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8. "The Hat Man" (Internet) & Draugr (Iceland)
The Hat Man (Internet) and Draugr (Iceland)
“The Hat Man”
Paranormal investigator Mara Ellison tracks a global wave of identical sleep-paralysis nightmares: a tall, featureless man in a wide-brimmed hat who silently watches victims, radiating pure evil.She calls it internet folklore—until he appears on her own camera in an empty asylum. Now people are dying of sheer terror, and once you learn his name, he learns yours.
He’s already standing behind you.
Draugr
Not ghosts. Not zombies.
A corpse that swells monstrous in the grave, turns blue-black with death-bloat, and rises heavier than any living man could lift. Greedy, hateful, tireless. It guards its hoard with crushed bones and broken necks, rides rooftops until the beams explode, and drives whole valleys mad with terror. Normal weapons glance off it. Fire is slow. And some refuse even ash. In this episode we meet the worst of them: a dead man so stubborn that the living have only one weapon left: the law itself.
One courtroom. One doorway. One final judgment for the restless dead.
Episode Sponsor: Topsquatch.com use code FREEYETI for free shipping on all orders
Sources:
- Book: The Secret War by Heidi Hollis (2008) Popularized the "Hat Man" as a demonic entity; draws from radio show reports and early online sightings.
- Book: Darkness Walks: The Shadow People Among Us by Jason Offutt (2009) Collects eyewitness accounts of shadow figures, including Hat Man encounters tied to sleep paralysis.
- Book: Sleep Paralysis: What It Is and How to Stop It by Chris White (2015) Scientific guide with personal stories; debunks supernatural claims while offering prevention tips.
- Documentary: The Nightmare (2015, dir. Rodney Ascher) Explores sleep paralysis hallucinations through interviews and reenactments, featuring shadow intruders.
- Article: "Who is the Hat Man? ‘Shadow people’ and sleep paralysis" (The Week, 2025) Overview of global reports, folklore roots, and the role of online forums like The Hatman Project.
- Article: "Have You Seen 'The Hatman'?" (IFLScience, 2025) Examines cultural influences on hallucinations and consistency in descriptions.
- Primary source Eyrbyggja saga, chapters 30–34 & 51–55 (the entire Þórólfr bægifótr and Fróðá haunting episodes) – Best modern English translations:
- The Saga of the People of Eyrr (Penguin Classics, 1989, tr. Judy Quinn & Kate Heslop)
- Eyrbyggja Saga (Penguin Classics, 1972/1989, tr. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards)
- Old Norse text (for reference) Eyrbyggja saga, ed. Einar Ól. Sveinsson & Matthías Þórðarson, Íslenzk fornrit IV (1935) – available free on heimskringla.no and snerpa.is
- Supporting medieval references to draugr and door-court
- Landnámabók (Sturlubók & Hauksbók redactions) – mentions re-burying walking corpses
- Grágás (Konungsbók) – early Icelandic laws on dealing with “aptrgǫngumenn” (revenants)
- Grettis saga, ch. 35 (for comparison of draugr traits)
- Hilda Roderick Ellis, The Road to Hel (1943) – classic study of Norse undead
- John Lindow, Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs (2001)
- Ármann Jakobsson, “The Fear of the Dead in the Íslendingasögur” (in Trolls and Revenants, 2012)
View all episodes
By Russell Jenson & Mitch DainesThe Hat Man (Internet) and Draugr (Iceland)
“The Hat Man”
Paranormal investigator Mara Ellison tracks a global wave of identical sleep-paralysis nightmares: a tall, featureless man in a wide-brimmed hat who silently watches victims, radiating pure evil.She calls it internet folklore—until he appears on her own camera in an empty asylum. Now people are dying of sheer terror, and once you learn his name, he learns yours.
He’s already standing behind you.
Draugr
Not ghosts. Not zombies.
A corpse that swells monstrous in the grave, turns blue-black with death-bloat, and rises heavier than any living man could lift. Greedy, hateful, tireless. It guards its hoard with crushed bones and broken necks, rides rooftops until the beams explode, and drives whole valleys mad with terror. Normal weapons glance off it. Fire is slow. And some refuse even ash. In this episode we meet the worst of them: a dead man so stubborn that the living have only one weapon left: the law itself.
One courtroom. One doorway. One final judgment for the restless dead.
Episode Sponsor: Topsquatch.com use code FREEYETI for free shipping on all orders
Sources:
- Book: The Secret War by Heidi Hollis (2008) Popularized the "Hat Man" as a demonic entity; draws from radio show reports and early online sightings.
- Book: Darkness Walks: The Shadow People Among Us by Jason Offutt (2009) Collects eyewitness accounts of shadow figures, including Hat Man encounters tied to sleep paralysis.
- Book: Sleep Paralysis: What It Is and How to Stop It by Chris White (2015) Scientific guide with personal stories; debunks supernatural claims while offering prevention tips.
- Documentary: The Nightmare (2015, dir. Rodney Ascher) Explores sleep paralysis hallucinations through interviews and reenactments, featuring shadow intruders.
- Article: "Who is the Hat Man? ‘Shadow people’ and sleep paralysis" (The Week, 2025) Overview of global reports, folklore roots, and the role of online forums like The Hatman Project.
- Article: "Have You Seen 'The Hatman'?" (IFLScience, 2025) Examines cultural influences on hallucinations and consistency in descriptions.
- Primary source Eyrbyggja saga, chapters 30–34 & 51–55 (the entire Þórólfr bægifótr and Fróðá haunting episodes) – Best modern English translations:
- The Saga of the People of Eyrr (Penguin Classics, 1989, tr. Judy Quinn & Kate Heslop)
- Eyrbyggja Saga (Penguin Classics, 1972/1989, tr. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards)
- Old Norse text (for reference) Eyrbyggja saga, ed. Einar Ól. Sveinsson & Matthías Þórðarson, Íslenzk fornrit IV (1935) – available free on heimskringla.no and snerpa.is
- Supporting medieval references to draugr and door-court
- Landnámabók (Sturlubók & Hauksbók redactions) – mentions re-burying walking corpses
- Grágás (Konungsbók) – early Icelandic laws on dealing with “aptrgǫngumenn” (revenants)
- Grettis saga, ch. 35 (for comparison of draugr traits)
- Hilda Roderick Ellis, The Road to Hel (1943) – classic study of Norse undead
- John Lindow, Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs (2001)
- Ármann Jakobsson, “The Fear of the Dead in the Íslendingasögur” (in Trolls and Revenants, 2012)