Sleep paralysis stories typically involve unusual and frightening experiences. Perhaps you have one or two of these disturbing tales of your own to tell.
If not, I’ll first share one of mine to give you an understanding of what it can be like.
Then we’ll take a closer look at whether sleep paralysis demons or ghosts really exist. Or if science can provide a logical and comforting explanation.
My sleep paralysis experience
Imagine the following scenario: it’s been a long day, you go to bed later than usual and fall asleep quickly through sheer exhaustion.
But instead of waking up peacefully in the morning, you half wake in the middle of the night. And in the darkness of your bedroom, it slowly dawns on you that you can’t move your body…and that someone, or something, is watching you.
A weight pushing on your chest
You feel a weight on your chest, pressing you down and preventing you from sitting up. And not only is your whole body paralyzed, but you can’t so much as move your lips to call out for help.
You’re not sure who or what is pushing on your chest. Even though you seem to be able to move your eyes just a little, it’s too dark to see anyway. Regardless, you just feel that there’s a presence there. Something strange. Something frightening.
This happened to me last year and was a very unsettling experience. Fortunately, there was no demon, ghost or burglar in my bedroom.
After a minute’s panic, the feeling passed. And I was then able to stumble to the bathroom to make sure my face wasn’t decorated with demonic symbols. It was a classic case of sleep paralysis.
What is sleep paralysis?
Recurrent isolated sleep paralysis is classified as a parasomnia, which is a group of sleep disorders involving unwanted behaviors that accompany sleep.
The main symptom is being awake and unable to move your body. It might also be accompanied by hallucinations or dreams/nightmares whilst still awake.
It typically lasts from a few seconds to a few minutes before movement is regained. And although it may feel like it at the time, it’s not believed by medical organizations to be harmful.
What causes it?
The exact reason for why it happens to some people and only on some nights isn’t known. However, scientists do have a theory about what goes on during sleep paralysis.
During the night, you cycle through different sleep stages. When you enter the REM stage of sleep, your brain stops your muscles from moving – known as REM atonia. One explanation for this atonia is that it prevents injury from acting out your dreams in bed.
During sleep paralysis, the atonia starts, or continues, while you’re awake. And during this time, you might also experience what’s known as sleep hallucinations, or dreams while you’re awake.
So your body and brain are temporarily out of sync while transitioning between sleep stages, potentially creating a frightening experience.
As Dr. Michael J. Breus neatly explains:
Sleep scientists believe that sleep paralysis may occur when the transitions in and out of REM sleep and other sleep stages don’t go smoothly.
How many people experience sleep paralysis?
Sleep paralysis stories like mine are surprisingly common. In 2011, researchers aggregated 35 sleep paralysis studies to find out how many people had experienced it at least once in the past year, finding:
- 7.6% of the general population
- 28.3% of students
- 31.9% of psychiatric patients
And according to the handbook of sleep disorders, it will happen at least once in a lifetime of 40% to 50% of normal subjects, but is “far less common as a chronic complaint”.
Who is more at risk of having sleep paralysis?
Scientists might not know the precise reason only some people have sleep paralysis yet, but there are a growing number of risk factors becoming apparent.
For example, researchers who analyzed 42 studies found several risk factors and associated conditions:
- Sleep problems, changing sleep patterns and shift work.
- Sleep disorders such as narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia and nocturnal leg cramps.
- Stress.
- Some psychiatric groups, particularly those with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety and panic disorders.
- Substance and medication use.
- Physical illness.
- Personality and anomalous beliefs.
Is there a genetic component to sleep paralysis?
In 2015, British researchers published a study of 862 twins and siblings aged between 22 and 32. They did find some evidence of a genetic role, but only a small one:
In this sample of young adults, sleep paralysis was moderately heritable
Interestingly, they also found other independent risk factors, including:
- Disrupted sleep cycles
- General sleep quality
- Anxiety symptoms
- Exposure to threatening events
Polls – readers’ experience of sleep paralysis
I polled readers of this article for a year to find out what kind of sleep paralysis episodes they had.
Note that it’s likely that many people who search online about it will have had the more frightening episodes, skewing the results.
But they still provide a fascinating insight into what people experience and how they cope.
Poll 1
In poll 1, the most common episode was thinking there was a demon or other being in the room.
Poll 2
Poll 2 shows that many readers find sleep paralysis terrifying. Again, those who search online for it are likely to have found it particularly disturbing.
Poll 3
Poll 3 shows that many readers first experienced sleep paralysis during adolescence.
Poll 4
Poll 4 shows that most readers don’t experience sleep paralysis on a regular basis.
Poll 5
Poll 5 shows some of the ways readers deal with episodes. You’ll find more coping mechanisms below.
The not so scientific explanations for sleep paralysis
Since first writing this article several years ago, there has been an extraordinary number of comments. And the comments show that not everyone accepts the scientific explanation.
Interestingly, some people struggle to accept it even though they consider themselves to be scientifically minded generally. I think these cases highlight just how realistic the experience of sleep paralysis can be; how it can linger in your memory and makes you question what happened for a long time afterward.
The possibility of demons, ghosts, spiritual beings, and aliens all crop up from time to time in the comments too. And while many people accept their experiences as hallucinations or dreams, some people choose to believe another explanation – that those entities are real.
Despite these beliefs, there’s one clear theme: nothing bad ever actually happens, other than being frightened and perhaps losing some sleep after an episode.
Around the world
Cultural beliefs also appear to play a role in how sleep paralysis is perceived by some people.
In Fiji, for example, the demon is sometimes seen as a deceased relative coming back to discuss an important or unfinished matter.
In Chinese folklore, it’s also seen as a ghost rather than a demon or intruder.
Some people in Iran and Pakistan interpret it as demons or spirits taking over your body. This could be due to black magic performed by an enemy.
The common theme is that the entity is usually something to be feared. I’m yet to find a culture which believes it’s a friendly creature!
Sleep paralysis treatment
When to see a doctor
Fortunately, most people don’t experience sleep paralysis very often, and no treatment is usually required.
However, if the following apply to you, it’s a good idea to speak to your doctor:
- It happens regularly.
- You’re anxious about sleep paralysis and going to sleep.
- You don’t get enough sleep.
- You feel very sleepy during the day, sometimes fall asleep suddenly or lose control of your muscles.
What medical treatment is available?
If you see a doctor, they might take the following action:
- Refer you to a sleep specialist to assess if you have another sleep disorder, like narcolepsy.
- Treat any underlying psychiatric condition.
- Discuss any medication or substance use that might be a factor.
- Explain the biological processes involved in sleep paralysis to reassure you.
- Talk to you about developing good sleep habits. This is thought to help reduce the frequency of sleep paralysis.
Readers’ techniques for coping with sleep paralysis
Over the years, many readers have described how they cope with sleep paralysis, and I’ve created a list of the most frequent ideas below.
The first seven in the list are also suggested by sleep experts. The rest are a mix of personal opinions. Please bear in mind that none are guaranteed to work:
- Don’t let yourself become too sleep-deprived.
- Stick to a regular sleep schedule.
- Try to reduce stress and anxiety in your life.
- Try to vigorously flutter your eyelids or move your eyes, as this tends to be an area of the body that’s less affected by the paralysis.
- Focus on wiggling just one finger or a toe.
- Don’t take recreational drugs or drink alcohol in the evening.
- Don’t sleep on your back.
- Stay calm.
- Tell yourself that you’re in control. You can order the experience to stop.
- If you feel a weight on your chest, imagine there’s something friendly causing it.
- Film yourself sleeping so you can see there was nothing in the room.
- Don’t think about what it could be. Your imagination will probably make up something scary in the darkness.
- Organize your bedroom in a way that makes you feel safe and secure.
