Black Stick Men

The Black Stick Men are a class of anomalous humanoid entities reported globally across more than a century of sightings. They are characterized by extreme thinness, jet-black coloration, unnatural movement, and frequent violations of three-dimensional physics. While often dismissed due to their simplistic appearance, the consistency of behavioral and physical traits across hundreds of independent reports suggests a phenomenon that cannot be reduced to simple hoaxes or hallucinations.

They are frequently encountered in liminal environments such as forests, roadways, abandoned structures, bedrooms, corridors, and transitional spaces, and are most often observed watching witnesses before rapidly retreating or vanishing.

Physical Characteristics & Behavior

Black Stick Men most commonly manifest as extremely tall, ultra-thin humanoid figures, typically between 2 and 4 meters in height, though reports range from miniature forms to giants exceeding buildings. Their bodies are composed of perfectly black material, frequently described as “void-like,” “light-absorbing,” or “darker than shadow.” In the majority of sightings, they are featureless, lacking visible eyes, mouth, or nose, though a few encounters describe faint, temporary facial impressions.

Their limbs are rigid and stick-like, giving the impression of an animated line drawing or skeletal silhouette. In multiple reports, they appear to be two-dimensional, remaining visually flat and unchanged regardless of the observer’s angle. Some witnesses describe their surface not as solid flesh, but as animated shadow, smoke, or negative space. Less commonly, they are observed with hat-like or cloak-like forms, most frequently wide-brimmed or top hats, which appear to be intrinsic to the entity rather than worn objects.

Movement is consistently described as non-biological and unnatural. Common modes of locomotion include:

• Gliding without visible leg motion
• Erratic, stiff galloping
• Sudden teleportation
• Hovering inches above the ground
• Instant acceleration with no buildup
• Phasing directly through walls, vehicles, or terrain

They are almost always reported as completely silent, even when crossing gravel, leaves, metal, or debris. Several witnesses describe visual distortion in the air around them, resembling heat shimmer or optical warping, suggesting partial physical manifestation.

Behaviorally, Black Stick Men are most often encountered standing motionless while watching the witness. Upon being noticed, the most common response is immediate and extreme-speed retreat, either by running, dissolving, fading out, or passing into solid objects. Direct physical interaction is rare, but when it occurs it is associated with intense reactions such as paralysis, overwhelming dread, missing time, or long-term psychological disturbance.

In a very small number of cases, intelligent interaction and speech have been reported, including one documented instance in which a Stick Man addressed a witness by name. These rare events indicate that at least some manifestations exhibit awareness, memory, and intentional targeting.

Encounters are frequently accompanied by environmental and physiological effects, including:

• Sudden drops in temperature
• Atmospheric pressure sensations
• Anomalous silence
• Electrical interference
• Time distortion
• A powerful sense of being watched

Multiple-witness encounters are common, often with all observers experiencing similar atmospheric effects simultaneously.

Possible Explanations

While no explanation is confirmed, common theories include:

• Interdimensional entities partially intersecting with physical reality
• Reality-bound projections or “error artifacts” in spacetime
• Unknown shadow-based organisms operating outside standard physics
• Non-biological lifeforms using visual mimicry of humanoid structure

The once-popular explanation of mass hallucination is now considered insufficient due to shared sightings, environmental effects, and physical interaction cases.

Notable Encounters

• Account #1
• Account #2
• Account #3

“In 1982, when I was a student nurse at Warley Hospital, Brentwood in Essex, England, I encountered a ‘stick person’ in the grounds of the Hospital as I was walking home one night. It lopped across the roadway having been, seemingly, pressed up against a wall. It stopped when it saw me and raised its arms in fright and quickly walked off into the undergrowth. It was very tall with very thin, extremely long arms and legs and a very small oval head. Totally black and no obvious clothing. I saw no face even though it emerged very near a street lamp and so was well illuminated. I was terrified and to this day, no-one believes me…” -Simon Howes

