Have you experienced sleep paralysis? Do you mind telling me what happened?

[Obi Wan Knievel]

Damm right it's scary. I only experienced it once, and it scared the living snot out of me. I even knew it was a dream the minute after I woke up, and I was still scared. Then a few minutes later, fully (well, kind of fully) awake, I really got scared.

My story is pretty stock standard. I was held down totally motionless by an extremely strong force, and I 'sensed' this extremely ancient and evil presence in the room. It spoke directly to me in a language I couldn't understand but totally understood anyway. You can do that in a dream. Anyway, this thing knew me and hated me. It knew I was terrified, and it loved my fear. It knew I was frustrated at being held down, and it loved that too. I started getting mad, and it loved my anger. But then it made a mistake. I was crashed out in my rec room, and this thing suggested that maybe it would go upstairs and visit my kids. That crossed the line, and my fear turned to searing rage. Nobody, not even the devil, threatens my kids.

I woke up standing in a combat stance, knees bent and fist clenched, soaked in cold sweat. I had to sit down and catch my breath, then I went out for a smoke to calm my nerves down. (smoking is bad, by the way) I also guzzled a beer, just to stop the shivering, but it didn't help much. I knew it was just a really vivid dream, I'd even read about sleep paralysis before so I knew I just experienced it, but I had to go check on the kids anyway. You know, just in case. That's when I got the worst scare of my life.

At the top of the stairs, I was stopped cold by a pair of murderous eyes. Not crazy eyes, but cold blooded and deadly. They reminded me of that picture of a snarling wolf with the wide and deadly looking eyes, only they weren't yellow. Those eyes spoke of death and unspeakable violence, and rivers of blood. And they were mine. I was looking into the mirror on the bathroom door, right at the top of the steps, and my own reflection scared me absolutely stupid. I didn't think my eyes could ever do that. I've never seen them do it since, thank god or allah or whoever.

I didn't sleep for three days after that. I still won't sleep flat on my back or take sleeping pills (two common suspected contributors), because I don't ever want to experience that again.

I totally believe in ghosts, by the way, and have seen a few in person. That's actually why I believe in them. And I can say with certainty that sleep paralysis is more frightening than any 20 ghost encounters all combined.

Should you be scared? Maybe. Most people experience this once or twice in a lifetime, meaning it's rare but not that rare. Some people have a definite problem with it happening again and again, and those people need medical or psychological help of some kind. Sleep disorders are a very very young science, so the therapy is kind of hit and miss.

But at the end of the day, it's still just a bad dream. Nobody has ever died from it that I know of.