It Said..."I'm Aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!": A Tale Of Sleep Paralysis

by Michael
(Michigan, U.S.A.)

I'm a 24 year-old married male and I have experienced infrequent episodes of sleep paralysis for a couple years. I wouldn't say that I "suffer" from them because I actually find them to be kind of interesting, even though they are a bit disconcerting while they're happening. I have had both auditory and visual hallucinations accompany the paralysis, although I don't recall ever feeling the "pressure" on my chest. Anyway, it happened to me a couple of times last night, and I thought I would share them.

The first time, I was waking from a dream and I thought I was sleeping at my parents' house in my old room next to my brother. I first noticed something was amiss when I couldn't move and I felt a tingling sensation in my arms and legs. Then I heard it. It sounded kind of like snoring and shuffling movement, except it was only "inhaling" if you can imagine what that sounds like. It kept getting louder and louder until I finally was able to open my eyes and I came back to reality. I was laying on my back in my own bed next to my wife. After the initial shock wore off I closed my eyes and it happened all over again. I was in my old bedroom again, I felt the tingling, heard the forever-inhaling snoring sound, and I couldn't move. I knew what was happening to me because I had visited this website before to find out about sleep paralysis, so I just waited for it to wear off again and I tried to turn my head to look at the dream version of my brother. I finally managed to turn my head to the side and I was suddenly back in my own room with my wife again. This time I lay awake for several minutes before going back to sleep.

Later in the night, after sleeping for a couple more hours, I was waking from another dream when it happened to me yet again! This one was much more disturbing. I was again laying on my back and my eyes were closed, and I was thinking about the dream I just came from. Then I felt like the mattress was being pressed down near my feet. It felt like whoever/whatever was doing it was pushing down and releasing the pressure over and over again in a steady rhythm. I thought to myself, "Oh boy! Here we go again." Then a loud croaking voice spoke! "MICHAEL............I'm ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!" That got my attention very quickly! Despite knowing what was happening, my heart began to pound. That voice was just so creepy. If you've ever seen the "Ju-on" movies, it sounded kind of like the ghost's croaking except it formed intelligible words. Well, soon I was able to open my eyes and move and everything was fine. However, I think in the split second after I opened my eyes, I saw a faint and barely noticeable square of "light" on the ceiling like you would see coming from a window. Inside that frame of light was the silhouette of a person. It faded the instant I tried to look closer at it. I suspect I would have seen it more clearly if I had opened my eyes during the paralysis. As frightening as this episode could have been, it didn't scare me that much (it was just the initial shock of hearing that voice that got my heart racing) because I knew what was happening, and it intrigues me. I tell this story to help others who suffer from this bizarre phenomenon. If, while you are paralyzed, you can tell yourself that what you're feeling/hearing/seeing isn't real, it may pass all that much faster and may seem less threatening.

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Jordan:

Hi Michael,

We're glad to hear that you've been able to use information on our site to help you through these experiences.

Thank you so much for sharing your story here, we know that other visitors will benefit from and appreciate it.

We hope to hear from you again soon!

Warmly,
Jordan