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Have You Seen 'This Man?' The Strange Face Many People Report Having Seen In Their Dreams Explained
This Man is an online myth easily recognizable by those interested in creepypastas like the Hat Man and Momo. The myth revolves around a man only described as "This Man," or sometimes accompanied by the question, "Ever Dream This Man?"
This Man is depicted as a black-and-white image of a bushy-eyebrowed, partly balding man who peers into your eyes with a slight thin-lipped smile. It is said that his face has appeared in various unconnected people's dreams all over the world.
Where Does 'This Man' Come From?
The first known appearance of this man was on a website dedicated to him. The site was called, "thisman.org," and launched in September 2009. According to the site's description, the portrait of "This Man" was drawn by a mental patient of a well-known New York-based psychologist in 2006.
The site also claimed that four other patients in the same institution had seen "This Man," and that over 3,000 people had contacted the site to share their stories and drawings of the same man. Stories about this man reportedly came in from countries around the world, including Los Angeles, Berlin, Sao Paulo, Tehran, Beijing, Rome, Barcelona, Stockholm, Paris, New Delhi, Moscow, and more. Each person reportedly called the face "This Man."
How Did The Story About 'This Man' Spread?
The story about "This Man" spread in the form of a copypasta originally hosted on the aforementioned website. The copypasta was shared across the internet in 2009 to various blogs and forums, as well as social news communities like 4chan, Reddit, and Metafilter, where lengthy discussions about the rumor's validity and debunking attempts ensued. People called up Carl Jung's Archetype Theory or Dream Imitation Theory in order to explain the inexplicable global cases of people seeing "This Man."
Was 'This Man' A Hoax?
Soon after the spread of the image of "This Man," people began to look into Andrea Natella, the creator of the website. They soon found out that Natella is an Italian sociologist and marketing strategist who runs an advertising agency called Guerilla Marketing, which designs subversive hoaxes and creates weird art projects exploring politics and advertising.
Andrea Natella came clean about the viral campaign in a Vice interview years after the project, sharing that the image of "This Man" was modeled after an older photo of his own father. The project reportedly grew out of Natella's fascination with the "dream invasion," a concept he had encountered in popular media. The project also helped Natella explore the power of the internet to propagate urban legends and collective myths.
What Are Some Memes People Made About 'This Man'?
A popular meme variation of the "This Man" myth is the practice of replacing the image of "This Man" with a different notable celebrity, like Shaq or Elon Musk. The image is often accompanied by the byline that reads, "every night throughout the world hundreds of people dream his face," and as well links directing one to different parts of the website.
For the full history of This Man, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
