Shadow people (also known as shadow men, shadow folk, or shadow beings) are supernatural shadow-like creatures of both modern folklore and paranormal popular culture that believers claim appear as dark forms seen mostly in peripheral vision. Anecdotal reports of shadow people occupy a similar role in popular culture to ghost sightings.
Authors such as Rosemary Ellen Guiley, Jason Offutt and Heidi Hollis have helped popularize the concept through books, articles and appearances on radio talk shows devoted to paranormal subjects such as Coast to Coast AM where listeners are invited to call in to relate stories and “sightings”. Shadow people 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 discernable. Movement is said to be quick and disjointed, and some stories describe the visible outline of a cloak, or a 1930s style fedora hat.