The idea of “secret projects” such as MKUltra were once considered complete fiction and nothing but conspiracy theories. As were secret projects to influence the weather or the use of remote viewers by such intelligence agencies as the CIA. However, we now know that these efforts existed, at least on an initial research and experimental level.

If these top secret and once-denied projects were more factual than authorities would have originally had us believe, then what should we make of some of the other, albeit bizarre, allegations of top secret projects and programs that operate in the shadows of governments, funded by the “black budget?” Here are ten such programs. Some are more believable than others, no doubt, but all are intriguing to the max.

10 Project Mannequin

According to several whistle-blowers, Project Mannequin is a joint operation involving the NSA and the British intelligence agencies.^[1] Although a variety of activities and projects operate under the Mannequin name, the main purpose is to train and develop units of “super soldiers.” Some of these are used as part of UFO retrieval and security lockdown operations. Others, though, are called “sleepers” and are claimed to be mind-controlled and activated remotely to carry out deadly assassination missions, of which they will not be aware.

Not crazy enough for you? Okay, most of these super soldiers become members of these programs via kidnappings or through years of grooming via military and high-status families, who apparently submit their children to such programs for rewards unknown.

The main hub of the operation is said to be in a top secret facility 60 meters (200 ft) underground in Berkshire in Southern England. In addition to the training sessions in developing super soldiers and mind-controlled assassins (if, of course, we subscribe to these apparent leaks of information, which most don’t) there are also remote viewing sessions. These occur for a variety of purposes, not least to gain political and military advantages. Some whistle-blowers even claim “astral attacks” take place from this facility under the Project Mannequin name.

Perhaps one of the most high-profile people to make claims of involvement in Project Mannequin was Max Spiers, who died in the most suspicious of circumstances and whose death—shortly after making such claims—remains unsolved to any satisfactory degree still today. Make of that what you will.

9 Project Bluebird/Artichoke

In contrast to the outlandish claims about Project Mannequin, our next entry is all too real. Most of us, even those who don’t involve themselves with “conspiracies” and the like, are aware of such programs as MKUltra, even if only by name. The forerunner to this very real project went first under the name Project Bluebird, and then, very likely for security reasons and for a lack of a clear paper trail, under the moniker of Project Artichoke.^[2] Perhaps this activity is indicative of the nature of the “black budget projects” that would seemingly become standard operating procedure for many intelligence agencies as the 20th century progressed.

These programs began around 1950, in the aftermath of World War II and, incidentally or not, Operation Paperclip. (The Nazis were known to have carried out extensive experiments with mind control.) While there is no direct evidence to link him to the programs, it is generally accepted by many researchers that the work of Jose Delgado, who was looking to replace the brutal nature of lobotomies with electrical stimulation of the brain, perhaps unintentionally provided intelligence agencies with the insight they required to use such knowledge to their own ends.

8 Project Dreamscan

While the objectives of Project Dreamscan have little documentation to back up the whistle-blower-type claims, the methods utilized within the program very much do. It is widely known, for example, that the CIA experimented relatively extensively with remote viewing, particularly during the Cold War (mainly due to intelligence that their Soviet counterparts were doing so).

According to the claims of some, the objective of Project Dreamscan was to have remote viewers leave their bodies and enter a target’s mind in a dream state.^[3] These missions were thought to have been attempts to influence the thought processes of the targets. Interestingly, some researchers suggest that such remote viewers often accompany high-ranking officials to meetings with the UN in order to use their powers on other countries’ officials for similar reasons. Rumors even exist that Uri Geller was employed in such a way.

Furthermore, a purported CIA document declassified in 2017 suggests that similar missions would “send” remote viewers not only to other planets but to different times, both in the future and the past. While most dismiss this aspect entirely, it is an interesting notion that time travel may be something achieved on an astral plane as opposed to a physical one.

7 Project Stargate

As we mentioned above, many of these secret programs were a product of the Cold War and the intelligence obtained by both US and Soviet agencies. In reality, it is tempting to say that each country likely fed the other a good helping of purposeful disinformation. However, in the paranoid nature of the times, neither side could afford to ignore possible intel, no matter how absurd. It is easy to see, then, where the murkiness of such projects comes from.

One of these operations was Project Stargate, which, according to what little information is available on it, was a “psychotronic research” program.^[4] Furthermore, beginning in the late 1970s, established and proven remote viewers would “teach” other to hone their skills—all at the expense of the United States government, of course. This was, according to some, the new “psychic warfare” that was taking place in full view of an unknowing and unsuspecting public.

There are even more bizarre reports from some researchers that suggest these talented remote viewers would, on occasion, be “loaned out” to friendly countries for use in their own private matters. Like many such programs, whatever the truth of their operations, Project Stargate would suddenly cease operating, at least under that name, in the 1990s.

