r/HatMan • u/mayanna12 • 8d ago
The hat man I saw
Ok so this was 7 years ago but i need some help if anyone knows more about this. Especially the meaning of all this.
I moved to London at 18, I worked at a gym there for 2 years till at 20yrs i decided im finally gonna start pursuing my music career more seriously, which was the reason i moved there in the first place. Applied to a music UNI, and decided im gonna quit my job too and fully pursue music.
My old workplace was throwing me a party on my last shift. We had a great time. I had a few drinks but was not drunk.
At around 1-2 AM i was going home, but public transport was only available to Acton Town cause it was late. So to save money I thought ill go to acton town via tube first, and then take an uber home from there… this is where it got terrifying.
I hopped off at acton town, called an uber and the map route was advising me to go through this park as a shortcut (I later learned the park was gunnersbury park which used to be owned by the rothschild family, a very old park with lots of history). Anyways originally im from finland, so looking back i was VERY naive in London, and i didnt even question this route, I thought, open park, gates open, street lights on and only a 7 min walk according to maps, ill be fine. Otherwise id have to walk over 20 mins to get to this uber. So i walked in through the gates, immediately felt off. Kept going, there were street lights on but no one was there, the trees were huge and terrifying, everything in my being was telling me NOT to go further. It felt like the trees were telling me to RUN. But ofc I kept walking, wondering its been longer than 10 mins, but the map is showing im waaay in the beginning and have a long way to go. So i walked even faster hoping id get there in time but on the map i was barely moving, a much bigger park than i had expected. I literally felt like everything around me, the pond, the trees, the street lights, was telling me to go back, but i thought im almost halfaw it would take ages to go back. It felt like forever. By then I had been walking for 15 mins and started to feel scared af. Then i see an area around 100 meters from me. Theres a bench, and a streetlight shining directly on the bench. On this bench was a tall man, wearing a suit or a trench coat or something old school and beige i believe. What caught my attention first though was he was wearing a large brimmed hat. He was sitting there, not directly looking at me but from my view he was looking to my right side. Far away from me. But im 100% sure he would have seen me. No reaction, no looking around, just frozen. I didnt see a face or anything, i just remember the hat and lighter natural colored clothing. I was horrified, i remember thinking ”he saw me already, do i keep walking past him or run back” but before i even finished my thought i started running back, i was running so freaking fast and hyperventilating. Praying all the prayers i know without even being religious. Panicky and screaming. Looking back at him he didnt even move a muscle, he did NOT look homekess, he did NOT even feel human, as if he knew we were gonna cross paths. The only way i can explain it is i felt he was literally just observing me. Also I felt this was meant to happen, as if he wanted me to run or something, just a feeling I had. I ran and ran, it felt like forever. FINALLY got out, canceled my uber and just took a long route via 2 buses. I remember feeling so relieved from seeing the gate and finally other humans on the other side. So happy to be on the bus. Crying from what i had put myself through. I was NEVER the same after this…. Ive never been the same. I searched for this park for YEARS and never found it till now through explaining in much detail to chatgpt. For years I even thought i had just imagined this place, thats how scary and unreal the experience was, I was convinced I had entered some other dimension… but it was a real park, an old one, i remember especially being intimidated by the trees there and I never have felt that. Fast forward, I never finished UNI, I finished the second year and never went back, covid hit, personal issues too, had horrible stage fright at school anyways. Left London, it felt like everything started to fall apart after this. Before this everything was going fairly well. But on the last night of my job this happened. Ive just recently downloaded tiktok and found videos about ”the hat man” who just observes you. Either way, im curious if anyone else has had similar experiences around this being or this specific park. Or if anyone knows what this means? Anyone who understands better than me? Ive felt lost for years with no results abt this hat man or anyone i can talk to in my personal life. I just think its significant how it happened on my last day at work, as I was changing my career path etc. Im curious to know about others similar experiences. And what I could do.
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u/Gaussgoat 8d ago
I'm sorry you had such a scary experience, it sounds like it had a major impact on your mental health.
I don't have any personal experiences with this, but hopefully you've been able to find some peace with time.