Early references to hypnagogia are to be found in the writings of Aristotle , Iamblichus , Cardano , Simon Forman and Swedenborg. So you see it is not new by any means, only our awareness of it since we still seem to be in the Dark Ages concerning anything other than what is socially accepted. Being taught not to believe in such things or that it is against some sort of religion— has really blind sided us I think.
Many people claim that they have got up from their beds, walked out the door to new or past worlds. Some have experienced or revisited past lives or countries. One woman I read about, reported standing by her bedroom window, waving to people who were passing by outside her home. They stood there waving at her while she waved back at them. At some point she snapped out of it, finding herself standing there waving— only the people she remembered in every detail were no longer present.
Other people report having long conversations with deceased relatives who are possibly standing by their bed or sitting in the same room with them. Some people claim that they are visited by those who are not dead. They have absolutely no idea what they are, but they do know death did not bring them to their bedrooms. Now even though Twilight is not the only time this happens, this is one of the biggest reports of the Shadow Beings that people claim to experience.
Possibly because our minds are so open during this stage and we can see beyond the Veil— my theory. Now the down side—some people say that they are attacked. That this black mass or presence paralyzes them so that they can not move or even scream. One woman I know claims to have woken up, been fully awake, while a young man in a hooded sweat shirt swept through her room and went out the window. This woman has had this happen quite a few times, same boy, same details except the exit — only she was not experiencing Twilight during any of those times.
In fact, she told me she had never experienced Twilight. She sees them wide eyed and awake. Many reports say that they were standing in their kitchen or somewhere , felt the energy or the room temperatures change, caught something in the corner of their eye, turned around quickly and the Shadow Being was standing there, watching them. Shadow or Astral Spiders.
People claim to be sleeping or rather Twilight, while watching these HUGE spiders of abnormal size crawl around their beds, glide down over their heads from webs and so on. By big—sizes ranging from fat puppy size to smaller. At times they see smaller ones but it is usually the bigger ones that cause them the greatest shock and fright. It is usually scary enough to snap them out of the Twilight completely, where the spiders are then gone.
In fact, I was shocked that on these forums that I researched, to find that quite a few people who rattled away concerning their belief in the Shadow People in other threads, literally make fun of the people who were seeking answers concerning the spiders. Unfortunately I can not give anyone any hard crusted evidence here but I can explain some common points about them.
One, you do not have to be in twilight to see them. Some people will see them there, wake up completely to find them still in their reality—fading away. However, let me leave you with this question…. They all stood equal distance apart surrounding my bed. Everytime I could hear them whispering, they never looked at each other they just stood there whispering. This would last for about 30 seconds, then the one to my right would bend over my head and get within a few inches of my face. I never saw its face, when I looked in the hood it was like looking at pure darkness. I had the feeling you described of fearing its intentions, at first I didnt tell anyone not even my parents, but then everynight it kept happening and finally after the third night my parents could see I was a wreck.
I explained to them what I experienced and at first they thought I was making it up. The next night it happened I woke up screaming and then i think it clicked I wasnt making this up. After that it stopped and just like most bad things, this got repressed into my mind.
Im 24 now, and I never again had that dream, until May 27, One of my friends was talking about nightmares he used to have and all this just came back rushing to me, I hadnt thought about it for so long. That night I didnt experience sleep paralysis but I did experience a lucid dream where I was back in that bed surrounded by the figures. I woke up a wreck. I havent had it since but Im still worried that their back. What should I do? His site is http: See his most recent column here — available by clicking from the category links at the right side of this page — for an article about dealing with nightmares, excerpted from his latest book.
I wish you luck. Just sharing my thoughts on how I have learned to cope with this.. I have not seen humanistic figures, but small distinct shadowy figures that whispered into my ear and said horrible things. When I realize this is happening, I force myself to push away fear and replace it with my feelings of annoyance, anger, then just let it have it: If you run out of steam just do it again.
Just believe you can do it. If this helps anyone I am glad. I have read about this stuff before, like years ago, and it always came of interest to me, i came across reading it because when i was a kid i always use to see dark shadowy figures of people or creatures standing at my door in the middle of the night. As i grew up they went away, so i assumed it was more of a kid thing. But lastnight i was simply having a crazy dream that i rolled of my bed, forcing myself to wake up. He was kinda crouched, like he was sneaking towards me. This is real dnt buy into anyonne sayinng oh it was just u in na certain stage of sleep b.
Then acouple days late im getting ready for work and walk outside right in front of me as im leaving there is the neighborswooden fence going right in front can you GUESS what is staring back at me from the fence as im trying to lock up my front door???? I freak out grab rocks throw them at the poor cat and scream at it like a crazy lady, thats how i knw whatever happened was telling me this is real and we r here it was very scary.