- Don’t hang dressing gowns, coats, or hats in places that make them look like figures in the dark.
- Sleep with a night light, music, or radio on.
- Remind yourself that nothing bad will happen.
- Imagine your body rolling from side to side in your mind and count each roll. Focus on this and try to grow the capacity for movement from there.
- Count numbers to focus your mind on something else.
- Don’t sleep with a high pillow.
- Keep your eyes shut and try to clear your mind.
- Squeeze your eyes tightly shut if you can control the muscles.
- Keep well hydrated – drink water before going to bed.
- Talk about it to family or friends – they may have experienced it too.
- If you have it once, get out of bed for a while to reset the brain.
- Many people say prayer helps. Some also say that calling on their religious beliefs and commanding what they see to leave helps them.
- Check if any sleeping pills or herbal remedies you’re taking are causing it.
- Use sleep paralysis to lucid dream by relaxing and going with the experience instead of fighting it.
- Once the episode has passed, tell yourself that you overcame it, are not afraid and will always overcome it.
How I recently stopped an episode of sleep paralysis
I successfully used two of the above techniques to stop a recent episode of sleep paralysis.
I woke to find myself in a strange position with my arms crossed on top of my body. And I could literally feel strong hands pinning my wrists to my chest.
I have to admit I was immediately petrified. The whole event was blurry, and I think I was having some dream overlap, but can’t remember exactly what now.
Stay calm and wiggle a finger
Two things sprung to mind after a moment of panic: stay calm and try to wiggle a finger.
The calmness I only managed with moderate success. But I did manage to focus my efforts on moving a finger. It felt quite odd – like my fingers were wiggling in different directions!
Eventually, I felt my arms loosen as well, and soon afterward I was able to shake the whole sensation away as I regained full control.
I then spent a few minutes doing some breathing exercises to ground myself and calm down, and then fell asleep again.
I think just knowing about the finger wiggling technique was enough for me to remember it when the sleep paralysis occurred.
Share your story of sleep paralysis
Have you had sleep paralysis? What happened, and do you have any suggestions to help others deal with it?
Please feel free to share your experience in the comments below.
Hello,
I may not have read enough of the comments but went through several and don’t see anyone experiencing the Dark entity that visits them in their sleep take their breath? It’s hard to explain but every time I have the same thing happen when I have sleep paralysis, a demonic entity walks to my bedroom doorway is completely black without any face just a dark human-sized entity and it will suck the air out of me from the doorway. It is very terrifying and makes it so I can not breathe for a minute sometimes. I can’t call out if I do it will take more of my breath and it makes my whole body shake when it’s happening. I can only get one word out for every sentence I say when I try and shout at it to leave. Does this happen to anyone?
One time when this happened, I did not tell my boyfriend about it the next morning all I said was I’m so tired and he said “I’m not surprised you were moving a lot last night and you woke me up by tapping on my arm and asking me do you see that? And when I asked you what? You said there’s a demon right there “ and he said I pointed at the doorway.
Is it possible to be going through sleep paralysis and sleep talk to someone at the same time? I wish I this wouldn’t happen because it makes me very afraid to sleep alone for years and years now and I’ll often get just a few hours of sleep a night for weeks after one of these episodes happen because I’m so fearful of it coming back each time.
Yes I have these too. I struggle to breath and feel like if I slow down to regain control I might stop breathing completely so I continue to breathe hard and fast while moving around to wake up. I hate this feeling so much and now I’m starting to have a few a night
So my story is a little different. Until reading about sleep paralysis, I always considered what happened as real, and have been so terrified of the experience, that I haven’t told many people. I was in college and decided to go take a nap in the middle of the day. I went and laid down, and almost immediately had the experience. I really felt like I never went to sleep and it wasn’t dark in my room at all. I felt something take over my body and when I opened my eyes, I saw a demon right in my face. I was so scared but couldn’t move at all. For some reason, I knew I was dying. I felt my body/ soul pulled from my body in the bed and raised toward the ceiling. I began praying frantically to God, to please forgive me, and give me an opportunity to live so I could live as a better Christian. As I continued to pray, I felt myself quickly pull back into my body, and I immediately could move. I jumped out of the bed immediately, and ran to my girlfriend’s apartment across the street, and told her the story in tears. I truly felt like I had never fallen asleep and it all happened. I had a hard time opening my eyes after falling asleep for months because I was terrified a demon would be in my face. Its never happened again, and that was 17 years ago. Anyway, I was surprised to see some of the information online about this stuff.
My first episode of sleep paralysis resulted in me seeing A reaper like figure standing at my window along with a feeling that someone was there. Experienced this a few more times over the years just not with a demonic figure until a few days ago. This time was different. As I lay there frozen trying to will myself to move I heard a voice. High pitched and it sounded distorted like it was coming in and out via radio but was clearly saying “no”. Not just “no” but more of a long drawn out “nooooooo” like it angry for being denied entry to my soul. Looking back its not as scary, more so extremely interesting and intriguing. Sleep paralysis is def a terrifyingly amazing experience!
I have experienced that feeling of being held down or something being on top of me and not being able to move or speak. The most horrific one was when I felt something touching me in a sexual manner. It was tearing at my clothes and I kept trying to push it away. Like before I could not really move or scream out. Finally just woke up.
I’ve recently experienced this almost too similar concept of sleep paralysis but it’s somehow different than any of the things being listed here. I can remember all of my dreams vividly as if it’s a regular occurrence even though it isn’t. I can recall during one episode of my dreams as to how dark my room was, but instead of not being able to move or talk. I can seem to talk and roll my body, but I can’t stand and move out from my bed. I felt this force in my head as if I’m being pulled out from my body due to me being suddenly blurry and back to my physical appearance and again and again. I prayed, and I managed to wake up seeing that it isn’t that dark in my room, but I fell asleep again and this time I can hear this creature shouting and even without seeing the creature I can picture it’s face as if I am looking at it directly. White blinding eyes as if it’s made from the most powerful neon light out there, dark smoky face like inky looking face and an even darker mouth like it’s been stretched to its limits. And I managed to wake up from it for the second time around. Terrifying really. But I somehow overcame it.
I have experienced sleep paralysis as a teenager a couple of times in the past. On both occasions I hallucinated and saw some kind of entity on top me, pushing me down. I am a very scientific person and do not believe that it was anything other than sleep paralysis and hallucinations. However last night I suddenly woke up during the night to a swirling entity above my husband’s chest and he was murmuring. The swirling thing disappeared and he woke up. He was actually experiencing sleep paralysis. So what did I see? I was not hallucinating. I was awake. Strange right?
same here. i could not move but i remained calm because i was asleep and did not know what was going on.. but i heard whirling like a fidget spinner coming from my sisters bed.. but she says that was her bad and she actually made a noise like that but it snapped off RIGHT when i got out. am i going crazy?
Hi there! Can you describe a swirling entity in details?
Just last night I experienced sleep paralysis. It the second one I’ve had in the past few weeks. I had a late nap so I wasn’t to tired when everyone in my house was fast asleep. Eventually, at like three am I made myself close my eyes. In no time I felt my covers tighten and maybe a presence of something else in the room. I knew this time what was happening as I was falling fast into a state of feeling paralyzed. All of a sudden the room felt much darker and my cover was tightening up like someone was pulling it from under the bed. I reminded myself some how to just stay calm and all of a sudden it pasted. I woke up completely and tried to find meaning as too why it felt like the demonic energy in the room was trying to suffocate me with my covers. I’m so confused but glad I found this site. My previous experience is similar but I was laying on my back at that time and couldn’t move. My boyfriend sleeps next to me and all of a sudden he was on my edge of the bed almost like he was apart of the whole thing. I just kinda jumped out of it and woke up and seen he was still sleeping on the right side of me. It’s a lil funny now because I woke him up to check the house and asked if he was just on the other side of the bed. He said he’d been sleeping the whole time. It was pretty creepy
OMG!!! last night I had the most vivid dream that someone was pressing on my chest it was like a DOG it felt so horrible and I couldn’t scream for help, I try to call my daughter next to me but all my body was stunned not a single muscle was moving, I was very scared. thank GOD I don’t know how but I was able to wake up and turn to my side. This happens a lot to me in my life. Thank you for sharing this topic, at least I know I am not alone.
