
The Hat Man® Letters: By the Woman Who Trademarked the Devil
As a college student in 1995, I stumbled across two terrifying phenomena that I defined, named and told the world about: Shadow People® and Hat Man®. Both are demonic.
Shadow People® are dark beings who can shapeshift, aiming to blend with the night as they paralyze their victims. Hat Man® doesn’t always mind being seen and will step out from the shadows for you to get a good look. He wants you to revere him for being evil incarnate.
What’s a nice girl from Milwaukee to do? So I trademarked the S.O.B.s.
I have written books about them and have received thousands of letters. This series features some of your letters to demonstrate what a worldwide phenomenon this is and that there is hope in defeating this evil. Feel free to write me with your Hat Man® Letters via my site shown in the credits.
~Heidi Hollis
AKA, “The Woman Who Trademarked the Devil.”
Dear Heidi,
If you don’t mind, I have a story that I would like to share:
Growing up, my brother and I shared the same bedroom. My parents slept in the room right next to ours. On this particular night, my parents were still awake, but my brother had already fallen asleep.
However, I was having a lot of trouble getting to sleep, I was very restless. But somehow, I was aware of everything going on around me at this stage. There was a large window in our bedroom that would reflect pretty clearly what we had in the room. By some means, an ominous presence let me know that it was there, so I got up and looked at the window’s reflection.
That’s when I saw it! There was a man, dressed all in black holding a cane in his right hand! He looked like a normal person, mostly, who was maybe 70–80 years old. I could see him SO clearly and as he just stood there, staring — watching me closely!
The strange thing is, I didn’t feel any fear. But I got fearful when he raised his right arm holding the cane. That’s when I suddenly felt an electric shock all over my body and became paralyzed! I tried to call out to my brother next to me, but it was all in vain. Sometime during my struggle to move, I fell unconscious!
I don’t know how long I was spread out on the floor before my father came in and woke me up. He had me get up and asked me if I needed some water or something. So, I went back into my bed and tried to fall asleep.
This Hat Man experience happened during a very bad time in my life. My parents were getting divorced and then my grandfather and uncle passed away in a short period of time. Heidi, what could this mean? Why would he show me his face and do that to me?
Heidi, do you think he is somehow related to this strange woman in white that I saw? It was soon after I saw Hat Man, I went with my brother and a couple friends to hang out at the town hall. That’s when about 20 feet from me, a woman in white appeared. She had the same “feeling and face” as Hat Man did! She had long, black hair and seemed kind of sad. That’s another thing, Hat Man also seemed sad and angry.
I don’t know why these things happened to me, but I have to say that since the day I was born I was a problem for my family. My mother has told me on many occasions that all I did was bring misfortune into the family. My mom likes to consult with fortune tellers, so this is where she got this from. I feel that maybe I just bring bad luck my way?
As a note, the face of both of these beings of Hat Man and the woman in white — they were Asian looking!
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
- Yan (from Columbia)

Hi Yan,
I am so sorry that you experienced this spooky creep as a child. Hat Man is something that looks like a man often seen in a black suit with a trench coat on, or while wearing a cape. His hat is one of the most commonly noticed pieces of his attire and often grabs people’s attention.
I’m not surprised that you felt his presence at the window. He seems to carry this darkness that disturbs many people to feel restless when they try to sleep at night. That’s when his victims will look and often see him in some part of their room. It is unusual that you saw him in the reflection of your window which showed the contents of your room, versus him being on the outside of your window looking in.
You seem puzzled about not being frightened by his presence until he raised his cane. Often times, people don’t automatically sense danger or fear when they see him. But think about how he was able to make you become fully numb and collapse to the floor. I believe there’s a possibility he is also able to numb people’s emotional response to him. Other times he loves when people get extremely stressed when they see him.
There’s also the element about different people responding uniquely when placed in a new situation they’ve never been in — it’s hard to know how anyone will respond. That is fascinating about the woman in white giving off a similar feeling as Hat Man. There have been others who have reported seeing a woman near Hat Man, but none who saw a woman appearing just like him at a later time. So that part is quite unique, I must say.
You asked why this may have happened to you and then spoke of a psychic saying you brought misfortune to your family?! There’s something you should know when it comes to these topics of dark things coming after people. First off, it is not always as it seems. People who are gifted in being able to see such things often get approached by these things. So, know that you were so special that evil itself had to come and get a good look at you. It’s also a given that no child is a bearer of misfortune and no child deserves to have evil come their way!
Please hold your head up high because I’m happy to know that you’re standing strong in the way of evil in Columbia! Your story also goes to show that this is a worldwide phenomenon that’s victimizing way too many people — young and old.
Thank you for taking the time to write me and I hope these dark beings never rear their ugly heads your way again!
~Heidi