The next day i THROW OUT MY BED on my lawn mind you like a crazy lady again beacuse i cant even sleep on the bed anymore thinking maby its haunted i really wanted to burn it but then i really would go to a mental institution then… i never sleep in that room again i slept on the couch in my living room with lights on and so forth and a bible the only thing that will protect you is just not buying into their fear thats what makes it stronger this happened at a really low time in my life as well i was recently single mother the boyfriend went to prison and i was alone and vernerable and scared for my future but everything is better now ive had acouple other wierd things happen but i have to get off here good luck to anyone.
Something was behind me sucking some type of life energy out of me. As living humans we have something that these demonic entities need. I guess that is why I only have these sleep paralysis episodes 1 to 3 times a year. Hey man well im in the army and I was on guard in a tower and me and my buddy where takin about the sleep encounters well our storys are very similer so looked on the web and it seems as if u had the same expirance. Heres mine well I was homeless at the time and I stayed at a friends well I slept in his livingroom and I was awaken to a loud overpowering noise as if a plane was taking off just a load roar.
No noise just gone it left and I was shaking and I went to sleep as fast and as hard as 8 could for fear that it would come bak lol if some of this s8unds familer can u tell me id love to know mpre about ur expriance and find oit what it is cuz ots nature to me was just evil l.
Hi, I have just read your article on sleep paralysis. Thanks for your viewpoints. I have had sleep paralysis on and off for six years. I also hear voices , astral travel and have visitations. I thought that these encounters were projections from my unconcious until a few months ago when my son 21 slept in a bed with me in a hotel.
I awoke at around 3 with the usual tapping on my foot which indicates a visitation. I suddenly felt very cold and thought, hear we go, another encounter happening. I get very scared but try not to emit fear in case the entity feeds off it. Anyway, my son saw this man hovering above me with long hair and a hat.
I dont see I only feel so her verified something which for me I thought was mind generated. I often hear my daughter calling me in my ear even when she is in her room so I had this idea that maybe what we think are ghosts are really atral travellers? This could be so. I sometimes think these entities are me, or aspects of me trying to assimilate?
Hey thanks for the posts guys.. This happened to me for the first time last night and I had never heard about it or read about it until now. Its so relieving that others have experienced it too. My experience is a little different though and insanely terrifying to me so I wanted to see if others had insight on it or had similar experiences.. So I was lying in bed staring at the moonlight through my window and I started to get a very dark and very petrified feeling. I felt that a very evil presence was coming for me and I knew right away that it was Death.
Moments later I felt my wife nudge me that it had entered the bedroom. At that time I turned back away from him and stared at the moonlight and was overcome with such an insane amount of fear and shame, to a degree that I had never felt. I am large man, 29 years old, military academy grad, combat veteran, and life-long rugby player.. I have never felt fear like this Then I felt a very large hand on my back I was lying on my stomach, different to most other accounts that I have read tonight and it felt as if it was sucking my life and forcing me into hell.
All I could muster was a grotesque gurgling sound. Moments later it was over.. Once I regained feeling I forced myself up and leaned toward my wife. I paused to look around the room, I thought I had died, and I looked back and she held the same position with the same face.. Then I sat up in the bed and stared out in fear toward our open doorway for what seemed like hours unsure of what was happening to me. We both got up and went about our day as if nothing had happened.
Lastly, my back is still sore from the intense feeling of pressure like being forced down onto the bed. Please comment and let me know if your experience was uniquely similar or if you have insight. The age of 16 was the first and biggest episode in my history.
I had been with a group of friends ghost hunting as small town people from the south tend to do. It was a good exciting night nothing different except the approach I took. I get home around sh am and at the time my brother was sharing my room so he notices me walk in and get ready to sleep.
It was around when I initially passed out not responded to my brother he said and the attack would begin no more then two minutes following. My brother was still awake and the way he described my body and my awareness was comparable to someone fighting for their life against invisible demons; funny thing is I was maybe not demon but the pressure started on my chest and went to my face were my mouth nor eyes nor anything could respond or defend myself. Its best described as a staring battle one paralyzed almost dead so scared 16 year old and a shadow like floating oil but almost infinite if that makes sense.
Ever sense then it happens one or twice a year sometimes I remember sometimes I cant and other times its screeching voices in other tones and language almost physically effecting me just by the words then ill snap out of it before I freak out dead pretty much. Words cant tell the experience. It was trippy and after my brother woke up i heard some loud noises in my room.
Two nights ago I had an out-of-body experience. I have never had one before and obviously, a little freaked out. I saw myself, just as i was, sleeping on my bed. Maybe I was floating, idk. My attention was drawn to the hallway outside of my bedroom.. Once I DID finally wake up.. Has anyone had this happen before? I have been googling for help but not finding much with all that i experienced that night. I appreciate any advice or tips. I too suffer from this. Just two days ago I was awakened and immediately I knew I was in sleep paralysis.
My eyes could not look around the room, but only stare at the ceiling. A dark figure, almost like a shadow, moved across the ceiling tiles. I knew yelling for help was out of the question, so I just kept trying to fight it off. In the corner of my eye I kept seeing little sparks of light where my tv was. I tried to look in that direction but my eyes were stuck. After a few minutes of complete struggle and fear the shadow disappeared and an overwhelming breath came upon me.