I have had several strange experiences with sleep paralysis over the last 20 years. The first time I was staying overnight at my then-boyfriend now husband’s parent’s home in the guest bedroom (by myself) when I woke up floating but unable to move. I was terrified and had no idea what was going on. I was raised Catholic, so my first thought was to pray, the Lord’s prayer, or Hail Mary. I could not get the words out even just in my thoughts! I had said these prayers literally since I was five and couldn’t remember them.
The next few times were when I was sleeping alone and I woke up, sure someone had sat on the bed and was on top of me and I was going to be raped. I couldn’t move and could barely breathe. I tried to pray, but couldn’t think the words. It took several tries, but I finally got through one and by then it was gone. I think this happened about 4 or 5 times.
Three nights ago, I saw a bright flash out of the right corner of my room. I wear an eye mask, so this really woke me up! I felt myself pinned down by my arms. I felt like this was some sort of psychic or spiritual attack, call me crazy, but I did. I said out loud, “you are not allowed to touch me, or invade my space or my dreams.. Let me go!” I fought through the fear and reached over and turned on the light. I repeated what I said out loud and then said ” I am protected by the light and love of God, you have no power over me. ” ( I am not a super religious person, but the Catholic faith goes deep)
The next night, I said before I even laid down that I was under the protection of the light and love of God and it was not allowed in my room, my head, my dreams or anywhere else. I think saying it out loud made me feel powerful. No sleep paralysis that night. Seems for me it is physical symptoms of a psychic / spiritual problem. Just my two cents.
I had something so weird happen to me last night 7/30/19. I was asleep and my body started rocking back and forth while laying on my left side. I couldn’t open my eyes or stop myself from rocking back and forth. All of a sudden I hear this creepy moaning voice, it sounded like a women right next to the bed. I felt this weird sensation come over me like a tingling feeling in my stomach.I remember saying God, It was the first thing that came to mind, I don’t know why. After that I was able to kick my right leg out towards the voice I heard then it all stopped.This whole creepy situation probably lasted for about 10 seconds. It was so scary and creepy I can still hear the creepy woman voice in my head.
It is strangely comforting, to some small degree at least, to read of others sleep paralysis experience’s ….. not that I am happy to know others experience this, but more so to know I am not completely alone in this.
I am a 51-year-old Australian guy and I first recall episodes of sleep paralysis as a very young child. I can’t be positive about what age they started, but when I consider the house I first recall such experiences I’d have to say that I first recall them starting when I was around 8 or 9 years old. I was the first child to very young teenage parents with my mother being just barely 16 years old and my father a year older. As you might imagine, with my parents being only children themselves, I grew up in a very chaotic, unsettled and uncertain environment ……. whether this had any impact on my own holistic wellbeing leading to my experience I can’t say for certain, but I imagine it surely did.
So At around 8 or 9 I recall these sleep paralysis experiences occurring sometimes infrequently, sometimes more frequently and sometimes every single night for weeks. Then just as suddenly they might disappear for a spell sometimes for many months and sometimes for a few years. Then from my late teens till about 40 years old they rarely occurred at all, like maybe only a handful of times in 20 years. The fact that I was addicted to Heroin for the majority of that time likely had something to do with it I suspect lol.
When I finally got off the drugs, got clean & sober, my life started to improve somewhat from the outside, what I mean is that I was working, had a family, lived in a house and was doing what people do, but on the inside I was still terrified, lost, confused with an overwhelming feeling of dread. And then they started up again and within a few months of starting here, I am having to sleep in another room so I don’t wake my wife up all the time as I experience these terrifying episodes of sleep paralysis up to 3 or 4 times a week. This has been ongoing again for 2 years now and in all this time the only thing that has changed is the level and intensity of fear experienced and the length of time each episode seems to last, they seem to last longer and the fear is just off the charts. I thought that perhaps I’d get used to it or somehow train myself to chill and realise that it will pass, but no.
It’s pretty much the same as its always been, ‘waking up’ to discover that:
(a) I feel conscious & alert of my surroundings, from my perspective I believe my eyes are open and I can see my surrounds.
(b) I have zero ability to move any part of my body nor to make a sound or call out for help or for my wife or someone to wake me in any way.
(c) I sense a presence of ‘something or somebody’ that I somehow just know, like a ‘knowing’ …. that this person/presence is not good, not friendly, not caring. All I know is that I want to be as far away from this ‘thing’ as I can be. It’snot just fear of a dangerous stranger type feeling either, I ‘feel’ absolute EVIL intent from it. I can’t recall feeling anything as utterly terrifying as this ‘presence’ being so close to me and my complete inability to do anything about it, I can’t move a muscle, I can’t run away, I can’t call out, I can’t do anything but lay there as this thing simultaneously squeeze’s me so I can’t breathe and also reach for me and would try to drag me away, all the time the terror magnifying exponentially in my mind as I lay trapped in my own body at the mercy of this thing. It is so hard to describe these experiences …… I absolutely feel 100% conscious, alert and aware of what is happening at the time, I realise that its sleep paralysis, I realise that its happened many times before and that nothing has ever actually physically harmed me, I know absolutely what is happening and YET in no way whatsoever does that relieve the ABSOLUTE TERROR I experience, not even a little bit. I always feel like my eyes are open and I can see my surrounds but I can’t move my eyes (Eventually though when I wake or my wife wakes me I discover my eyes were in fact closed). So I’ll describe some things as a ‘KNOWING’ ….. what I mean here is that whatever I am describing, I am doing so as a knowing. So when I say that the ‘presence/person/entity’ that I feel near me during sleep paralysis is female … I don’t mean that it is biologically female, or it has a photo ID stating female or that it wears female clothes or has a female name etc etc ….. I just mean that somehow I sense that its female … that’s it, there is no subliminal intention behind it.
Just like when you eat your favourite food and you think yummo that was delicious … without any need to explain/understand what part of the electrochemical stimulus your tastebuds sent to your brain determined that this food was delicious & what that means. , when I experience this I sense its female. I sense it’s short’ like when beside me it seems maybe 3 feet tall (not that I actually ‘see’ it, … again its a just a ‘knowing’). It has long straggly dark hair, it never speaks or makes a noise, in fact as I write this I am now wondering if there is any auditory element to these experiences at all?!?
I see how crazy and made up this all sounds, which is why I never talk about it.
You see in the ‘real’ world, I am a very scientifically minded, evidence-based, black and white kind of person. I only believe what I can see and prove. The very idea of having ‘a knowing’, the idea of being suffocated by a 3-foot-tall female evil entity, the idea of feeling an evil presence ….. these things are ludicrous to me, these are the crazy things that people ramble about as they read each other’s cards and futures ….. and yet here I am, trying to make sense of what I have been experiencing for my entire life!?!?!?
