Darkness Walks by Jason Offutt

Drawing on personal encounters and his experience as a journalist, author Jason Offutt has created a well-researched, balanced analysis of a phenomenon that’s only become widely known over the last couple of decades. Shadow people are known to many cultures around the world, yet nobody really knows what they are or where they come from.

Darkness Walks is easy to read and the stories Offutt relates of those who’ve seen these ghostly apparitions are compelling and, in some cases, chilling. But he digs deeper, drawing on his skills as a reporter to explore possible scientific and metaphysical explanations of the phenomenon. Offutt touches on physics, psychology, biology, and religions of all types without advocating any particular view as the definitive answer.

There are consistent themes that emerge, however: almost universally, religious scholars cited by Offutt view shadow people as ambivalent entities at best. The most one can hope for if a shadow person appears, it seems, is that it takes no notice of humans nearby.

Offutt details the categories of shadow people reported by experiencers, and he includes chapters on why some people seem haunted by them and how to rid oneself of the shadows. While not an explicitly religious book, Darkness Walks seems to confirm the research of deliverance ministers like Russ Dizdar, who believe that certain behaviors can open metaphysical doorways through which shadow people — and demons — can enter.

Darkness Walks: The Shadow People Among Us by Jason Offutt, published by Anomalist Books, is highly recommended. It’s available at Amazon.com and most brick-and-mortar bookstores.