I could finally move and looked at my tv and it was off. Usually it is one dark figure that haunts me but I feel like there was more than one in my room that night. I am a firm believer in spirits because I am a Christian, and feel nothing but fear when this occurs. The first that I remember was as a child, I awoke from sleep with the image of an oak tree with a face, screaming in silent agony, but I could feel the scream vibrating my whole body, and of course I was paralyzed and frightened.
The most dramatic episode was somewhere between sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming. After a night of partying I finally crashed out, and awoke with the image of a devouring dragon rushing towards me.
I projected my dream body out of my sleeping body although I was paralyzed I could still feel an adrenalin rush and discovered that the dream body took the form of Iggy Pop circa , platinum wig and all. I know how difficult it is to work with these experiences because you are put in the position of utter powerlessness, but did you ever feel, Matt, that your writing process changed after having these experiences? I ask because perhaps this being, as frightening and invasive as it was, seems similar to powerful images that have arisen during times when my meditation practice was reaching a critical moment, and almost all of these images had to do with a total annihilation of the self, and my reactions were often in the form of extreme fear until I started talking to people who assured me its a normal part of the process.
Yes, my experiences with SP have changed my writing process, as well as my experience of creativity in general. This article was very helpful. Moments ago, dreaming heavily in my dark dorm, having Spotify playing a thunderstorm nature song.. I fell into a deep sleep. My dream seemed familiar, the same paralysis you spoke of. It was a dream within a dream. A version of me was experiencing the incident of this figure and overcame it. This was the first time that I have ever seen this figure hunched over, cloaked, shaking back and forth beside the edge of my bed.. I did not feel a sense of fear, but one of courage, with all my might, I yelled at the figure and it vanished.
And thus I awoke completely. If this be a demon on ny side, I felt no fear to face it. I felt that it could not touch or harm Mr and I had that faith, that it could not. I proceeded to light a candle and place my St. Anthony image prayer by it, to lighten my room. I wish to encourage all to be courageous in this vulnerablet state, let not the fear consume you but you consume the fear. With three very old men floating above my bed in a fetal position all three with a Mona Lisa smile on their face.
I decided to fight them so the last time it happened I got up and started to punch them and it really felt like I was hitting something. Has anyone experienced this or am I going mad in the head. So what does it mean when you have seven figures? I had similar experiences when I was around 8, much like you have describe, the only difference being there were seven hooded figures evenly spaced around my bed.
Every time it was the same, one at the foot with three on each side. I would lay there paralyzed for about 30 seconds which felt like forever while they whispered collectively. I would immediately snap up gasping for air and sweating.
Shadow People, Astral Spiders, & Hypnagogia | The Pagan & the Pen ~ An Online Magazine!
This stopped after a few weeks and never came about again until last week. Im about to be 25, I just recently joined the Army and will be shipping out in May. If you could explain this to the best of your knowledge it may bring me some peace of mind. What does it all mean? I look forward to your response. I too have been having these experiences over the past few years and the fear that overwhelmes me is immense.
Part of me during the process knows I am just asleep and will awake soon but the fear still remains. The last event took place in my bedroom where I felt a movement as if someone was passing my feet at the bottom of the bed. I awoke straight away. I must admit that one did bother me. Not a nice experience but does fascinate me also. I have had many experiences at different places.
One event I will never forget is the feeling of drifting asleep one night but then a big slap across my cheek. Felt as real as you could imagine a real slap to be. Also figures opening my door and coming into my room. Occasional flashing lights are sometimes present in them as if police cars are parked outside. I am a 41 year old male with no drug issues except the occasional drink.
I have also had a couple of disturbing and unexplainable experiences and mostly all of them had something to do with sleep paralysis. I will talk about the most disturbing one. During this, I was aware that I was in deep sleep and something was happening to me. So i decided subconsciously to just be patient and wait to awaken properly.
Shadow People, Astral Spiders, & Hypnagogia
However, the strangling and not being able to breathe got worse. In my sleep I sort of kicked forward, like pushing something away, and then I woke up completely. Only to see a figure behind my door. It resembled a woman, covered in old kind of long clothes. So I looked at the figure, thinking it was my sister, and started calling her name — but no response. Until I switched on the light and everything was back to normal.
Hi Matt, My name is Luis and first of all my sincere apologies for the poor english but… after reading this article, a almost lost memory that basically just drove slowly into my sub-conscience has become clear again. A memory that I honestly, in many occasions when discussing scary tales with friends, have tried to explain but every time in vain. This happened back when I lived in Brazil at age of I was just sitting with a friend on the sidewalk enjoying a ice-cream when a man shaped like shadowy vague figure crossed over at clearly beyond human capability speed.
Proof there is something else than just us, for I was not the only one who saw it. After that we both just started desperately to run towards our neighborhood and I noticed that, for some reason the streets seemed to be abandoned, Everyone was just inside their houses, and, when we got to our neighborhood it was finally crowded and we felt safe.