I have experienced this in the exact same way and it is truly mortifying and terrifying! This year a presence has made itself quite known to me. I occasionally drifting off to sleep feel my throat close up and I start gagging for air because I am literally being strangled by a presence of some evil, unknown entity. My boyfriend has video footage of the night it began. The darkness has become the daylight and I cannot escape because I know it is there when it chooses to be. That sense of uneasiness and the presence of unknown entities is a feeling I cannot escape when it is there. I truly feel you through your story, because I am experiencing it just like you. I appreciate you because you make me sound a little less crazy and well rounded in saying that there is something to these experiences. There is another dimension and energies trying to let us know we aren’t the only ones around, and they may or may not be so kind….in our cases, especially dark energies that are evil. I still feel so crazy even trying to explain it myself. In three words, I GET YOU. 😌
I recently experienced this, but it wasn’t sleep paralysis as I wasn’t sleeping or paralyzed. I woke in the morning to the alarm and groggily sat up in my bed, as I do every morning. Then I noticed a woman standing on the side of my bed and glaring at me. I wasn’t startled because I was still groggy and subconsciously figured I was still dreaming. Then I thought to myself, “Wait a minute, I’m not sleeping and this isn’t a dream.” After that thought turned to the woman to focus my eyes on her and she gradually faded away. Then I got up and checked the room. It was likely a hallucination, but it certainly was not sleep paralysis or a dream. It never happened before and hasn’t happened since.
About 2 years ago i’ve had my first sleep paralysis experience. I had just gone to sleep when I suddenly woke up. I wasn’t able to move or speak. Im kinda a control freak so I panicked because i wasn’t in control of my body. I was only able to move my eyes. It’s always really dark in my room because otherwise, i can’t sleep. I didn’t see anything but i heard some strange voices. I heard my chair move and after that, i heard some sketchy voices calling me. Im really afraid of ghosts so i really freaked out. I didn’t know what to do. It lasted for 5 minutes. I never heard of sleep paralysis. The next morning I googled what i experienced and came to the conclusion that i experienced sleep paralysis. I saw some things what you could do to get out of the paralysis. Like slowly trying to move your fingers. After this night i had sleep paralysis 2/3 times a week. Moving my fingers helped to get out of the paralysis but i still saw some dark figures and heard some strange noises. The scariest experience ive witnessed was when i woke up and saw a dark creature sitting on my chest. I felt a heavy pressure and was really scared. Breathing was difficult. Nowadays i always sleep on my side because i always get sleep paralysis when i lay on my back. And when i lay with my face to the wall i cant see the creepy creatures in my room. I always tell myself afterward it isnt real and that it isnt scary. But when you experience something like this it feels like you’re the lead in a horror film. You see and hear some scary things and you cant scream for help and you can’t run away. I have serious sleeping problems. I can’t sleep at night because im scared and i wake up all the time. I went to the doctor and he gave me some strong sleep pills. They work really good but i can’t take them every night because they are highly addictive.
Just the other night, I was falling asleep on my desk after a long night of working. I heard some strange noises but I shrugged it aside and said it was the washing machine. By this time it was about 1 am. I started to doze off into a deep sleep. I woke up with a jolt after feeling something touch my leg. I was standing in the doorway of my room, looking down the stairs into the living room. I tried to move my head to see what touched me, but I could only move my eyes, so I couldn’t get a clear visual on it. I heard screeching from downstairs as a dark figure moved around the house. I tried to scream and run back to my bed, but I couldn’t move nor speak. I was panicking at this point, but the most traumatizing part of my first episode was when the dark figure began screeching and running up the stairs at me. It ran right up in front of me and through me. I screamed. It must of been over. But I could still hear the screeching of the strange figure coming from under my pillow.
My first time was when I was a kid around 8/9 years old and I had just woken up out of my dream (and as a kid my bedroom doors always open) and as I woke I realized I couldn’t move and I was faced towards my door that was open and I saw this man like figure standing outside my door and at first I thought it was my dad but then when I realized that he was not moving and that he was wearing a black suit and had a ling white face but there was not much detail to his face it was like fuzzy. And then after a while of him standing there a staring at me, I finally closed my eyes and woke up and ran to my mom and dads room balling saying I saw a man at my door and then my dad inspected the room and told me no-one was in there. And it’s been happening ever since I would say my whole life experiences with demonic presence while I’m awake and my horrible sleeping problems but there’s just some much to it I can’t type it all on here. But let me just say that I hardly ever fall asleep before 4am since my last experience that was about a month ago. lol scary.
I just woke up from my first experience with one. I was having a vivid dream with different people in it.. and during the dream, I was driving my truck down a one way road at night. I forgot something and had to turn around, but when I did, I noticed a lady that I had seen earlier in my dream getting up off the ground, covered in dirt (like I had run her over). When I drove past her while she stared at me, she asked if she could please help me with whatever it was I was doing, and I politely declined and drove on. She started following my truck at a run, and was able to keep up with it. When I got home, I was in bed, and she appeared in my room, still trying to help me.. getting closer and closer to me, all the while still looking like she had been run over by a car. I tried to get up and yell for help, but I couldn’t move more than with quick little jerks, and couldn’t form any words other than a quiet gargle no matter how hard I tried to scream. It felt like it took a couple of minutes. I haven’t been this spooked from a dream since I was a little girl.
I think my first episode of sleep paralysis was around age 13. Now, five years later, I still get it but more often now. Recently when it happens, when i get myself to wake up, it repeatedly happens over and over again until i sit up in my bed turn my lamp on and start praying, i pray until i slowly doze off and then i can sleep in peace until morning time. The scariest experience i had was about a year ago. I went to bed like normal and made sure to lay on my stomach. I then yet had an episode. I couldn’t move just like normal, afterwards, i told myself it was ridiculous and i needed to sleep to i got the idea to go sleep next to my dad in the living room on the couch because at the time he was sleeping in the recliner to potty train our puppy. I sat up in bed and listen to make sure he was watching tv and i swear i heard the ballgame one and my dad tosses the piggy toy to my dog. So after hearing that i was relieved to know i could just go hangout and sleep down there and feel safe. I got out of bed and walked halfway down the steps before realizing it was pitch black and my dad wasn’t sleeping down there that night and my puppy was in its kennel. Freaked out and confused i walked quickly back in my room and laid back down. I turned my tv on and slowly dozed off and went right into the scariest paralysis ever. I was frozen staring out my door and into the upstairs hallway. when all the sudden i saw this tall, black, skinny long-fingered, alien type creature, with long arms walk with a big stride past my door slowly swaying its arms. I still couldn’t move. When i could no longer see him, I started hearing whispers right up against my ears, and it felt as if the breath of someone was right on my neck and ears as the were whispering softly in a raspy voice and in the background i heard echos of random things that random people had said that day around me at school. It was like the raspy voice was mocking them and breathing its hot breath on my neck. Take your fingers, put them as close to your ears as you can without touching them, and rub your fingers together.. Like that. but 10 times worse. When that episode was over i went and climbed in bed with my parents, yes a 17 year old doing that. I told my mom because shes had to baby me like that before. And i went to sleep holding her hand which usually helps me sleep better and not fall into an episode. BUT the whispers came back but this time i heard a scuffing sound coming down my parent’s long room from the other end. That same thing kept happening until about four a.m. Then i finally could go to sleep… that night nothing…. nothing worked for me. the next day i was debating on telling my older sister. Before i could, she told me when she was little she was outside on the trampoline when a tall black skinny creature walked across a path in the little patch of woods next to our house, she said it stopped and watched her and so she talked to it and said hi and asked it if it wanted to come play with her, he then turned his head forward and walked into the other side of the woods. she never gave it another thought. after she told me that my heart dropped to my stomach and ever since then i don’t know my stance on the supernatural anymore.
