psychological horror film directed by Matthew Arnold. The movie follows a late-night radio host who investigates a series of mysterious deaths linked to a phenomenon where victims report being chased by shadowy figures before dying in their sleep. As he delves deeper, he encounters a blend of folklore, fear, and unsettling truths, challenging the boundaries between reality and superstition.
Cast Dallas Roberts , Alison Eastwood , Anne Dudek , Mariah Bonner , Mattie Liptak , Christopher Berry Release Date March 19, 2013 Director Matthew Arnold Runtime 88 minutes
Posited as a true story, Shadow People uses archival footage, YouTube videos, and interviews to create a fake documentary about the investigation of the titular shadow people. In these videos, people relate their experiences with sleep paralysis and shadow people to Charlie Crowe (Dallas Roberts), a radio host. Charlie believes that a spate of deaths in his hometown has been caused by these shadow people and teams up with CDC investigator Sophie Lacombe (Alison Eastwood) to figure out what’s happening.
The combination of simulated archival footage, including footage from the 2009 web documentary Your Worst Nightmare, and interviews creates an unsettling and authentic atmosphere around Shadow People. An ambitious movie with a complex storytelling device, for the most part, Shadow People sticks the landing. It’s an unsettling film that creeps up on the audience and will make turning off the lights at night a difficult decision.
1 Lights Out (2016)
David F. Sandberg’s Horrifying Directorial Debut
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The 2016 horror movie Lights Out sees Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) face the evil entity that torments her little brother Martin (Gabriel Bateman) with the power of literal darkness playing against her. Lights Out is director David F. Sandberg’s feature film debut, made possible by the success of his 2013 short film of the same name.
Cast Billy Burke , Lotta Losten , Teresa Palmer , Gabriel Bateman , Maria Russell , Alicia Vela-Bailey , Maria Bello , Alexander DiPersia Release Date July 22, 2016 Director David F. Sandberg Runtime 81minutes Budget $4.9 million
Lights Out is a supernatural horror film that follows Rebecca (Teresa Palmer), a young woman who discovers that a shadowy being is tormenting her young half-brother, Martin (Gabriel Bateman). Rebecca and Martin’s mother, Sophie (Maria Bello), is revealed to have more to do with the shadow person than initially thought, and a legacy of family trauma and PTSD bubbles to the surface as the family fights against the shadow person.
Lights Out is in a similar vein to other high-concept horror movies, using its frightening plot to deliver a subtextual message about mental health. With its thoughtful story, Lights Out is also filled with clever and well-designed scares that are suffocating and relentless. The shadow person is one of the best-designed versions of the nighttime monster. The logic of the creature and the movie creates an interesting lore for the paranormal creature.