6 Project Rainbow

Perhaps another seemingly outlandish “secret” operation was Project Rainbow, whose roots allegedly reside in such equally insane projects as the Philadelphia Experiment, which, of course, most people insist are mere fantasy at best. It also has more direct connections to another supersecret program in the Phoenix Time Travel Project, which some researchers believe is essentially the same operation under a different name.^[5]

While much of the project—if we accept, for a moment, the authenticity of the claims—revolved around the attempted creation of time tunnels and wormholes, the other part of the Project Rainbow umbrella would look at weather control. This, particularly in recent years, is something that is increasingly being dragged from the conspiracy tray to the fact tray.

Perhaps one of the most intriguing connections to other conspiracies are the claims that it was from these weather and space-time experiments that the seeds of the fully working mind control devices came from. It is another interesting layer to such conspiracies that sees a now all-but-proven “conspiracy theory” such as weather control coupled with the much more unpalatable prospect of controlling the minds of unsuspecting members of the public.

5 Operation Sleeping Beauty

Project Rainbow was not the only operation to involve experiments more akin to mind control. Rainbow’s weather control research allegedly also reportedly resulted in the secret program known as Operation Sleeping Beauty.

Whether these experiments ever made it off the drawing board is unknown, although as you might imagine, some conspiracy theorists insist they did. And what’s more, they contend that the experiments are likely still going on today.

The drive behind these conspiracy theories is the notion that mind-altering electromagnetic weaponry could be used to the US military’s advantage.^[6] They would, through such advanced and experimental technology, be able to achieve battlefield superiority. Their enemies would be mentally disorientated to the point of surrender.

Another interesting aspect of this approach was that the soldiers affected would not have the slightest idea of what was happening to them. This confusion alone would inspire substantial fear. In short, such a secret, advanced weapon is not at all beyond the realms of imagination or possibility.

4 The Mindwreaker Project

A very similar advanced battlefield weapon program would be Project Mindwreaker (sometimes called “Mindwrecker”) an effort to create a state of artificial paralysis through “mentally induced” weapons.^[7]

According to the conspiracies (and, once again, we should note that there is no absolute solid evidence to back these outlandish claims up), the project came to light through another unintended observation during the weather control experiments of Project Rainbow. Once they realized there was a potential to paralyze subjects through the technology they had created, they looked to weaponize it.

In a conspiracy claim already bordering on lunacy, further accusations suggest that this technology was derived from reverse-engineered alien spacecraft, which only made the conspiracy theory more appealing to some and more unbelievable to others. Perhaps just to add another layer of appeal to the whole affair, Mindwreaker is also claimed to be one of the last secret projects commissioned by the Reagan administration. Of course, who was actually in charge during the Reagan years is perhaps also open to debate and is, in fact, likely the bigger conspiracy.

3 Project Sigma

Maybe the claims behind the apparent Project Sigma are the most intriguing of them all, if only because they offer an admittedly tentative explanation for the alien abduction phenomenon.

The roots of Project Sigma go back to the alleged, and equally controversial, meeting between President Eisenhower and two different alien races. One race was the Greys, whose offer of advanced technology apparently won Eisenhower’s mind against the offer of “green technology” from the other alien race (said by some to be the Nordics). Further rumors suggest that Eisenhower didn’t wish this technology to end up in the hands of the Soviet Union.

So, then, if we buy into the theories that Eisenhower did indeed meet with two alien races, one of which was the Greys, what was the outcome of such a meeting? Well, according to some researchers, themselves relying on whistle-blower testimony, it was Project Sigma. This was essentially an alien-human hybridization program. The reason behind this is said to be that the Greys’ DNA had suffered “extreme degradation” due to exposure to radiation on their home planet. In short, they could no longer reproduce. So, in return for this technology, the Greys were apparently granted “access” to humans for abduction, under the condition the abductees would not recall such abductions and would be returned unharmed.^[8]

It is certainly an interesting notion. Might this be the ultimate reason behind the reports of abductions by Grey aliens since the early 1960s?

2 Project Moon Dust

The official reason for Project Moon Dust was to recover the remains of Soviet satellites that reentered the atmosphere and crashed to Earth. And they didn’t just recover these satellites in the United States but all over the world, in places such as South Africa, Bolivia, and even as far away as the Himalayan Mountains.

However, according to some researchers, most prominently Clifford Stone, a great many of the Moon Dust missions actually recovered crashed UFOs. Many of these craft are thought to have been taken back to the United States to various air bases and research facilities, with a view to reverse-engineering the technology available.^[9] Stone, who also claimed involvement in the missions, would state shortly before his death in 2014, “While we were doing this, we were telling the American public there was nothing to it [UFOs].”