Has anyone ever had their dark figure speak to them? Or am I the only one? I had one last night that was just terrifying. I saw the dark figure enter my room, and I was able to look away. Leaving the left side of my face exposed. Then I heard it speak. I could feel how close it was to the left side of my face. The voice was intensely deep pitched, and it came with a vibration. It almost felt like it was vibrating my face. I highly believe there is some sort of spiritual entity behind it. Usually, demanding the figure to leave or prayer works for me, but its always a battle. I hope we find some sort of evidence behind what causes sleep paralysis to happen. My prayers for all…
OMG, these dreams have been haunting me for years and years. I actually never knew what these experiences were, only heard from others what it could be. Of course, I always tended to believe that I was a victim of some evil spirit or demon wanting to possess me and take over my soul. The experiences I’ve had have always been very very intense. But the experience I had last night was by far the most intense and scary one I’ve ever had to endure. My partner and I were just watching a movie when she noticed me rubbernecking it, nodding out but still trying to fight to stay awake. Finally, she said why don’t we go to sleep and finish the movie tomorrow. I said sure. As soon as I laid my head down on the pillow, l instantly felt that feeling of going deep into sleep. That’s when I started to get worried because I know what’s coming. Usually, the experience is one of where I can’t move my body no matter how hard I try, and where I can’t breathe at all. Or other’s where I try to yell for help but nothing comes out. And yet others where I most definitely feel an evil presence. But last night scared me the most. When I have that feeling of an evil presence and it feels like it’s trying to take me or my soul or possess me, well as soon as my head hit the pillow I was overcome by an enormous evil presence and it felt like I was being pulled down by all parts of my body not just by one thing but multiple things, now the other thing was it also felt like I was completely coherent, because I could see my partner looking at me talking to me asking me what was wrong, she said at first I would only twitch, then she said I was moaning a little, then she said eventually I started to say that they are trying to take me, wake me up, wake me up, please help me. She says she we very scared so she tried to wake me, even though I knew she was there and she was trying to wake me up I still couldn’t move, and couldn’t speak anymore, but as she was trying to wake me I was being pulled further and further down, finally I was able to tell her to pull me up. So she did, but afterwards, she told me it was very hard to pull me up being 7 months pregnant didn’t really help her cause though. I recall though as she was struggling to pull me up that the demons or beings were fighting against her to keep me. As soon as she was actually able to physically pull me up into a sitting position I became fully awake gasping for breath and completely shaking. I was telling her that was the most intense feeling I’ve ever had in my entire life, I’ve told her about these experiences before and that I’ve been having these episodes for years, and that tonight was the closest they’ve ever been to being successful in taking me. I’m always curious about what will happen if let’s say I don’t ever wake up because I can’t breathe, or can’t move, what will happen if that evil presence is successful in taking me? What If? I don’t know, all I can say is that I’m grateful to my partner for being there when she was. Because when I have these experiences, I’m usually alone sleeping by myself. It’s the first time someone was there sleeping with me. Either way, it’s a very frightening experience.
I’ve been dealing with this myself since I was 22 I’m now 34…any time I sleep on my back I already know the repercussions behind that ..had an episode today around 3:46 am after going to the backroom …laid down on my back with my ac on …closed my eyes mins later felt something grabbing my right toe and shaking my foot so hard left to right … I just knew my husband who works nights came back home and it was him but noooo, of course, it wasn’t…whenever this happens to me I think “Jesus, please protect me” in my mind and that weird feeling goes away! The power of God helps you with this..the thought of his name alone does!!!
My first experience was last night. I was falling asleep after a long day of work and taking care of my child, I woke up an hour into sleeping but I could Not move a single part of my body I tried opening my eyes but every time I got it to open just a tiny bit something black and looked as if a figure was on the side of my bed, and the figure started to growl like loud and scary. I still could not move but I continued to open my eyes cause I could Not believe what I was experiencing, then it felt as if the figure’s hand was around my neck and holding my right hand down. I laid There trying to breath so I closed My eyes fully and prayed to Jesus. I then woke up and started balling my eyes out and my boyfriend right next to me said that I was moving and he thought I was awake and when he touched me I started To cry! I hope I don’t Experience this ever again.
I had an experience last night where I felt someone pressing against the back of my head. It felt like someone was pressing my hair against my head 2x. At first, I thought it was just a dream. I waited and it happened a second time. The sensation scared me, especially when it happened a second time. I was afraid someone was in my bed but no one was there and my cat was not next to me or behind me. I opened my eyes and right above me in the dark on the ceiling was what looked like a moving dark liquid shape. It looked like a teeny tiny puddle. I reached for my cell phone to take a picture but nothing was there and it was gone. In weeks prior to this, I had been seeing insects moving along my walls and ceiling but when I would sit up in bed to take a picture, nothing was there. This is getting scarier as time goes on. I do take Seroquel and Melatonin so I don’t know if that’s causing it. I’ve been on both of them for years and this didn’t start until a couple of months ago. I thought for sure last night there was a ghost.
Yesterday I experienced sleep paralysis for the first time. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced. My first experience was something in my room. I stayed up for 24 hours and was still not tired. I know that it’s unhealthy to not sleep so I forced myself to go to sleep around 1 in the afternoon. During my sleep paralysis episode, I was also having hallucinations. I was hallucinating that the figure was killing my little brother while he kept yelling for help over and over again. After a few minutes, i woke up and got out of bed. For the next five minutes, I felt like I was floating and it felt like life was unreal. My next sleep paralysis episode was last night. I wasn’t really tired but I was trying to sleep so that I wouldn’t be so tired during the day. I made myself go to sleep around 4 in the morning and woke up about 20 minutes later. I was dreaming that my best friend and I were just hanging out in my bed. We were just on out phones like always. Then her face started to change. My vision became blurry so i started squinting. She became like a demon. She or it looked at me really quick and I woke up from being scared. I was laying on my stomach, (the same position I was in when I fell asleep), and I was facing the same way. I saw something twitch so I looked harder and there it was again. The same thing from my dream. It was moving it’s face like in the demons in horror movies. It had no eyes and it looked demonic. It started getting in my face and stuff so I tried to move or wake myself up. I didn’t know about moving my fingers or toes. I was trying so hard to shake myself awake. I finally shook myself enough to snap out of it. It felt like something was shaking me awake. I know it wasn’t somebody else because I sleep with my bedroom door shut and locked. When I woke up all the way, Once again life felt unreal. The tv was already on and I just stayed up until the sun came up. Before these experiences, I thought sleep paralysis was just something people made up to scare someone else but it is very real. I don’t know what it all means but it was really scary. My older sister said that she experienced sleep paralysis before but I thought she was just trying to scare me.
This is the first time this has happened to me and it was terrifying. In my dream, a woman was standing by my bedside and she gave me a riddle; “which celebrity came into the political spotlight in 1983?” And the moment she said that a mirrored version of her was directly behind her with a demonic smile. She then approached me and I covered my self with the blanket but she started shoving my stomach and grabbing my arms. I could not move. I began to yell my mother’s name in real life and that’s when my partner woke me up. I was crying when I woke up and I have been unable to go back to sleep.
I’m a 22 year old male who receives psychiatric help for mental illness of which my current diagnosis is Bipolar Disorder and severe Anxiety (I am medicated for both but don’t regularly take my medications. Sometimes (not very frequently) I find myself in similar situations dreaming. It only happens a few times a year at the most but the results are consistent.