All this felt to me like it was meant to happen but at the same time it felt like I could choose freely which actions to take, like for example; I knew the streets seemed empty and that it was in some kind of way a part of the whole thing but I saw people in the distance and thought about running to them but, we still chose not to run towards them which was much further than our own street but visible because it was a long straight road.
I myself am a thinker at the highest level. This I say because of their unreliable theories and scientific explanations that are but mere calculations that can simply be calculated wrong and of course because most people lack experience like its not just something that occurs to everyone. Even when I start doubting myself i think twice on that day and I know what I tell is the truth. I wanted to keep it as short as possible but i could not find the right words.
Please understand I am not just someone trying to get attention, I just sat on the couch on 2 am reading weird stuff when I came across this page and to be honest, this is the ultimate confirmation for a guy like me that this things DO exist and that they are as real as the moment you witness them. I have the feeling that I am fit to experience these kind of things for some reason and I would really like to discuss more on the subject with someone who is more of an expert than I am. Again I am not searching for any kind of unnecessary attention, its just that you are the first person I have encountered with exact the same interests as me and who really seems to know about this kind of stuff.
I filled in my email address so if you have the time maybe you could send me a brief recap of your own life time experiences on the matter? If its not much to ask, it would mean a lot to me if I had some kind of clear explanation or maybe just something to read about so I can understand it a bit more. There are plenty more hard-to-explain stories that I can share with you, but this one was the most reliable one, because of my friend being able to see it too that is. I hope you understand where I come from and why I am sharing this, looking forward to your response, J Rodri.
Thank you for sharing your story, Luis. For some of my own further discussions of the phenomenon in question, you can see the following:. Daemonic Creativity my interview for the Expanding Mind radio show. Cosmicomicon Interview with Matt Cardin. Now I know for sure that it is a matter that should be looked at. If the day comes I get it all explained on paper, I will see to it that its fully covered and translated properly so you guys can read it.
Thank you and be blessed. I wish you the best of luck. Btw, I forgot to suggest one more item you might find of value: Cosmic Horror and Chapel Perilous. I may have something for you. What I will tell you seems unbelievable but as you know these things often do. It was there when I woke up, as well. There is much more to this tale. Recently, my sleep paralysis episodes have returned. I had my first sleep paralysis episode 2 days ago. I am a 30 year old female, and have never had any experience like it.
I came home early from work around 2PM, and laid out on the couch, made myself comfortable and propped a pillow under my head and pulled a soft blanket over myself. Then I suppose I started to feel myself waking up. My eyes opened and I could see the room — the bookshelf in front of me, the desk in the corner, the TV, and the door. I thought that maybe I should get up and move, and realized that I could not move. My body felt heavy and I started to panic.
My eyes darted around the room as I struggled within my own body. Then I started to sense someone else in the room with me. I saw a dark shadow that I interpreted to be male. It had no features that I can recall, but it looked human. It stood right above my head, silent, unmoving. I became extremely panicked and tried to move. If I can just get there, I can scream for help!
I started to feel my blanket slowly move down my legs. I shut my eyes and started praying. Shortly after, a woman appeared at my side. She looked like she could have possibly been a relative, although I did not recognize her. She had a crown of light around her head, and when I focused, the beams of light became daggers that jabbed back and forth, forcing the shadow back.
She stood at my side, interjecting herself between me and the shadow until I fell back asleep. Sometimes it was suffocating or even once being swallowed by the couch. But I had one just the other night that was different from the rest. All is the same except the way I would die. Sorry my keyboard messed up before I could finish. I would really like to know what this all means. This is certainly a long-lived post!
This took place in Southern California about Just dropping off to sleep one night, a very battered and bloody-looking figure suddenly arose beside my bed with a very agonized sounding yell. This person was male, probably in his late twenties as I remember it and dressed in what were once apparently rather colorful duds, but were now badly shredded. He had dark hair and a slight build. He was covered in blood and I could see various scratches and bruises all over his face. It was obvious to me even at that age that he was basically screaming for help.
There was nothing really threatening about this image; the disturbing aspect was entirely due to the fact that he was obviously in such horrible torment, but it upset me badly. I had certainly watched my share of horror movies by then, but none of them had shown me a character like him, nor one that affected me so deeply. Quite disturbing, to say the least. I have experienced episodes of sleep paralysis with the first memory being when I was about 4. I woke to a voice telling me not to look at the light.
Throughout my childhood, I experienced periods of sleep consciousness and I would estimate I have had hundreds of these episodes over the course of my 40 years. When I was younger, I would simply wake up and leave my body and go into other rooms in my house and actually see my family members, speak to them, but with no response. During those years, my experiences were not encumbered by the presence of any spiritual presence that I was aware of other than myself.
I did have experiences of not being able to move or scream, even though I was obviously frightened by something. Additionally, during that time frame, my visual perception when I left my body was in color as I moved about the house. I will call my middle years from 17 to 28 I experienced something a little different. The awaking moments were prefaced by a tremor; a reverberating feeling that signified the beginning of either a short or painfully long period of being pinned to the bed by either an external actor, or a projection of my mind in response to the paralysis.
