Frozen in Slumber: The Time I Thought I Was Being Murdered In My Sleep

Have you ever had one of those nightmares so bizarre that you wake up screaming, only to remember, “Wait, I almost died in my sleep?” Well, buckle up because I’ve had a couple of those, and they’re no joke. If you’ve never heard of sleep paralysis, let me be the first to introduce you to this “wonderful” phenomenon where your mind wakes up, but your body doesn’t get the memo.

It all started with one of the strangest moments of my life: my first-ever experience with sleep paralysis. I didn’t know what it was at the time, so naturally, I thought I was being haunted. There I was, lying on my side, eyes wide open, fully aware of my room — my pillow, the glow of my phone screen, and the faint sound of the fan humming — but something was very, very wrong. My body felt like a bag of cement, completely unmovable. My mind screamed, “Move! Do something!” but my body couldn’t. It was like I was stuck inside myself. So, I did what any logical person would do: I tried to wiggle a finger.

Spoiler alert: I failed.

For what felt like an eternity, I focused on my right pointer finger, determined to move it. Meanwhile, the air felt thick, and there was this unmistakable feeling of being watched. You know that creepy feeling when someone stands behind you, but you can’t see them? Yeah, that. A shadowy presence lingered at the edge of the room, just…watching me. As much as I wanted to turn my head, every muscle in my body refused to cooperate. And just as I thought I might lose it completely, my body jolted awake. Let me tell you, I’ve never been so happy to flop around like a fish on dry land.

Fast forward to 2018, and you’d think I’d be done with sleep paralysis, right? Hell no! This second episode decided to take things up a notch. Peep this: it’s winter, and I’m all cozied up under a thick, lumpy blanket. The room is cold, and a female relative is sleeping next to me. I woke up — or so I thought — but once again, I couldn’t move. The scene felt weirdly faded as if someone turned down the brightness in real life. My mind screamed, “Oh no, not this again”

Now, here’s where things got wild. From the corner of my eye, I saw the figure beside me rise in a way that would make Dracula proud — straight up, like some freaking…