Ghost Sightings Shifting Towards 'Shadow Figures,' New Analysis Suggests

Sightings of traditional white, glowing ghosts or figures resembling living humans are on the decline, replaced by encounters with 'shadow figures,' according to a new analysis of over 2,000 first-hand supernatural experiences. Paranormal investigator and historian MJ Wayland analyzed accounts gathered over the last three decades, revealing a significant shift in the common perception and reporting of apparitions.

The study, which compared ghost stories from early internet forums (1994-2012) with more recent reports from Reddit (2024-2026), found that 'shadow figures' have become the most frequent type of sighting. These figures are described as formless, faceless outlines of people, often without discernible features or clothing.

In the 1990s, approximately 29% of reported figures were described as shadowy silhouettes. This percentage has risen to 50% in recent reports. Conversely, sightings of solid, human-like figures, which constituted 47% of older accounts, have decreased to 35%. Similarly, white, glowing, or see-through beings, present in 24% of earlier reports, now account for only 15% of sightings.

"What we're seeing is this shift away from friendlier ghosts," Wayland told the Daily Mail. "Compared to then, there is this massive increase in shadow figures."

The analysis also noted a decline in sightings described as comforting, such as apparitions of deceased loved ones. While these were reported in 91 cases in the older dataset, they appear to have significantly decreased since 2012.

Wayland suggests that the prevalence of 'shadow people' in popular culture, including online horror stories and late-night radio, may influence how people describe unexplained encounters. "When people see something they can't explain, they describe it with the words and pictures they already have, and today that is far more likely to be a shadow than a grey lady," he explained.

While skeptics might attribute shadowy visions to sleep paralysis—a condition where individuals awaken before muscle paralysis has ended, leading to hallucinations and a sense of dread—Wayland argues this doesn't fully explain the trend. Although sleep paralysis can account for some sightings, more than half of the shadow figure encounters in the study occurred while individuals were fully awake. The increase in sightings among those who reported being awake was double that of sleep-related experiences.