I narrowed this period down to eating ice cream or some other type of food late at night. My current period of experiences have two flavors; one is pleasant and allows me to travel extended distances from my body. My most memorable happened within the last 12 months. I was way beyond my known physical boundaries and a rotated my view degrees and as I did the stars in the heavens lit up as I viewed them.
I had a companion in this episode that was acting as a tour guide and when I came to I had a feeling of complete euphoria. I was so sure of my place in the universe and had a confidence in knowing that I was a force of good in the world. Often I simply leave my bed and even used my dresser to step down from the end of my sleigh bed. The interesting thing is now when I leave my body, I often float and use swimming motions to move myself around in my environment.
I will often leap through my ceiling and go above the roof of my home and the only distinction now versus my youthful experiences is that everything is usually gray with only some things have color. Last night however, my son had a visitor over for the night and I experienced a very dark presence when I woke. In fact, it was a completely new experience. My head only was being pinned to my pillow and the force was so severe that I felt the bones in my neck pop. It was almost like it was pushing something into the back of my skull.
I take my experiences very seriously and pay close attention to the details. As I have gotten older, I have made efforts to control the experience while I am in the paralysis. I thought up until last night that I had evolved, but the force last night was so powerful I felt like a patient under the surgeons knife.
I can see the correlation between these experiences and the anti-self. If fact, reading this for the first time tonight, the anti-self is the most apropos explanation I have heard to date. Lastly, the one aspect of this I have not yet reconciled is the missing details in terms of the physical space. I am certain the projection this state brings about is a part of the brain or a incarnation thereof that does not understand the physical aspect of existence. Conversely, it could also be that the brain does not know how to operate in the spiritual sense and compensates the best way it can, which would explain the external theory that in the state of paralysis we are in co-existing in a dimension where we are consciously dreaming in a body that is paralyzed which makes us aware of the various force of energy that exist in the same state.
Whether they be thoughts of our minds or a collect I cannot say for sure. I mean, does the thing that visits you during this time make sounds? My last sleep paralysis episode involved sound. Anyway, I will be back to post my experiences. No time this evening. This has been happening to me since I was little. I always wondered what this figure was and still do. It actually happened again last night. At first you start to get cold Shivers that first start slow and get stronger.
If you open your eyes right when it starts nothing will be there but if you wait to long its to late and you either open your eyes and get it over with until its gone or keep your eyes shut until eventually you open your eyes because the shivers will just get stronger and a weird whistle noise will start. One night I woke up 5 times and when I went back to sleep it started again so I said screw it and when the chills got stronder I opened my eyes and It was there. It seemed aggrevated and was shooting at my body very fast back and fourth.
So I never did that again lol. It moves fast and looks like it wants to attack you. Over the years it never hurt me so I try different things to piss it off or figure out what it wants. I was able to get my arm up half way one time and it slammed my hand down and put it face in mine and looked like it was screaming. What does this thing qant? My only suggestion would be when it happens just open your eyes and wait until it leaves. I just like to push it buttons. Has anyone else ever made it mad? Sometimes it wakes me up times a night. Also, do you think maybe she said what she did about you because of your skepticism?
My guess is that although my skepticism may have been what initially prompted her to pay more attention, it was mainly that she observed a bundle of certain personality traits and caught a certain personal vibe from me that interacted with things she had studied and read to suggest her speculative diagnosis.
I myself experienced full blown sleep paralysis several times growing up, complete with the short dark hooded figures huddled around my bed, who would just stare at me. Total paralyzed state, unable to move or scream. Often minutes at a time. While remaining skeptical, IMHO there may still be a slight element of the paranormal about this. My current theory is that they might act in a similar to a computer firewall, preventing us from accidentally leaving the body in these hypnagogic states.
The very placement of them could be part of it, designed by the mind to simply scare us into falling back sleep or just not leaving our safety-zone ie. However if you look at the evidence:. I mean to say, other people who are awake do not perceive them. A video camera set up in the room will not see anything. There is no physical interaction. They cannot harm you physically. There are rarely, if ever, any reported social interaction.
That is, they are not yelling at you about Satan or The Evil or anything at all. They are usually silent. We do not understand our OWN consciousness, and therefore we cannot just jump to conclusions about dis-incarnate intelligence. That is, if you really want the truth, we need to look at the meta-data and find what pattens emerge to help explain the phenomenon.
These are interesting and well-presented reflections, Cory. Regarding your point B about the perceived entities not being able to actually harm people, recall the SUNDS phenomenon, which tempers this point significantly: Im about to go to sleep so ill sum this up quick, I reached spiritually awakening like how eckart tolle or mooji or ram dass or jesus did.
