In the wake of the current economic recession, authorities have reported a substantial rise in clinical depression rates among the youth of western Europe. This trend has lead to a simultaneous increase in drug abuse. A combination of poor education and lack of finance led many to avoid the use of industrial quality drugs, such as cocaine, LSD and extasy, instead partaking in recreational use of over the counter medication.

Insomnia medication, eg. sleep pills, has proven an extremely popular choice, due to its ease of access. These powerful diphenhydramine-based sedatives can be readily sourced from any pharmacy without the need for a prescription. While initially intended to help with sleeplessness, many long term users report vivid hallucinations and sleep paralysis, with the effects only strengthening as the dose increases. Because the body builds up natural tolerance to the drug‘s effects, a regular increase in dosage is unavoidable to facilitate continued recreational use, thus increasing the clarity oh the aforementioned hallucinations.

Most notable among the reported hallucinations is an apparition known as Hatman. The reason for his notoriety is the staggering consistency of his description. All witnesses report the Hatman as being a pure black silhouette of a man of average height with red glowing eyes, wearing a long 1900's style trench coat and a fedora. In all reported encounters he simply stands still, unfazed by any attempts to interact, eventually fading away after a few minutes. While the origins and purpose of thie entity remain unknown, the fact that many witnesses describe the exact same experience led to theories that he may not be a simple hallucination.

However the most troubling revelation are reports of sightings by individuals not under the influence of any hallucinogens, as well as photographic and video evidence. While experts are not certain what could be the cause for this phenomena, there are theories that the ability to be recorded indicates the entity may possess a physical presence of some sort. Most of these sightings occur when an individual is alone and in a dark area, although rarely the entity may appera to small groups of people if isolated enough, such as campers and hikers.