SLEEP PARALYSIS - MY FIRST EXPERIENCE

For many, when topics within the paranormal or supernatural come up in conversation there are those around us who roll their eyes, make jokes about tinfoil hats, and the word nerd is occasionally thrown in for good measure. In the beginning, when I was first stepping into the world of all things paranormal, I would get defensive. I was after all in my late teens and for want of a better word...inexperienced. Or so many thought. But if only that were the case.

From a young age, my early teens as far as I can remember, I had begun to experience something that I would later come to know was referred to as Sleep Paralysis (SP). I had gone to bed around ten o'clock in the evening after what felt like a long day at school and read for a little while before settling down to sleep just before eleven. What I experienced that night will stay with me for the rest of my life...

I was walking with my mum along the road at the top of the hill that faced our house. She was wearing a navy skirt and pale blue blouse; her usual attire and I was dressed as most teenagers were back then. We had crossed the road and were chatting when I sensed something behind us. We stopped briefly, and I turned to see a guy standing on the edge of the footpath watching us. Well, I sensed he was watching us as I couldn't see his face. He had dark trousers on and had a hooded jacket on that had drawstrings which he had pulled to close the space so that when looking in our direction I could only see a black pit where a face would normally be seen (see image for an idea of what he looked like).

He stood watching us with his hands in his pockets. The hairs all over my body stood on end as my 'Fight or Flight' kicked in. I took my mum's arm and began to walk faster, but strangely away from the safety of home and further away from it. I could hear his footsteps now, and their pace was matching ours. I knew without any doubt that this person was following us, and this scared me senseless. My mum was oblivious to what was happening and when I tried to tell her she told me I was being silly.

Eventually, my fear won. I glanced over my shoulder and noticed that this person was looking away from us, so I took the opportunity and pulled my mum with me to hid in a garden belonging to a neighbor. The garden was small, very small and it was hemmed in with a natural fence of hedging. We were crouched down so as not to be seen. I could see through the branches and leaves that he had turned back around and was looking to see where we had gone. In that instant, it was like he sensed I was watching him and he turned his head to look straight at me.

My mum was about to stand, and I pulled her back to a crouching position as I began to cry, begging her not to move. I felt such overwhelming fear. My attention had been taken briefly by her and when I turned it back to the guy, my heart almost beating out of my chest as I watched him take a step then another towards where we were hiding. His slow pace picked up a step until he was running at full speed towards the hedge we were hiding behind. Then, as he was about to hit it, he sprung from the ground and morphed into this massive black dog.

I woke from that dream sweating, my heart beating loudly in my ears, my eyes wide open and happy that the nightmare was over...but it wasn't. I was on my back, my body was rigid, my toes pointing, arms by my sides and hands fisted tightly. I could not move. Not an inch. My fear upon realizing this was through the roof and as hard as I tried, I could not cry out. My gaze darted around in panic as I sensed something in the room with me. I could see the dark hallway beyond my room and the glow of my mum's bedside light. She always sat up late reading or knitting. She was just a few steps away from me and what I knew to be safe. Then movement to my right drew my attention. I could not turn my head to see who or what it was, I strained my sight to catch a glimpse of something in the corner of my room, dressed all in black, with a hood up. No face visible, all cast in shadow except glowing red eyes.

I felt fear right then like I had never felt in my life and never have even to this day. It felt like the harder I tried to move the less movement I could make. I could hear this ungodly scream, and all I could do was cry, my sight was blinded by tears, and it wasn't until my ceiling light flipped on and my mum rushed into the room that I realized that the screaming was coming from me.

My mum scooped me into her arms as she sat perched on the edge of my bed, I glanced past her to see the form of the hooded man step back and disappear into the wall by my wardrobe. Within seconds I was once again able to move.
This was the first of many episodes I was to experience throughout my teen years not only of SP but of the guy with the hooded top and the glowing red eyes. It was this experience that ignited my passion in the paranormal. Even at that age, I knew in my gut, what I experienced was not normal, at least not to me.

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