Also I deeply believe tv has something to do with the sp because I woke up to sp a few nights ago and had a revolation of how it involves tv. The Thing poster — this is exactly what I saw two nights ago whilst asleep. It was far from pleasant! Im not entirely sure that it is sleep paralysis. But i suffer from horrid night terrors where im being chased and attacked by skelatal angels and demons of all kinds, and at some points i wake up with a feeling like im falling back into myself but ill be sitting up and i cant move a muscle at all just completly frozen and i see one of the skeletal angels in front of me at least partof one that has a whole human face a womans face that just stares at me and im held i cant speak cant move at times ill pass out and wake up in a whole nother part of my house at other times il be transfixed for what feels like eternity as it feels like im being drawn in.
I have stumbled upon this page when I was looking for an answer for the experience that I have had. I was renting an apartment with my ex-husband. The apartment was right across from the cemetery and I was already feeling uneasy. No features, just darkness-almost like they portray the Grim Reaper or Darth Vader. It started slowly moving around the foot of my bed until it reached the right hand side, by my head. Then it reached out with its long bony finger and touched my arm.
I felt a slight zap, and that is when I came to my senses. I have never felt that terrified in my life-I still have hair stand on my head when I think about it. I turned on all the lights, TV, everything, and called my ex husband. I explained the situation, and he said it was probably a dream. The thing is, you always know when you have a dream, no matter how lifelike and terrible it is. Here everything was exactly the same as in reality-my chair with clothes crumpled on it, the light in the window from parking lamp, etc. When the thing was walking around me, I didnt feel anything at all.
I didnt move, but I didnt even try to. Its like I was hypnotized or something. The pure dread came on only after I snapped out of it. For years now I have been dying to know what it was, and if anyone has had a similar experience. I also want to know why it touched me and what that meant. I just want to know. Two weeks ago I had just lay down in my bed waiting for the Aleve to kick in my hip had come partly out of joint and I just suddenly knew something was in the room by my closet.
I just knew that it was something dark and I knew it was ther because I am on the verge of getting well after 27 yrs of many chronic health issues, and it did not want that. I could not see it, but I knew exactly where it was and felt it float in a wavy pattern across the room toward me. I felt the bed on my right side being pushed in and then the same thing happened on my left. I did not feel the bed press in anymore that night. I looked up dark entities and saged the entire house closets, garage, attic, basement, even the car.
Last night, after just getting into bed, I was saying prayers and felt pressure on my feet. I thought maybe I was imagining it, but then the pressure extended from my feet up to my knees and I felt the covers being tugged at my left knee. Then the bed began to shake not violently and it reminded me of when my husband flops and moves around, so I reached across the bed to him but he was not moving.
I kept my hand on him he felt the bed moving, too, but assumed it was a truck going by rattling the bed and the bed kept shaking. Then I felt the bed compress on my right and immediately after on my left it was sitting on me! I can hardly believe I did this, but I decided not to give it any more attention and actually closed my eyes and went to sleep! After that, my leaking c-pap mask woke me several more times, but the dark thing was gone.
My husband heard me scream, but when he realized I went right back to sleep, he did not ask me about it until the morning. He said the leaking mask sounded like it usually did I wondered if the thing had been pulling it off my face, but it would have sounded louder than usual. I sound weird now but i thing that man or entity is a shadow man or something and they feed on people tha are sad and struggle with things and stress etc.
But i believe in the supernatural and all that cause i have experince, anyway that entity has been around me so much im used to it and i see him in the corner of my eye alot. But i get scared everytime i see him because he has a very strange body, its crooked and his hands are large and he's fingers are long and sharp and he is short and he stands very weird, its really freaky and he stares at me and he is so close to me everytime i just arghh i get so tired of it.
And i am very paranoid person but when i get kinda normal and dont see scary things or movies for awhile he is not around and its sooo relaxing. My sisters girlfriend has seen him too and that is comforting and creepy too i mean no one wants to see that staring at you but you cant see a face or eyes, but my life is starting to go well now so i havent seen him around and i am happy over it and i have been reading about shadow people like him, and im not christian but i mean why does god let this happen if he "created" this world and all that crap i just get so frustrated but its okay.
I want to know why me even tho i know and im sick of it and i want to hear your theories even though i know this can be a little hard to believe but im not good with words but i hope someone has ideas what i can do: I am searching for possible validation and closure of an experience I had a few weeks ago. I am a believer and am very accepting of and passionate about paranormal activities in the truest sense.
One night I couldn't sleep and was sitting out on my enclosed porch having a smoke and surfing around on the internet trying to unwind when i saw a figure standing out in my back yard. It appeared to be that of a young girl, i felt about yrs old. While she was all dense black, I could still perceive long hair and body shape. She was standing still facing me. I moved all around to see if my eyes, or lights, were playing tricks on me but she didn't change.
Then, as i watched her intently, she glided forward about 6 ft towards my direction- as a watched her. As I continued to watch her , i acknowledged her and said hello. She then started "walking" or moving in a normal cadence right up my walkway and right up to my back storm door.
I could still see her very plainly. I said hello to her again and asked her what she was doing. I didnt hear or sense any kind of response. I suddenly felt very compelled to tell her I was sorry, but I could not let her in my house. At this time she was just standing right outside my door, and i was sitting in a chair about 4 ft away just watching her. Suddenly I saw a medium sized shadow dog gallop across the yard from where she originated. It stopped right behind her and I said the same thing again, I cannot let you in, Im sorry. I remember I didnt know why i couldnt, but i couldnt.
