Accounts for the said shadows (5)
I believe the answer is:
tales
'accounts' is the definition.
(tale is a kind of account)
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tales that I've seen before include "provided for defective juries" , "Relations" , "Lies" , "Stories, perhaps tall ones" , "accounts" .)