The Black Hat Man

The Black Hat Man (real name Hiram Epps) is a recurring character on the Amazon Original horror anthology series THEM: Covenant. He is portrayed by Christopher Heyerdahl.

The Black Hat Man was a supernatural entity haunting the Emory family, specifically Lucky Emory.

THEM: Covenant
Many years before the events of East Compton began, Hiram Epps was a former reverend, founder of a Christian community in a town called Eidôlon. Broken by sorrow after the death of his son and his wife, he begs God to speak to him and to give him an explanation for their sacrifice, which he did not prevent. A few hours later, he finds a young child abandoned in the forest surrounding Eidôlon. He welcomes him into his home and names him Miles, to honor God with his mercy.

Time passes and one day black strangers arrive in Eidôlon. Epps welcomes them with open arms, but some members of the community, including Luther, take a dim view of Epps’s kindness. The two strangers are quickly accused of black magic and Epsps, who first defended them, based on the holy scriptures, is prompted by the young Miles to read part of the text which announces that the strangers are the property of their hosts (It is likely that Satan insidiously conveyed this thought to Epps, who was beginning to lose his sight at the time, as these words were actually not in the book).

Epps then sees himself shaken in his beliefs. One day, while spying on the sleeping couple, his myopia, coupled with an onset of dementia, makes him see the black woman in demonic features. He interprets this vision as a message from God himself. One day, he loses his cross and the black woman picks it up and gives it back to him. Blinded by his myopia, his madness and his distorted visions, Epps accuses her and her husband of having abused him and, noting that she has no wedding ring on her finger, compares them to a pig and a sow. They are then locked in the pigsty as a form of humiliation. Miles offers them the opportunity to escape by opening the barn door but they are captured and, under the command of Epps, blinded and burned alive. However, the stake ends up setting ablaze the whole church, killing everyone, except Miles and Epps who escape through the underground passages. There, feeling death approaching, Epps turns to God, claiming that he has accomplished his task. It is Miles who answers him, revealing himself to be Satan in person, and who offers him a pact: he will never know death as long as he continues to sow chaos in black families for eternity. Epps accepts, before being buried under the rubble of the burning church. Years later, East Compton is built on top of ancient Eidôlon.

THEM: Covenant
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Trivia
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