A few moments later, I looked back up to see if she was still there- which she was- and i saw another shadow person beside her. I could tell he had a hood on and his head hung down. I immediately felt a heavy sadness and again i apologized. Im sorry, im glad youre here, and you can stay as long as you want but i cannot let you in. Next a shadow cat appeared weaving around the children flicking its tail.
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At that time i decided to walk right up to the door and put my face almost to the glass. I stood there for what felt like an awkwardly long amount of time looking at them. As i stood there, a teen sized female swooped in from the left, past the little girl and the cat and dog, and reached her arms out and wrapped them in an embrace around the young man from behind, as in a comforting motion.
There they all stood. The little girl and 2 animals, and the teen girl consoling the teen boy. I have dreamed of having experiences like this, day dreamed about all the ways i would feel, and the questions i would ask, and the things we would talk about and learn but none of that was happening.
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I wasnt scared, didnt have butterflies in my stomach, just the solid and serious thought that i couldnt let them in, it wouldnt be a good idea. Ultimately I thanked them for letting me see them and i told them i believed in them and apologized for not being able to help them. I-Me, the super spiritual lover of all things paranormal, just watched them talked to them and turned my back away and went to bed.
For days i would think about them and couldnt bring myself to put it in words I watched them and talked to them for around 40 minutes, yet still told them goodnight and walked away. I didn't question their presence, didnt feel many words were necessary, and didnt feel such weirdness or excitement that i had to stay I know its cold, you will be fine. Thank you for coming to me, and thank you to the teen girl for comforting the boy who felt so lost and sad. Im mostly wondering why so many spirits were lingering ay my back door as if they were led there?
Were they children and animals or imposters? Did I do the right thing? Why have i never seen them before, and why couldnt i help them? This article says clearly that the shadowy figures can't touch you or harm you. When i was five years, i was sleeping with my sister. She woke up, i woke up too, it was morning. I looked at her wondering why her eyes were so big and her smile was very frowned. I was wondering why. Then i hear footsteps coming. My sister was looking at the door. She wasn't sleeping or anything. I looked at the door.
There was this man or woman wearing a hat. It was walking slowly towards me, it didn't have eyes. It kept walking towards me, i couldn't move or anything I couldn't say anything I didn't felt scared. As it walked towards me my sister didn't do anything. I could only look around till it reach me. Then it tickled me. I was laughing my sister looked at me. Then i don't remember. We told our mom but she didn't believe us. And why it tickled me. I have noticed it is more common at night, but I have seen them in broad day light. The worst experience was while working for an assisted living home I was supposed to tip-toe around, and make sure all the residents were sleeping safely at night, and I kept seeing one in a hallway.
I started feeling super cold, and a particlular door to one resident's room slammed in my face several times. The boss caught the door on cammera, and asked me about it the next day. The next night, the resident had snuck out of his room, and signed to me, that grandma was watching me. I politely asked him to tell her I said hello. Things "calmed down", but "grandma" kept an eye on me still. Shadow children are also very creepy, especially when they are standing in the middle of the road, and everyone in the car is certain that a child got ran over, despite nothing being found for a mile either direction.
The night my mom passed away a year ago was my only experience with a shadow person in a dream. In the dream, I was laying in bed. The room was dark but the door was partially open to a hallway that was lit. A shadow person walked by. I said what do you want as it went by. It turned around and threw the door open as it quickly came towards me.
Just as it jumped on me, I woke from my dream sweating. I will never forget how real it seemed. I have seen many of them. My daughter has seen one follow me. My dogs have gone mad barking at them so I don't think they are my imagination. I think they are life forms that co-exist with us in this planet. Just last night, I looked behind my door before I went to bed I sleep with the door open and I saw a little girl with a red dress and black hair covering her face.
I only saw it for one second but I still remember her look. It freaked me out and I couldn't move at all. They are astral beings that try to prey on your body when you leave it. You need to do some protection magick on yourself and bedroom. The fear usually starts before going to sleep. Followed by a Lucid dream, and floating sensation. Next, three growling dark shadow figures slowly get closer.
Once they show up, the whole bedroom seems to shutter at low vibrations,. One appearing in the bedroom doorway, window, and closet doorway. The growling gets louder as they approach, while on the left side of my face, out of my peripheral vision, one of the hooded figures screams violently in my ear. Tried to look, but it manages to always just stay out of view, while the other 2 observe. As I pull out of it, the growls and screaming tend to fade, sometimes takes a longer than expected.
Fear like you can't imagine floods every fiber of your being. Happens every once in a while.. Had this since I was 7. Last night i was sleeping, i woke up out of nowhere opening my eyes and i saw a shadow sitting on my bed with something red on its face. After reading this it easily could have been a fedora. I signed up so that i could write this comment. I was in a deep sleep dreaming and all. I opened my eyes wider and it faded away and i saw my poster on my wall. Only the poster was magnified as if it was right in my face. The past 2 days i didn't sleep much so im thinking its part of being sleep deprived but i find it weird that what this page is describing what the shadow looks like is very strange.