Stone would also state that on most of these missions, the unit thought they were going for a satellite or a Soviet test plane. However, he would also state that on each of these missions, there was also a person assigned at the last minute who “wasn’t an Army official.” It would appear that these mysterious additions to the mission were the only ones in full possession of the actual facts of each incident. The claims, while perhaps requiring a pinch of salt or two, are certainly intriguing.

1 The CHANI Project

Perhaps one of the most intriguing of these alleged secret projects is the CHANI (Channeled Holographic Access Network Interface) Project, which one researcher described as an “orgasmic interaction between science theory and spiritual awareness.”^[10]

A simple way of explaining this apparent project is a moving of remote viewing and the use of psychics into the digital age. Through various computer software programs, the conspiracy says, a digital “channeler” or presence would make contact with spirits and energies from another realm—or, more accurately, with one energy or spirit, who was referred to rather ominously as “the Entity.”

Even more bizarre, the Entity was in contact with humanity on behalf of “the Elders,” the creators and overseers of the universe. This is an interesting notion and one that is found in the legends of many ancient civilizations. Ancient Egypt, for example, had legends of nine creator gods. Perhaps interestingly, it is claimed that similar channeling experiments in the 1950s and 1960s, themselves an offshoot of the MKUltra and remote viewing experiments, made contact with one of these creator gods.

Accounts of the “Shadow People” are some of the most chilling and outrageous of all strange phenomena. Perhaps not least is that no one appears to know exactly what they are, where they come from, or why. Yet sightings of them continue to be reported around the world. And what’s more, they appear to be increasing.

Of course, we should take most of the suggestions on our upcoming list with a large pinch of salt. However, they are intriguing, nonetheless. And very much worthy of our consideration, if only on a temporary basis. But who or what are the shadow people? Well, that is where we will start our list.

Related: 10 Paranormal Mysteries That Are Not Paranormal Mysteries

10 Who or What Are the Shadow People?

The shadow people are essentially exactly what their name describes—a human-shaped shadow that people often see, usually from the corner of their eye for a brief second. They then disappear again as quickly as they were noticed.

These figures are often seen for a period of several days or weeks before incidents usually begin to escalate. This sometimes results in the shadow person rushing toward them before disappearing at the last moment. Or, in extreme cases, a person might wake to find the shadow person sitting or pressing on their chest. Some people even speak of these shadowy entities trying to choke them.

Shadow people are perhaps the thing of urban legend to most of us. However, the number of people who claim to have seen these strange entities is not to be taken lightly. There might one day be a rational explanation for the strange creatures. At the moment, though, they remain a complete mystery. There are, however, several potential and speculative explanations for just what the shadow people might be.^[1]

9 They Are Actually Ghosts

Perhaps the most obvious explanation is that what people are seeing is a ghost or a spirit. This is perhaps one of the most palatable answers to those in paranormal circles. And many sightings of shadow people often occur alongside a whole host of other paranormal activities.

The claims of these mysterious entities actually being ghosts are perhaps more credible than we might think. Especially when we note that some sightings speak of these shadowy figures not being a complete figure. For example, only the head and shoulders might be visible. Or even just the legs. Many people who report seeing “ghosts” also speak of how the apparition was not a complete form of the person. They instead often describe a partial view (the head and shoulders, for example).

Of course, anything that is unexplained and mysterious often falls into the box labeled “ghosts.” So, it should not surprise us that the connection to such entities from the other side is made. There is also, though, another popular theory.^[2]

8 They Are Aliens Using Advanced Cloaking Technology

Okay, those who are regular readers of my lists will be waiting for this one. So, let’s get it out of the way early. According to some researchers, the shadow people are aliens. And what’s more, they are using some type of advanced cloaking technology. Of course, many people find the idea of aliens to be silly in itself. Much less having aliens using such technology to make them invisible.

We should note, though, the claims of many people who have suffered alleged alien abduction. Many often recall seeing the strange shadowy creatures in the weeks leading up to or after the abduction. On some occasions, these shadowy entities have even been captured on video.

Incidentally, the notion of making oneself invisible is the stuff of science fiction to most people. However, as we will discover a little later on our list, some scientists suggest similar ideas regarding invisibility. If invisibility was something that could be achieved, the results would likely be similar to the descriptions of shadow people from around the world.^[3]

7 A Result of Astral Projection

Another suggestion from some researchers is that shadow people are actually the result of people astral projecting. Essentially, the shadow is the essence of their energy. Or, to put it another way, their soul.

As crazy as the idea might sound to most of us, astral projection is something that many people claim to be able to achieve. And what’s more, these claims have been around for decades, if not centuries. So might it make a certain amount of sense? Let’s assume a person—or the energetic essence of that person—was able to leave their body. Might they leave behind a “shadow” of themselves as they did so?

