The man you have never met could have entered your dreams! Thousands of people claim to have seen the same face.

The face of a mysterious man that has been debated online for years came to the spotlight when thousands claimed to see the same person in their dreams. People living in different cities from Rome to Tokyo, from Berlin to São Paulo, saying they saw the same face in their dreams caused the story to spread worldwide in a short time.

Everything Started with a Portrait

According to the story that circulated online, in 2006 a female patient in New York drew a portrait of a man she claimed to meet repeatedly in her dreams and who gave her advice. A few days later another patient said she too had seen the same man in her dream, which gave the incident a mysterious dimension.

Then, through a website created online, people from different parts of the world began claiming to see the face in their dreams. The man's distinct facial features and expression, combined with what those who saw him reported, stirred even more curiosity.

What Was the Truth Behind the Mysterious Man?

In the account of the incident, various theories were put forward about why people see the same face in their dreams. Claims ranging from the collective unconscious to supernatural explanations surfaced, while the question of whether the mysterious man actually entered the dreams of thousands of people was debated.

However, behind the story there was not a supernatural event but a narrative that spread over the internet. The portrait of the mysterious man was used as part of an internet project associated with Italian sociologist and marketing expert Andrea Natella. The project is known as a viral marketing study that shows how people react to a claim they encounter online and how they can be influenced by others' accounts.

One of the main issues that experts emphasized is that something can influence the way people remember their memories and dreams.