SCARY FACTS AND STORIES

Sleep Paralysis

Night One

It's late, or early, whatever you prefer to call this hour. I'm tossing and turning, wishing I could just sleep through the night and wake up feeling okay. I know that if I close my eyes and attempt to get some rest, he'll come back. He's always there, just waiting for me to become vulnerable. He wants the control. Always. I fight it, but he fights back. I'm afraid to sleep but I'm so exhausted that I can't keep my eyes open any longer, so I end up passing out without realizing. Within a matter of minutes, the paralysis starts. I feel awake and aware of my surroundings. I see him there, standing over my bed. I'm looking at him and he's staring right back at me, as if he can see right through me. I can't move. My whole body is frozen. He's dressed in all black, wearing a heavy cloak that stops me from seeing his face. I could only imagine what it might look like. All I'm thinking about right now is how I'm going to get away from him if I can't move. I'm blinking in hopes of waking up, but that isn't working. I squeeze my eyes shut while struggling to break free of his control on me. When I open them he's closer to me; he's above my bed and I'm looking right at him. I know what's going to happen next and I'm panicking. I start losing my breath and trying even harder to move. His hands are around my throat. I can feel the oxygen leaving my body and my limbs becoming weak. I'm still trying to force myself awake. Things start fading in and out and everything becomes more and more distorted, going back and forth from reality to nightmare. I can't even scream out for help because his grip on my throat is too tight. As soon as I feel myself losing all consciousness, I'm jolted awake. I'm out of breath and confused. Even though I've been in the same position before, it always feels like the first time, every time. I'm in a daze, wondering if I'm really awake or still in the same room as the figure. It'll take a while before I can fall back asleep, so I sit up in my bed, turn the lights on, and cry out of fear. "Why is this happening to me?" I quietly weep to myself.

Night Two

Do I dare try to sleep? I've been trying so hard to stay awake, just until the sun starts coming up at least. I don't want to suffer through another hellish episode of what people call a nightmare. I hate this so much; I hate being so afraid to sleep. I don't want to find out what happens if I let him win the fight. I'm just so tired. I need sleep... I need... sleep... and once again, I unknowingly close my eyes and fall into the darkness. It always happens so fast, I don't understand how it feels like hours have passed when it's really just minutes. I can feel his presence. I don't see him yet, but I know he's here in my room, watching me. Everything is so cold and my vision is blurred because I'm already trying to wake myself up. Of course it's not working, I'm stuck in this world of shadows until he's finished with me. Still not knowing where the figure is, I'm trying my hardest to make sure he doesn't come near me, but in a split second, I feel him sitting on my chest with his hands firmly on my throat, choking me to death. I don't know why he makes me suffer this way. The feeling of all the air leaving my body makes me squirm underneath his weight. Something is different about tonight - I try to yell. I stop fighting so hard to get away, but instead I fight for my voice. I'm screaming as loud as I can. "Mom! MOM! PLEASE, MOM!" This is the first time I've begged for help in a nightmare. The tears are streaming down my face as I'm still being strangled. I keep trying to scream for my mom, thinking this is real, hoping she'll come into my room and save me. The grip on my throat gets tighter and tighter. I'm ready to give up, but as soon as I go limp, I jump awake and immediately sit upright. My hands on my face, I can feel the wetness of the tears. I try to catch my breath, but it's difficult, still being in panic mode, wondering again if what I'm experiencing is just a nightmare, or real life.

Night Three.

The bags under my eyes are a lot more noticeable now. I still don't know if these nightmares are real or just my vivid imagination, and I'm terrified of the answer if they are real, but I need to find out somehow. These just can't be hallucinations or me going completely out of my mind - well, actually, I don't know for sure. It's almost 5AM. I decide it's early enough in the morning to try and get some sleep. My mistake. I open my eyes to a gut wrenchingly cold bedroom. I'm uneasy. It feels like I just woke up so I try to sit up in my bed, and as soon as I start to move, he grabs me and throws me back down. I am completely paralyzed. I can't even blink or feel myself breathing. He has me. Not making a sound, he holds my arms against the bed, I can hear my wrists cracking as he pushes down on them even harder. I can feel the pain shuddering through my body. After a few seconds, he takes his hands off of my mangled wrists and places them on my chest; he makes a fist and pounds on it as hard as he can. And like every night, he goes for my neck. I can feel his anger pulsing through the palms of his hands. Maybe I shouldn't fight him this time? He's just going to keep trying and trying until I'm finally gone. If I let him kill me in this dream state, he'll leave me alone, right? I don't really have a choice. While distracted by my thoughts, my body subconsciously wakes itself up.

Night Four

I'm not ready. I never am. I just want this to end, so I'm prepared to let myself go and give him full control over me. I hope this works. I can't keep being terrified to sleep. I'm exhausted, emotionally and physically. I don't know what to feel anymore, everything seems so distorted and dream like even when I'm awake. This needs to stop, tonight. The lights are out and I'm tired enough to fall asleep in the next few minutes, so here we go. As expected, I open my eyes, and I'm staring at the ceiling. I don't see anyone yet; it just feels like I'm lying awake in bed. I attempt to sit up, and surprisingly I can, unlike all the other times I've tried to move in this state. I look around my room and I still don't see anything that could be a threat to me. I'm so confused. Am I in a dream? The atmosphere feels blurry and altered. I start to rub my eyes thinking there's a chance I might be awake and just disoriented from lack of real sleep. I sit for a minute wondering if I should just try to sleep again, because obviously I'm just out of it. So, I lie back down, cover my face with my hands, and rub my eyes again. I let out a long sigh. Maybe tonight will be different, I think to myself. But the second I take my hands away from my face and open my eyes, he's right on top of me with his face directly in front of mine. I froze. I could see every facial feature for the first time ever, and I immediately felt sick to my stomach. I could feel the vomit rising in my throat. I was so shocked I couldn't believe what, or who, I was seeing. I managed to speak, "Oh God, oh God no, please." A demonic smile stretched across his face. The teeth he revealed were sharp and decayed. But I couldn't stop staring at his eyes. They were as dead as I imagined they'd be. I felt them burning through mine. I've never been this horrified in my entire life. I don't know what's going on here, I don't even know if I'm asleep or not. Either way, this feels too real. I can feel his hot breath on my face, and I can smell the putridness of it. He laughs and sits up on my stomach with his hands on my chest. The weight of his body is crushing me. He slowly moves his hands towards my neck, staring directly at me, still laughing, even harder now. I don't know if I should fight this or not. What am I supposed to do? I'm panicking and screaming but he puts one hand over my mouth. Even with my mouth covered I can taste my own tears through the small openings between his fingers. I can't do this; I can't fight. I have no energy from lack of sleep. Just kill me. Everything after that happens so fast. This is so terrifying that it can't be real. This has to be another lucid nightmare. With one hand still on my mouth, he uses the other on my throat, and pushes down hard, squeezing the breath out of me slowly and painfully. Now knowing what this creature is and what sick form he's taking, it hurts even more. I know he's not actually who he looks like, that would be impossible. I can see and feel him adjusting his position. He's sitting on my chest now. He removes his hand from my mouth and uses both on me. With the pressure he's putting on my throat and chest it feels like my collar bones are breaking. I'm going to wake up soon, I have to, because I know he's getting close to ending me. But, all of a sudden he leans down and puts his head beside mine. I can feel his mouth open and his exhale on my ear. He takes a second before he speaks."You never fell asleep." My heart stops, and everything turns black.