For example:
Just a few hours ago I had a dream that started off well. I was at the local mall with a number of random people that were very nice but the dream had two sides to it, one in which the people I interacted with were friendly and caring. Then, suddenly the energy of the dream would distort, feeling “off”. The first instance was where one of the extremely friendly characters I had a sexual attraction towards in the dream and I almost kissed. He moved his head at the last second to whisper to me disturbing statements starting with “[I] disgust [him]” and continuing to say awful things until he was dragged away by Detective Stabler from Law and Order SVU (probably a sign I watch that show a little too much, and also the first indicator that I may be dreaming.) As the dream progressed the different “sides” of the dreams started to merge with both the awful and good versions existing in the same world whereas before it seemed as though I’d switch from one set to another. The distinction between which of the two versions of somebody I was interacting blurred. Some of the evil versions of the characters even began acting as their good counterparts for me to lower my guard enough to achieve their goal. Some of the friends disappeared entirely, leaving only their terrifying counterparts. Eventually, I found myself pretty much trapped trying to get away while saving the friends I had made during the dream. I ended up having to fight against a character that had not shown up earlier in the dream but the energy he produced was of anger and overall very dark despite the absolutely terrifying smile he gave me. At this point in the dream, I was aware that I was dreaming from several other clues. I have lucid dreams very frequently and have developed a consistent ability to fly at will. Whenever my body begins floating up to the sky, I absolutely know that I’m close to waking up and become fully aware. This time was different though; I couldn’t alter the dream or control my own actions. It was like watching a movie in which I was a participating character if that makes any sense. In the fight for my life against the random man I was actually afraid but doing everything I could to get away until I seemed to gain the upper hand. I tried to shout “F”’ you!” at the end of it once I felt safe but I couldn’t even open my mouth. I started to get angrier with each failed attempt to even open my mouth. I kept trying and got a little closer each time until I finally began speaking but before I could even say “you”, I woke myself up physically saying the F-bomb. I felt as though I had shouted it and I checked if my roommate had heard it but he was fast asleep. I don’t even know for sure that I actually said it, or if my mind was just playing tricks on me, or if it was even really sleep paralysis or what but I could still feel lingering anger from that one character and just a few minutes ago calmed myself down enough to look it up. This sort of thing has happened more than once and to be honest I hate it. It’s embarrassing to wake up thinking you inadvertently shouted a curse word (I almost never curse), and even worse not knowing if I had been doing anything similar throughout the entire dream. I find it best whenever this happens to regulate my breathing first and foremost, while I also try to process what’s happening. Once realizing I’m awake I just tell myself “It wasn’t real. It wasn’t real.” Once I’ve calmed down a bit I’ll focus on my bed, my pillows, the wall, anything familiar to help me fully reconnect with reality and then I’m fine (though usually sleepy for the rest of the day). If it happens to anybody on a regular basis or causes severe or extended duress, I highly recommend speaking to a professional about it to determine what the underlying issue is and try to resolve it.
I had an episode of sleep paralysis last night this is probably my 10th episode in my life. I never really knew what they were and I chalked it up to a vivid nightmare. Last night was different as not only did I find myself in a state of paralysis but I had the feeling that someone/thing was holding my hand and then pulling at my arm trying to take me somewhere. This frightened me. As with every one of the episodes I desperately try to cry out for help. It doesn’t work at first but I keep trying until I am able to breathe out heavy breaths trying to make sounds, eventually making sounds usually only the first letter of help or H repeatedly until I am able to say the whole word once I can do that I wake up and I am able to move. This is a terrifying experience for me and I am glad I finally looked it up as it is probably stemming from stress and sleep deprivation. Something I guess I will have to work on. Previously I thought I was going crazy or spirits were visiting me in my sleep.
Recently, I had sleep paralysis in my parent’s room. I was absolutely terrified. I was able to open my right eye and I saw two dark figures next/behind me through a reflection. I tried my best to move or speak, but I was scared out of my mind. When I finally got the ability to move, my first instinct was to see if the figures were still there. My grandmother was 2 rooms away, so I knew it wasn’t her. This is the first time I’ve gotten sleep paralysis in a couple of months. A couple of months ago, I would have a series of sleep paralysis attacks. Each time, I could feel something near me that was dark… I believe that it could be because of my sleep deprivation due to summer school. I’m always tired, about to sleep during the day, regularly. It’s definitely a terrifying experience that I wish would never happen again.
It was just a few days ago when it happened at 6:30 in the morning. I was sleeping on my back and thought to roll over to my left, to sleep on my belly. As i started rolling i saw a common serial actress’s face nice smiling and then turning into a demonic face, i couldn’t remember it now though (thankfully). That face made me so frightened, i knew it is gonna affect my health (means i felt the situation coming) and i entered the stage. I tried hard to get off my bed but i cant. I somehow convinced myself to stay calm, and stay strong which actually helped me to come back in control. I jumped out of my bed and ran straight in the kitchen to my mom telling her everything. Things became normal afterwards. I am 16 and this was my first experience.
I am 42. My first sleep paralysis was at age 20 in college in New Orleans. my 1st episode was when I was taking a nap on my back and my eyes opened, I saw my entire room and a lady in a black wedding dress and veil covering her face walked in very slowly and bend down whispering in my left ear very slowly with a hoarse low voice and kept saying wake up, wake up, wake up.I thought I was going to have a heart attack because I couldn’t move. It was extremely terrifying. Sleep paralysis would happen a few times per week for 20 yrs. Upon falling asleep on my back I would feel a vertigo type sensation with a vibration in my brain and I new it was gonna happen. I would feel a presence in the room during falling asleep. I would hear the doorbell, conversations, and would hallucinate family members coming home when they were still out. This could reoccur multiple times in a night every time I fell asleep. It was like Nightmare on Elm street. I used to joke with myself and say “Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep “ I was tortured in my sleep for 20 yrs. I was also hunted in my dream with reoccurring nightmares with this white lady around 75yrs old. I love houses, and my dream would start off with me going in this mansion, different every time, but by the time I got to the end of my house tour, there would be such an evil presence, and 1 room was also off limits. After 20 yrs of this dream, I saw the lady whose evil spirit inhabited the room. She was eclectic with a room of expensive looking furniture all nice gray wood and a big oriental rug. A few dreams later before I went to sleep I made a plan to confront her and ask her who is she and what does she want from me. She didn’t answer, but I woke up feeling empowered because I confronted her after 20 yrs of torture. A few months later, I decided to pray harder and tell this evil spirit to leave, because I love the Lord, and there is no reason why you would want to stay. I prayed a powerful prayer for 1 hr, and it left. I have not had any reoccurring night mares or sleep paralysis since that day 1 yr ago. But for advice, don’t sleep on your back, and try to wiggle your toe or finger to get out of it, also sleep with the TV on for background noise for comfort to mask any hallucinations while falling asleep.
This really makes me feel better
Hi. When you say “white lady” what did you see exactly? Growing up I had a white man visit me every night. He looking like a white shadow or even a glowing light. I could tell it was a man from his build but I never saw a face (that I can remember). I always thought it was a ghost that only I could see, but found out later my older brothers both saw a “white man” in our house while growing up. This was almost 40 years ago but our mother told us that a man had died in my room a few years earlier.
Less than a week ago I had sleep paralysis for the first time since living in that house. (Almost 40 years) I didn’t see a “white” figure but something evil visited me. I never thought the “white man” was evil. He seemed stuck or unable to leave the house. Did your white lady appear to be evil? I’m trying to read up on other people’s experiences and see if there are similarities. My 19 year old daughter is experiencing sleep paralysis and I don’t want her to be afraid if at all possible.
Thank you,
Kerin
I dealt with these dreams most my life early on I noticed that, I felt I could pull myself out of dream yet couldn’t, I had to let go. In high school I maybe should have been diagnosed with depersonalization disorder after an out of body experience that was terrifying and spent many years in anxiety and alcohol etc– I loosened up a bit and let myself push the envelope of fears, met a psychologist who thought it was amazing I could communicate through sleep. Next to her I was exhausted one night, and that plays a part and I fell into one and asked for her to please help wake me up and when I snapped out of it she told me she heard me talking to her. I had a horrid one once where I could open my eyes eventually, I realized I was in a nightmare and could, in fact, open my eyes, even managed to walk out of the room but collapsed, I woke people up, and could hear them talking clearly yet was stuck asleep and could not move for a while. Once I believe I actually was asleep walking around coherently – I am an author so I like to push the limits of the mind at times. I’ve had a lot of interesting experiences. There’s obviously much I’ll leave out but I appreciated reading the comments I’d recommend to prevent them to be well rested.