Like the idea of ghosts and aliens, most will dismiss the notion of astral projection outright. However, many mainstream scientists have carried out in-depth research on the subject. And what’s more, the findings, while not conclusive, certainly suggest there might be more to the idea than many might think. Of course, whether astral projection and the shadow people are connected is a debate in itself.^[4]

6 Hypnagogia: Walking Sleep/Sleep Paralysis

Perhaps the most rational explanation is that sightings of the shadow people are simply hypnagogia. This is essentially when a person wakes up, but the body and brain remain in sleep. This often results in seeing imagined sightings. And quite often, in this position, a person can’t move. Indeed, many people feel completely paralyzed for several seconds.

Some people, though, believe they can see things that aren’t there. In our contemporary era, this would appear to be shadow people. And these are perhaps created purely in a person’s panicked mind. Perhaps in these moments, simply due to them having read about them, they then recall them in such a moment of panic.

We should note that stories in the Middle Ages, for example, often spoke of demonic entities. These demons would sit upon a person’s chests, waking them in the middle of the night. Of course, belief in such demons was particularly rife during these times. And that might explain why so many reports were made in that bygone age. Also, it could explain why sightings of shadow people are high in our modern age.^[5]

5 Remote Viewing Experiments

Another idea that many people dismiss with little research is the notion of remote viewing. Like astral projections, this is essentially where a person “leaves their body.” And what’s more, they are able to travel great distances and view what they are seeing. Once more, this is an area that has been extensively studied by intelligence agencies. And it would appear these went beyond just leaving one’s body to view the room next door. Some experiments, at least according to leaked documents, have seen people remote view entire other planets.

According to some, the sightings of shadow people are likely to be the essence of those who are conducting remote viewing. Of course, if there is any truth to this, then the people who claim to see these strange figures might wish to ask themselves why someone would wish to remote view them in the first place.^[6]

4 A “Real” Product of the Human Mind

Perhaps the most likely explanation when all is said and done is that the shadow people are nothing more than the product of the human mind. And there are various branch-offs from this idea alone.

The first consideration would be that sightings of shadow people are simply people seeing things that aren’t there. Perhaps due to stress, sleep deprivation, anxiety, or all of those.

It is also noted that many people who suffer from drug addiction might “see” shadow people. This is particularly the case with drugs such as “uppers,” which essentially keep people awake. In part, this explanation comes down to exhaustion. As well as the consequence of a drug-addled mind.

Of course, perhaps the simplest explanation is that people simply confuse shadows for figures. For example, let’s imagine someone lying in bed in the dark. Shadows in the room might quickly take on a different form than they would in the light.^[7]

3 Evidence of Entities from Another Dimension

Rather than aliens or ghosts, some researchers have suggested that the shadow people are actually very much human. Only they are coming here from another dimension. It is a suggestion that is perhaps even more ambiguous than ghosts or aliens. However, it is certainly one that might make us ask some intriguing questions about the nature of our reality.

Of course, why these entities from other dimensions might be visiting us in the first place is a question in itself. Might they indeed be far more advanced than us and are coming here to study us for reasons currently unknown?

All possibilities are on the table until an explanation comes to light. As we will discuss a little further in our last point, though, many mainstream scientists are seriously examining the reality of other dimensions. Perhaps the shadow people will one day prove to be a consequence of these other realms.^[8]

2 They Are Actually “Invisible” People

We mentioned above on our list the notion that some people believe the shadow people to be aliens. And what’s more, they are making use of advanced cloaking technology to make them invisible. An idea that sounds pure nonsense, even to many who believe in the possibility that aliens exist. However, modern science suggests that should an “invisibility cloak” exist, it might not leave someone completely unseen. They might instead have a shadowy presence. Basically, they would likely appear in a similar way to those who claim to have seen the shadow people.

Of course, scientists are confident that they are close to overcoming this issue. And they just might achieve complete invisibility in the near future. For now, it is the claims of some that shadow people are actually the results of experimental cloaking technology, possibly by the intelligence agencies. Of course, it is a theory that most dismiss outright.^[9]

1 Evidence of an Overlapping Universe

Maybe one of the most bizarre suggestions is that the shadow people are the result of an overlapping universe. And that these shadowy figures are very real people who exist in their own dimension or realm. This differs from the idea of entities from another dimension that we examined earlier. These sightings of shadow people are not a case of these creatures entering our realm of existence purposely. They are instead a case of a clashing of universes.

This might sound crazy at first. We should perhaps consider, though, that some scientists in the mainstream are looking at the idea of multiple universes. As well as other dimensions that might exist all around us. And what’s more, these other universes might, on occasion, “crash” into each other. Some have even suggested that such feelings as déjà vu might be explained by these theories. It is certainly an intriguing thought… and might be proven to be accurate one day. For the time being, though, all suggestions, guesses, and speculative theories remain on the table.^[10]