You know my sister told me that she saw a stick man too when she was a kid. back then it was our aunt's funeral and she was sitting outside the funeral when she noticed a strange "stick like person" walking back and forth above the electric wiring of the pole in front of the funeral that is (she is more or less 10 walking distance away from the pole). She got really frightened and she told our cousin to look at it, at first our cousin didn't believe her but after a few minutes she saw the stick man too and both of them got terrified they told our cousin's mom if she saw the stickman and she said no. it took several hours, it was noon - until dawn before it faded away. she told the story to me and I had doubts but when I saw this article I was like.. wow I never thought a lot of people saw a stickmen too from around the world. I thought my sis was just simply crazy O.O [sic] -Damien Castellione

The following account is slightly shortened but otherwise unchanged and comes from my diary record for Tuesday, 31st October 1978. Only the names have been changed. We were all aged between 15 and 17 at the time. The Loose Valley referred to is near Maidstone in Kent. My diary record also indicates that there was a new moon on that night.

"I will record a rather unpleasant experience which took place tonight. A group of about ten of us were sitting chatting in the Loose Valley at about midnight. After about 45 minutes Will leapt to his feet slapping his head saying there was a bee in his hair; he looked absolutely terrified. Both Dorothy and I saw the outline of a tall, thin figure wearing a hat dancing behind him. Will said later it was if a terrifically loud buzzing was coming-up through the top of his head. However only Rachel heard any buzzing.

We partially satisfied ourselves that it must have been a bees' nest, and so we moved a little distance away. As we moved away Dorothy and I saw a ring outlined in the grass which enclosed where we had been sitting. Eventually it started raining so we headed for Rachel's house. As we left I turned around and saw the same thin black figure walk across the opening between the trees to where we had been sitting.

We had been sitting in Rachel's bedroom for a while, when I looked at Will who was reading and saw an amorphous black blob drop out of his hair onto the bed. I was the only one who saw this. A few seconds later a black shape started whizzing around. The main movement was from bottom left to top right as I was sitting, getting larger during the movement and inducing a great fright. About four people altogether saw this.

Later the girls slept in a room together. Apparently Rachel and Molly saw the black blob in the curtains during the night. I, however, had an excellent night's sleep. On first awakening I saw the thin black figure silhouetted against the wardrobe doors. I must admit I lost my calm last night and was bloody terrified by the whole thing."

I have now moved away from the South East, but I occasionally meet Will. Even twenty years later he has been extremely unwilling to discuss the events of that night in any detail as he still found the memory disturbing. During our last meeting I gained a little more of his account. He was not aware of the thin figure which I saw behind him during the initially buzzing. Unprompted by me he did recall the black blob falling out of his hair, which I thought I alone witnessed. However, he recalls it dropping onto the pages of the book he was reading rather than onto the bed as I recalled. Will also recalls more of the girls' account of their night after retiring. Apparently the blob had several times appeared near the curtains and moved them, while silhouetted against a bright light which appeared to come from outside but did not correspond to any street lamp or likely car lights.

This has been the only 'supernatural' experience of my life. [sic]

-Simon

All modern documented sightings referenced in this article were compiled by researcher & author Angelo Ramsey as part of an ongoing global investigation into the phenomenon. This collection serves as the primary source material for his upcoming December 2025 book, The Black Stick Man Phenomenon: 100+ Unexplained Sightings from Around the World, which brings together over a century of global encounters into the most extensive single archive of Black Stick Men reports assembled to date.

Trivia

• Some rare accounts describe wooden or plank-like stick men rather than shadow-based forms.
• A few reports involve shape-mimicry, including temporary transformation into animals or abstract figures.
• Stick Men wearing top hats are consistently reported across unrelated geographic regions.
• One of the rarest documented cases involved a Stick Man speaking and addressing a witness by name.

Gallery

Photo Gallery

An alleged photograph

An alleged photograph

An alleged recording

Video Gallery

Cryptids and Monsters The Black Stick Men

An informational video

Slenderman? Stick creature cliimbs building in Russia

An alleged stickman caught on film; most likely fake

Huge-Giant Creature climbing buildings in Russia

An alleged stickman filmed in Russia; most likely fake

Parking Lot Poltergeist

A Black Stickman-like entity caught on film