Ask the Author: Jack Hague
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Jack Hague
I used to suffer from sleep paralysis with pretty intense and trippy dreams as a kid. They started out a little strange. Feeling like I woke up, unable to move and only just able to open my eyes. I'd do my best to will myself to sleep.
One day, after I moved to a different bedroom. I woke up unable to move and saw a set of small people floating, all wearing gowns and dancing. They were spinning in circles around my room just off the floor, and all glowed. I had a few more like this but nothing too jarring. I had odd dreams anyway so figured it was just vivid.
Then I moved to the attic room.
It had been a few years, and I'd gotten into computers, and had a set of LED speakers that were bright blue. They sat along with my computer right next to my bed on a desk. I never turned them off and would always see those out of the corner of my eye.
The first time the sleep paralysis happened in the attic, I heard a shuffling sound, got myself into a panic, and eventually managed to sleep. I woke up in a sweat later remembering the strange 'dream'.
The next time it happened my eyes opened fully. I realised the shuffling was coming from the bottom of the stairs, which my bed faced. I heard something take a few steps and then the sound stopped.
This happened a few more times, each time whatever it was making the sound would get further up the stairs, until I could see a black figure through the banister.
Then one day it made it to the top and just stared at me. Big creepy grin barely visible through a black silhouette.
This happened a couple more times. Each time the silhouette would fade, and the figures features became more apparent.
It was a man. Looked somewhat like me, or like what I might look like a bit older. Its smile was unnerving, and I couldn't muster a peep, never mind the scream I kept trying to get out.
I learned if I closed my eyes and concentrated on moving just one finger, or a toe, I'd eventually wake up properly, failing that, trying to force myself back to sleep seemed to do the trick.
The thing didn't seem to like this and one night switched things up. Instead of the usual stair creeping act, it appeared right beside my bed. I woke up to the sound of breathing. When my eyes opened, there it was, staring down at me with that awfully creepy smile. When our eyes met it placed its hand on top of my chest and pressed hard. I struggled to breath. The blue light shined behind it from my speakers and I thought I was done.
Then I woke up. I also had a weird hand print on my chest. I'd looked up sleep paralysis by now and knew it was all in my head. So I reasoned, either I woke up and slapped myself in a panic, or my body reacted to the intense dream. Of course the hand print was the same size as mine so it tracked.
The intensely vivid dreams stopped for a while after this, while the paralysis continued occasionally.
Finally, one night the usual routine happened and it crept up the stairs. Then it moved to the end of my bed and stared into me. Then it spoke. It had a deep, gravelly voice. It said something along the lines of "I'm inside you, and when I take over, I'm going to ruin everything you care about"
It was a longer, more dramatic monologue than that, but that's the gist. When it was done, it smiled, faded into a black smoke, and wisped through a small gap in the attic window, which I never left open at night.
I woke up the next morning drenched in panicked sweat and saw the slightly open window.
Never had those dreams again since.
One day, after I moved to a different bedroom. I woke up unable to move and saw a set of small people floating, all wearing gowns and dancing. They were spinning in circles around my room just off the floor, and all glowed. I had a few more like this but nothing too jarring. I had odd dreams anyway so figured it was just vivid.
Then I moved to the attic room.
It had been a few years, and I'd gotten into computers, and had a set of LED speakers that were bright blue. They sat along with my computer right next to my bed on a desk. I never turned them off and would always see those out of the corner of my eye.
The first time the sleep paralysis happened in the attic, I heard a shuffling sound, got myself into a panic, and eventually managed to sleep. I woke up in a sweat later remembering the strange 'dream'.
The next time it happened my eyes opened fully. I realised the shuffling was coming from the bottom of the stairs, which my bed faced. I heard something take a few steps and then the sound stopped.
This happened a few more times, each time whatever it was making the sound would get further up the stairs, until I could see a black figure through the banister.
Then one day it made it to the top and just stared at me. Big creepy grin barely visible through a black silhouette.
This happened a couple more times. Each time the silhouette would fade, and the figures features became more apparent.
It was a man. Looked somewhat like me, or like what I might look like a bit older. Its smile was unnerving, and I couldn't muster a peep, never mind the scream I kept trying to get out.
I learned if I closed my eyes and concentrated on moving just one finger, or a toe, I'd eventually wake up properly, failing that, trying to force myself back to sleep seemed to do the trick.
The thing didn't seem to like this and one night switched things up. Instead of the usual stair creeping act, it appeared right beside my bed. I woke up to the sound of breathing. When my eyes opened, there it was, staring down at me with that awfully creepy smile. When our eyes met it placed its hand on top of my chest and pressed hard. I struggled to breath. The blue light shined behind it from my speakers and I thought I was done.
Then I woke up. I also had a weird hand print on my chest. I'd looked up sleep paralysis by now and knew it was all in my head. So I reasoned, either I woke up and slapped myself in a panic, or my body reacted to the intense dream. Of course the hand print was the same size as mine so it tracked.
The intensely vivid dreams stopped for a while after this, while the paralysis continued occasionally.
Finally, one night the usual routine happened and it crept up the stairs. Then it moved to the end of my bed and stared into me. Then it spoke. It had a deep, gravelly voice. It said something along the lines of "I'm inside you, and when I take over, I'm going to ruin everything you care about"
It was a longer, more dramatic monologue than that, but that's the gist. When it was done, it smiled, faded into a black smoke, and wisped through a small gap in the attic window, which I never left open at night.
I woke up the next morning drenched in panicked sweat and saw the slightly open window.
Never had those dreams again since.
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