Can a chemical compound result in permanent paranormal hallucinations? Or could it allow you to see something invisible to everyone else? The case of the Hat Man and ayahuasca hallucinations is a strange one, too common to be coincidence and too weird to be anything else.
Among the most spine-chilling of horror incidences, what exactly the Hat Man is, is not clear. People have constantly reported seeing a Hat Man, who seemed like a hallucination or paranormal entity. Unrelated people who reported the presence of this Hat Man gave similar descriptions.
People who described the hat man say that he wears a wide-brimmed hat and a cloak while standing in the shadows to give a ghostly look. People have often witnessed this impression in the early morning hours while they are in a deep sleep.
So, it would seem that ayahuasca affects the brain in s distinct way. However, people who use Ouija boards have also shared their experiences with the hat man. If it is a shared hallucination, it comes from us, not Ayahuasca.
Irrespective of the time when people see this man, the situation for a person always follows up with misfortune, bad luck, poor health and even death. The Hat Man has also been seen by multiple generations of the same family. Some believe that these humanoid silhouettes call themselves “Shadow People”.
But what connection does it have with ayahuasca? What does the drug do that allows us to see these people? And who are they?
What is Ayahuasca?
Ayahuasca is a mixture taken traditionally by shaman of the Amazon, made up of a cocktail of active drugs, the most significant of which is of dimethyltryptamine or DMT, a psychoactive constituent often called the God Molecule.
It is traditionally brewed and made up of leaves and vines from the Amazon rainforest. The effects can last for hours or even days, usually as part of a larger ritual.
It is said that people who consume ayahuasca have reported vivid and unusual visions in their sleep. The scientific analysis states that ayahuasca can change the brainwaves to set you in a dream-walking state.
People who have consumed DMT have often reported entering an alternate reality or experiencing strong emotions alongside visual hallucinations. Medically, it is used to collect brain data from patients, but in reality, it can have far-reaching side effects.
It is possible that ayahuasca impacts the brain in a very particular way, triggering hallucinations of the hat man as a ghost or a shadow person who brings in bad luck and illness with him. Whether this is because of some strange quirk of chemistry, or due to something shared in the human psyche coming forward during such experiences, is not clear.
After many people started to complain about the same incident, the investigations and medical diagnoses of the patients gave a final verdict. It was identified that ayahuasca behind all of these hallucinations. This left only the mystery of why all the hallucinations were the same.
One theory states that if you are thinking about something while you are consuming ayahuasca or while you are sitting in the shamanic ceremony, you will most likely have the hallucination of that entity. There have been numerous instances where people knowingly tried consuming it in a ceremony and tried thinking about the hat man. Eventually, they came up with situations where they saw the man flash by them, always with a serious look.
Even though people were headstrong on intentionally trying ayahuasca to experience if they could control the hallucinations, they still broke down and ended up in panic and horror. Therefore, it was strictly not advised for anyone to consume DMT or ayahuasca without the recommendation or strict supervision of a medical expert. But eventually, the practice was called off.
The feeling is horrifying, as it paralyzes the person due to terror and makes them breathless. Many people have also lost their lives due to the nightmare attacks. It means the visuals are so traumatic that people with weak hearts can’t sustain themselves to come out of that dream.
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Tim Brown, the man who wrote a blog on “The Hat Man Project” in 2008, says that he saw the shadow man for the first time when he was only 14. He said that he curled up on his bed in fear, but in his conscious or unconscious mind, he saw the hat man, who had no features, standing on his bedroom door frame.
Just a Shared Hallucination?
If ayahuasca was the reason for the hallucinations, then why is it that everyone had the same vision and gave similar descriptions of the hat man?
There is no evident understanding, but several medical experts prove that ayahuasca triggers uncontrollable hallucinations, which plays with human psychology. Some people who have died due to these nightmares: the hat man isn’t just scary but also deadly.
But, the nightmare was so traumatic that some people found it difficult to sustain the horrific visuals. The reason behind this shared hallucination is the passing on of this story through culture. Medical experts believe that cultural beliefs have made this story pass from generation to generation, which is still intact in some people’s minds.
And with the news spread like wildfire, everyone who has experienced this humanoid figure is coming out with their version of horror and terror. It keeps on growing in people’s minds, and eventually, one starts to hallucinate when the mind is at the most vulnerable stage, and some specific compounds alter the brain waves.
This is all that explains the hat man theory. Well, it is still not completely believable by people that that man isn’t any ghost, but it is just a shared nightmare that people have passed from culture to culture through traditional ceremonial drinks. Even today, some people tell their version of encounters with the hat man and express their distress afterward.
So, do you believe that man is a real ghost? Or is it just a terrifying hallucination due to the unwanted consumption of certain compounds? Medical experts believe it is some form of psychological illness that can be treated.
Some people who got relieved from the experiences after taking DMT or ayahuasca believe it allows them to see something paranormal. After all, shaman used ayahuasca to talk to the spirits. Maybe this Hat Man is one of them.
Top Image: Why do so many users of ayahuasca report seeing the same man in their visions, and often for long afterwards? Source: Jakub Krechowicz / Adobe Stock.
By Bipin Dimri
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