I too have experienced this terrifying sleep paralysis. I just wondered why most of us experience a bad thing eg demon or a black beast with heavy breathing pressing on our bodies, chest for eg. It seems to much of the same experiences… they are so similar to each other. Do you think this is all stress related? Ann
Something has been bothering me, I was alone when it happened, it wasn’t some long story, it felt like 5 seconds. But once I realized I couldn’t move and that my eyes were the only muscles with free will. It was completely dark in my room beside my window shining just a bit of light in. All I remember is this pale maybe young looking face. With big dark eyes and a pale face with a mouth full of sharp teeth.
Peoples experiences throughout history are so similar! how can we all have the same experiences? Too realistic, too evil, freaks me right out!
I’ve been studying this and acting like I’m asleep this thing sits on top of you checks your eyelids to see if you’re asleep slowly creeps up on you and I’m not sure what else it does I know on meth I felt a spirit press down on my cover and seduce me I’m not sure what this thing does when I’m asleep haven’t acted asleep long enough and I’ve been sober for a long time now it wasn’t just the drugs I’m not tripping people!
i experience sleep paralysis the first time is when i was in Manila and i’m 19 years old on that time it was early morning i think 2 to 3 am when i’m going to sleep, in that time i awoke and thinking somebody then when i closed my eyes suddenly i feel that on my forehead was pushed by unknown force and the suddenly i feel that i could not breath, i tried to talk but there is no sound coming out from my mouth and i saw a woman in front of me i could not see his eyes, only his long hear that touches my face, i tried to shout but but there is no sound from me, the only thing i do is to close my eyes and prayed, and i feel that i can already move my fingers and when i open my eyes the black woman was gone. and last night i experience it again, but this time it was a man looking at me and just like what happen in me when i got sleep paralysis i feel paralyzed again, then i shout and shout again but no sound came out from me, and when i close my eyes my body was able to move again, i don’t know why it happen to me.
Woke up past three in the morning some time back , say a black figured man sit on my couch opposite me in my room I was terrified but not scared I though it was my friend but when I looked at the time it was way to late for him to be at my house , I sit up straight called out to the black shadow figure , there was no response, I went back to bed and woke up again to put on the light and the figure was gone.
I had a sp experience on Saturday night at 03:04 am felt the tingly sensation and immediately breathed hard to escape the sp , thinking I was free of this I continued scrolling on my phone to tire myself out, my phone died and I had no choice to sleep now. I was laying breathing trying to breathe I felt this evil presence behind me cos I was laying on my left side, all of a sudden could hear another person breathing. I immediately lay awake in my bed not trying to sleep this was just before the paralyzing state. The feeling of having someone cuddle up behind you feeling bed sheets move, very scary. Hate SLEEP PARALYSIS.
I’m 19, and I had my first sleep paralysis experience yesterday, in the early morning about 07.00am. I had a dream that I was at my boyfriend grandparents, and I was ironing a bed sheet but was then torn out of my hands, by well what I thought would of been a ghost, to then in real life have just my eyes open slightly and have something press down on my chest three times, how the hell did it feel so realistic?! I tried to shout my mum but it was so faint and she wouldn’t of heard, which sounds silly but she’s the only person I wanted to shout, when I finally got control of my body about 30 seconds later, I stood up went to her room and she was asleep so I went back to sleep. But I rang my other half and sobbed for ages. But knowing yesterday I needed a good sleep as I am on a night shift right now. But that wasn’t just once, it happened after I went back to sleep, then one big push on my chest but I could control it this time and then just went back to sleep on my side.
I’ve never ever experienced this before and I just know I will, with my shift patterns and the paranoia of feeling like it’ll happen again, I am meant to be going on a break to sleep, but I really don’t want to :(
Thanks for this page, I’ve learned a lot more!
I used to wake up the next morning thinking I had had a horrible nightmare and had been screaming for my boyfriend to help me. He told me every time that I had not moved at all or even made any sounds.
It doesn’t happen that often, but often enough to be annoying, so since I am a medical librarian, I did some medical literature research. I was very comforted to know that I am not crazy and that my boyfriend hasn’t been lying to me all these years. :-)
Here’s what it used to feel like. I would definitely feel like I was awake, but could not move. It seemed like someone was in the room who was going to attack me and I tried to scream, but I couldn’t open my lips. It was pretty terrifying, but the next morning I would just chalk it up to a bad nightmare.
Now that I know what is happening when it does happen, I know what is going on so I don’t freak out. It’s like I can hear myself trying to scream and that alerts me to the situation. I usually go right back to sleep. I remember that it happened when I wake up the next morning. But it’s not scary any more since there is a very good medical explanation for the whole thing.
At 3:46 this morning I woke up out of a very deep sleep to my dog moving around so I turned over and I looked at her and she was looking at my door which was open so I turned and looked at my door and I saw nothing but black smoke. It was just sitting there covering my entire door frame like it wanted to come in but couldn’t and usually if someone is standing there you can see a silhouette but I didn’t see anything it was from edge to edge just black. Right when i turned over onto my stomach to look I saw the smoke and I was pinned down I was paralyzed I couldn’t move it took me a good 60 seconds or a minute and a half of struggling and trying to break free of that and I ended up moving my arm and flipping off that thing and then I passed out after that. I just kept thinking about how scared my dog looked and I wanted her to be alright. When I woke up it was around 6am and I just kept getting these images flashing through my head every time I blinked, just one image, it’s a black background with a bone white tree like how trees lose their leaves in the winter and they’re just bear with all of the branches sticking out it was like that, one singular tree. And then just like 20 minutes ago my mom sent me a picture of a tree and I inverted the colors in the picture and it looked like the tree that I saw when I woke up this morning. (THIS HAPPENED ON 6/7/2019) note: I’ve had sleep Paralysis before and I’ve never needed to break out of it I always just went with it close my eyes and then it was over and I’ve never been physically exhausted to where I just passed out after I’ve had something like this happen before and I’ve never needed to break out of it I always just went with it close my eyes knew everything was going to be alright and then it was over and I’ve never been physically exhausted to where I just passed out after. It’s just strange.
Hi, my name is Lee and I am 41 years old. A while back I experienced something trying to get into my body while i was asleep and something was trying to ward off this being or whatever it was with some kind of prayers like good fighting off evil. I have thought about this A lot and kept it to myself until now. I have been watching a film called Astral and that’s what are me read up on astral projection and other related topics to see what it was that night. I have had bad luck after bad luck for a long time and worry something mat have actually managed to get into my body that night. Can anyone help me to understand this as it plays on my mind alot? I know this sounds crazy but is there anyone I can go to or talk to about without being labeled crazy. Maybe it was just a bad dream. I really have no clue. I would like to hear anyone’s opinions on this please. Many thanks.
Prazosin works very good for night terrors and sleep paralysis, I have suffered from this since I can remember and it is TERRIFYING I didn’t know there were others like me
it was sleep paralysis and you aren’t going crazy. i’m dealing with the same thing, it’s pretty petrifying.
I just had my second encounter with Sleep Paralysis last night. It started a few months ago with the first episode. I have a 44-year-old male who lives alone and have never experienced anything quite like this, it is downright terrifying and I’m not want to scare easily.
The first occurrence happened at exactly 3 AM or just before. Perhaps and she give you the backstory first. I recently moved into a home in the historic district. My bedroom has five doors for leading out and one closet door that has the attic access but also the return vent for my air-conditioning in the floor. Numerous times I’ve woken up to my door opening to my closet and the door to the other side of my bedroom being open. My girlfriend who occasionally spends the night with me is terrified of my house as this has happened to her as well with the closet door opening. She claims to even seen a figure in my dining room and the Lady. I laugh this off because I ultimately think as the pressure change to my return vent causing the door to open.
