Though A Nightmare on Elm Street was inspired by a true story Wes Craven came across, the character of Freddy Krueger was entirely a product of his own imagination. But is it possible for many different people to have nightmares of the same exact figure? Well, it just might be…

A genuinely creepy website simply titled This Man has just come to our attention, which relays a story that’s quite frankly bone-chilling. Story goes that in 2006, a psychiatry patient drew a portrait of a mysterious man she had been dreaming about every single night, swearing that she had never before seen the man, in her waking life.

The drawing visible on the psychiatrist’s desk, several other patients allegedly spotted it and revealed that they too had been having recurring dreams of the same man, also stating that they didn’t recognize who it might be. Curious, the doctor sent the portrait around to several colleagues, and was shocked to learn that many of their patients had also been plagued by visions of the man.

Perhaps most chilling is the fact that all who have seen the figure in their dreams refer to him as ‘This Man,’ and no living person has ever been linked to the portrait. At least 2,000 people have claimed to see ‘This Man’ in their dreams over the course of the past several years, stories pouring in from all across the world.

Here are just a few of the accounts dreamers have written, after the man popped up in their dreams…

“I have seen this man in 3 completely different dreams. He was slightly different from the picture, but I recognized him immediately. He appeared suddenly and disappeared in the same manner. His message in all 3 of my dreams was:” It’s all over”. That was repeated 3 times in each dreams. The differences in the picture and the man in my dreams are: his hair was a little longer in the top; his eyebrows were not as bushy. Other than that, he is identical. I had no fear of him, but many questions.”

“The first time I had a dream about this man I was having a hard time at work. I had a dream about getting lost in a huge and deserted shopping mall. Suddenly this man appeared and I started running away from him. He chased after me for what seemed like an hour until I found myself against a wall in the kids’ area in a supermarket. At this point he smiled at me and he showed me the way out towards the cash desks and I woke up. Ever since that night this man has appeared in all of my dreams and he always gives me directions to get out of the dream and wake up.”

“I dreamt of this man when I was in the 10th grade. He hasn’t been in any recurring dreams just one very memorable and terrifying dream. In my dream I was stuck in a room sitting on a stool. A few feet away from me there was a television set. I was ‘visited’ by two men I had never seen before (not ‘this man’) and they both attacked me. I woke up covered in sweat and tears and I was screaming. I somehow fell asleep then I found myself back in the room. I started screaming and crying. Then This Man showed up on the screen. I begged him to not harm me. He didn’t change his blank expression or speak. He slit my throat and I woke up. I suppose he let me out of the nightmare but I couldn’t stop thinking about him for weeks. I still have some of the sketches I drew of him. I know it’s kind of weird.”

“I dreamt this man was in my mirror watching me, saying nothing, and he was wearing glasses. He never moved the entire time I saw him, he was like a statue, so still.”

So, is ‘This Man’ evil or benevolent? And why does he appear to so many, in the dream world? Theories range from the mysterious figure being God himself to him being a real man who has figured out a way to enter the dreams of others. Another possibility is that people simply dream of him after being exposed to this fascinating story, which many consider to be the most likely explanation.

Head over to This Man to learn more and dig deeper. Pleasant dreams…