Every night, hundreds of people around the world dream of one mysterious man.

Whether an internet hoax or a real-life, unexplained phenomenon, the legend of “This Man” is one of the internet’s creepiest viral tales. It all began in 2006…

“In January 2006 in New York, the patient of a well-known psychiatrist draws the face of a man that has been repeatedly appearing in her dreams. In more than one occasion that man has given her advice on her private life. The woman swears she has never met the man in her life.

That portrait lies forgotten on the psychiatrist’s desk for a few days until one day another patient recognizes that face and says that the man has often visited him in his dreams. He also claims he has never seen that man in his waking life.

The psychiatrist decides to send the portrait to some of his colleagues that have patients with recurrent dreams. Within a few months, four patients recognize the man as a frequent presence in their own dreams. All the patients refer to him as THIS MAN.

From January 2006 until today, at least 2000 people have claimed they have seen this man in their dreams, in many cities all over the world: Los Angeles, Berlin, Sao Paulo, Tehran, Beijing, Rome, Barcelona, Stockholm, Paris, New Dehli, Moskow etc.

At the moment there is no ascertained relation or common trait among the people that have dreamed of seeing this man. Moreover, no living man has ever been recognized as resembling the man of the portrait by the people who have seen this man in their dreams.”

Over the years, people fascinated by the phenomenon have come up with countless theories in an effort to explain it, the most compelling of which is that “This Man” is actually a real human being who has the ability to enter the dreams of others; some even believe that the man is part of a top secret mental conditioning experiment run by a major corporation.

The legend of “This Man” grows this week, as eagle-eyed viewers noticed that the creepy face made a cameo appearance in this week’s brand new episode of “The X-Files.” A photo of the series’ Lone Gunmen is at one point spotlighted in Mulder’s house in the episode, and if you look close enough, a ghostly image of “This Man” is also in the photo.

The episode, interestingly enough, is titled “This.”

Is the appearance some kind of clue to unlocking the mysteries of “The X-Files” this season? Or merely a fun Easter egg placed into the show to give viewers something to talk about?

Your guess is as good as ours…