This brings me to my first encounter with sleep paralysis. It was a few months ago and I wake up to a very evil feeling and I can barely lift my head from my pillow. My eyes are wide open and I can move my hands and my fingers but it feels like somethings holding my wrists and my body down as if someone is sitting on my chest. I find it very difficult to breathe. I tried desperately to move or say something but cannot. I look forward and all five of my bedroom doors are open and it feels as if the room is being stretched away from me getting elongated. After a minute or so I am able to break my wrist and arm away from the bed. And the most eerie feeling still washes over me as I look at the alarm clock it reads 3 AM exactly and all my doors are still open. Now I sleep with my door shut as I like it pitch black in my room.
Another occurrence but wasn’t sleep paralysis was being woken up by someone a female whispering in my ear to “wake up” which she repeated two or three times softly but gradually getting closer until she was right in my ear and yelled for me to get up. I looked to my right immediately thinking it was my girlfriend coming to wake me up But I immediately saw my first apparition. And I could see right through her and then it was gone I’ll never forget it.. I rolled across the bed to the other side and then got up and made a pot of coffee and did not get back to sleep. She appeared to have her hair pinned up and all I could see was the shoulders and I’ll never forget a white lace collar on her shirt with the brooch kind of an 1800s look. Again I played it off as I was dreaming…
Now my second encounter of a sleep paralysis was last night and the most terrifying yet! I had just fallen asleep maybe 15 minutes had passed I realize this after the occurrence was over. I wake up to feeling someone getting in the bed behind me and spooning me as I’m laying on my left side, I can tell it is a male! I feel his leg being draped over me and his arm around my chest and around my side. As I try to roll over and throw an elbow to whomever this is behind me I realize I cannot move but one finger on my right hand. At this point I hear breathing right behind my ear and I can feel the breath on the back of my neck. I’m terrified now my eyes are wide open and I tried to say something and I can barely whisper help. And then I feel this pressure on my throat and I can feel something strangling me and I can’t breathe! and I could feel it pressing up against me while it’s choking me. When I feel it grab my leg and I can move my eyes and I see my skin moving as if there’s a hand grabbing my thigh but there’s no hand there. Then I feel somethings grab me by my hair and start slamming my head into the headboard of the bed. I have a pistol in my bed but I can’t grab it all of my right finger when I tried both and can barely turn my head. At this point I’m a grown man but nearly in tears and just disappears and I am able to move. I look around and nothings there But all my doors are open my covers are on the floor and my head hurts and very tender to the touch as if somebody had been yanking my hair and hitting me in the head with a brick… I wound up going into my living room and fell asleep in the chair. As I looked at the dining room and just seemed evil and I did not want to go towards it although that’s the way to the kitchen and I was very thirsty. There was other evidence but I wish not to discuss at this in more than sleep paralysis. But if it is then you surely can physically harm your body with your mind. But this just feels evil…
I am 50 now and had two episodes in the last 4 weeks, the first I thought I was awake standing at the end of my bed looking at myself laying in bed asleep, the next second I was in bed on my side and a massive weight was pushing me through the mattress, then I woke and heard 3 taps on the pillow behind my head, I was terrified!! Later awake for ages after too afraid to move. The second time which was 2 nights ago, I was laying on my side and asleep, I felt like it was covered in scales which were picking up all over my body, then I felt hands on my back pushing me out of bed with force, I tried to open my eyes but couldn’t. I remembered reading after the last one that concentrating on moving one part of your body could get you out of it, I put all my effort into pushing my shoulder forward- i managed to , I opened my eyes and see a black ball above my head which immediately exploded with light and a bang and then I was fully awake. I plucked up the courage to put on my lamp, checked the room which was fine and lay for ages making sense of what happened !! Am not looking forward to the next one.
I’ve had sp since I was 13. I know it’s just my fears controlling it and what society has painted fear to be like but it’s still hard to look at the hooded figure or the crouched figure sitting above my head. It’s pretty easy for me to fight whenever I feel it coming now I’m 24. I use all my will power to jump up awake and completely wake myself before I lay back down and then I’m okay to sleep. I’d like to be able to explore this fear and have the upper hand in this experience some day.
Hi Shaneia.
May I recommend this book to you.
Sleep Paralysis
Night-mares, Nocebos, and the Mind-Body Connection
By Shelley R. Adler. Professor in the department of Family and Community Medicine and Osher Centre for Integrative Medicine director of education at the University of California, San Francisco.
(Nocebo means ‘I shall harm. The opposite of Placebo ‘I shall please’).
Hardcover ISBN 978-0-8135-4885-0 paper IZBN 978-0-8135-4886-9
Dr. Shelley spent 15 years researching this subject and it would expand your knowledge immeasurably should you read it.
I have experienced all the phenomena she describes.
Best wishes.
Martyn Pryer
Hi I have had sleep paralysis more than a dozen times and I had it seven times in one night. I researched what it was and I know that it is a demon or entity and they pin you down. When it happens to me I fight so hard that it takes me a few seconds or minutes to fight it but I do and I wake up punching and yelling at it to get away from me. The night that it happened 7times I was so tired that day it was hard to stay awake but I fought it off and woke myself up but bc I was so tired I kept falling back asleep then I would fight it off and wake up. I repeated that 7 times before it gave up and left me be.. I have had it be mad at me and it’s always the same one but it gets mad at me for fighting it off. It will leave me alone for a few weeks then it comes back. It came back mad and instead of pinning me down it was slamming my head into the bed I fought it off and woke up and I had such a bad headache. It came to me the other night and before I could fight it off I started dreaming and it was in my dream so strange I’m a little worried now and I don’t want that to happen again. When I woke up I felt out of sorts dizzy and disoriented.. Just remember you can get mad in your head and use that strength to fight it off u are in control.
Having done a little research, I believe I experienced sleep paralysis last night. Not the first time I have to admit. I have experienced it regularly whilst living in this house. We have been here for just over 4 years. At the time sleep paralysis occurs, it feels more like there is someone or something there with you in the room. One of my three boys had fallen asleep in my bed and I when we went to bed, I just said leave him there and I will sleep in his bed for tonight. I fell asleep promptly.
All I remember next is the sound of someone or something running towards me (laminate flooring in his bedroom) and then I felt like I was being pushed into the bed with an almost shaking sensation, although I wasn’t moving. It lasted for what seemed like minutes but was probably more like 30 seconds. I remember trying to shout my husband but I couldn’t open my mouth to shout.
As soon as it stopped, I heard the radio presenter announce it was just after 4:30 am. Now, I have experienced similar events in the past but not this late on in the night, It has usually been between 3am-3: 30 am which is a time of night that I have come to dislike because of these episodes, so this late on in the night was strange.
I laid there for a while before walking to the toilet (stepping out of bed as far away from the bed as possible, in case something grabbed my legs – that’s how terrified I felt at that moment!) I then squeezed into my bed next to my husband and son, and tried to get back to sleep!
In the past I have been asleep in my bed and have awoken to see my youngest son next to my bed, I have immediately gotten out of bed and followed him out of the room saying “come on, lets go back to bed”, only to find that once in his room, he is in his bed fast asleep.
Myself and my husband have also both been woken up to the sound of footsteps on the floor in the boys’ bedroom, gone to put them back to bed, only to find everyone is fast asleep in bed!
I have also felt this pushing/crushing sensation in my own bed, whilst laid next to my husband and being unable to shout him for help as I cannot move.
I find these events very strange and I cannot say for sure what I believe about the paranormal as I have no proof but I think I prefer the sound of scientific explanations in terms of sleep paralysis, to enable me to at least get to sleep at night!