The Dark Figure

by Heath
(Sacramento, Ca)

I have had sleep paralysis often since childhood. My first memories of it were when I was about 5 years old and it never really scared me. It would usually be in the morning and I would start to awaken and get caught in that in between stage. I would try to move and would feel my body pinned in place. I could see around my room. I'm not sure if I was actually seeing or maybe hallucinating. I am now 24 and about a year ago I finally found out what sleep paralysis is.

I had never talked about it with anyone and finally decided to bring it up with my doctor after having my first terrifying hallucination. I had thought it was a dream while awake, but he explained that it was actually a hallucination, and that they can occur in rare cases of sleep paralysis.

The first hallucination was a human sized shadowy figure and I watched it come into my room, walk up to my bed and stab me. The whole time I couldn't move or scream. When I got stabbed I woke up. The intensity of the hallucination was the most terrifying thing I had ever experienced and this same situation occurred the next few times... until something worse happened.

My hallucination worsened to where my sleep paralysis would happen as I started to fall asleep and would start to wake up like my body was trying to stay awake - and this is how it always is now - and as I awaken I try to move and feel pinned, I look around the room and see through my open bedroom door. My mind keeps my eyes pinned on the door and the shadow swiftly enters my room and beelines for me. Only this time instead of stabbing me it drug me out of my bed, down the hall and to the foot of my aunts bed. This is not a dream, it happened in the current time while I was awake yet when the hallucination ends I'm in my own bed.

As much as this sounds like a dream you must understand that I feel my presence awake and I feel pinned and paralyzed in place. Since that one about a year ago they have gotten progressively worse and more frequent. I have tried Ambien and different sleep remedies but nothing helps.