And the picture above the comments looks just like what i saw. Please someone respond to me if this you have had something similar happen. I want to say it was Wednesday night last week. So I'm sleeping obviously like I do every night. It's not abnormal for me to experience sleep paralysis because I have since I was 10 years old times a month.
Nothing unusual to me and I've never had any problems with it, I normally just close my eyes to go back to sleep after numerous failed attempts of screaming or trying my hardest to pull the covers back on my body. So a few days before this event I'm about to tell happened, I had been waking up at 3 AM, sit straight up in bed and I immediately see a misty black figure of a person in the corner of my room.
I rub my eyes to make sure I'm seeing what I think I am and when I went to look at the figure again it was gone, so I thought it was just something in my head. Well the next night I'm sleeping, and I wake up to a solid black shadow figure with a baseball cap on and he was rubbing my forehead in such a caring way. I think I was crying about my late father in my dream and maybe that's why this figure was being so caring towards me.
I'm not quite sure. But once I realized that this was a shadow figure and not my boyfriend standing over me, I quickly began to panic, however I was experiencing an episode of sleep paralysis. I believe that this is a figure from a different dimension to observe us. I can't explain how caring this shadow figure was towards me, I've never experienced anything like that before. Well I dreamed a shadow. I was somehow conscious in my dream.
I don't know it's hard to explain. But I was in my house and I was telling something to my mom who was laying on her bed. But she didn't say anything back to me. She was just listening to me then she got up and suddenly she was something else. It was a shadow. I couldn't see his face. But he hugged me and kissed me. In that moment I couldn't move. I was terrified and I prayed in my mind to woke up.
And I wake up. I was in my bed, in my room. It was dark and I don't know why but I was looking to wards the window as I was laying on my bed. There I suddenly saw a shadow in shape of a man, a shadow that was on the other side of the window and watched me. I was at the second floor so it was really terrifying. Suddenly the shadow was in my room, right next to my bed and he bend down and pressed his hand on my chest.
I felt an unbearable pressure making hard for me to breath. I was so scared and again I prayed for someone to help me and I woke up. I was about yrs old. Sleeping in room when I heard a noise, like talking in whispers. I could not make out the language but it sounded Latin-like. I got out of the covers and crawled to edge of bed towards sound. Than I saw it! Crouched down, under the window was a dark being in the shape of a man.
And like I said it was talking to itself or to someone else not in the room. I just stared at it in disbelief. Than it noticed me and turned its head towards me. I think it was angry that I was looking at it because it started to yell at me but in a "whispery" tone. Again, it was in a language like Latin, his tone was angry but the level of sound never higher than a whisper. I crawled right back in bed and pulled the covers over my head. Never had another encounter. But i did dream of the shadow man as an adult just once.
Not scary but interesting. The logical side of me says I was dreaming. But it seemed so real. I can still hear him yelling at me. I can still visualize him turning towards me. I want this to be a dream, but a small part of me knows Im just lying to myself. What I am about to tell you is the truth and nothing but the truth. It was almost 1 year ago from today when I saw the shadow people. I read this and my experience was a little different then how it says it usaaly happenes. It was at a summer camp with 9 other people in a cabin.
It was in the morning and i am laying in the bed when I see a black, shadow like figure right next to my bed at my feet. I had the top bunk in the left back corner of the cabin. The black shadow thing was right to the right of me at my feet and then it starts moving. The bunk has a poorly built ladder to get up to the top so it is ussaly a little hard to get up.
But this shadow thing climbs up my bunk with out making one single noises.
I have not moved because the year before someone had went into all the cabins and colored on everyone's faces so I thought they've where doing it again but this time I had woken up. So still thinking I'm geting pranked the shadow person is climing up my bunk not making any noise and moves right above me putting one arm on the railing and the other on the wall.
Must have been a foot away from my face. We stared off at each other like this for a sold and long 30 seconds. Then I got really creeped out so I moved back and poof it's gone. Now I'm like shiting myself. I was thinking like that I was going to be in a horror movie or something. So I was laying down in the bed with My head pushed back into the pillow and I peek over the railing to see 8 shadow figers.
I was so fucking scard at this point. I just stayed watching them. Right next to them I saw something move on the top bunk but it was not one of the shadow people it was another camper. Sorry I forget his name but he was tall. It would be really cool if he saw this but it prolly won't happen but I saw him move for his flashlight and he turned it on. Nothing was there of course but as soon as he turned it off they where back. And I was like fuck that. I talked to that kid and he said he saw the same this I did but he said he saw the 2 near the desk but they were just spasig out.
I probably just have a dirty mind. The kid that was encircled by them was a little creepy. He was from somewhere in South America but this ducking kid knew how to draw like the satin symbol like the one with the Jewish star and all of theses wired things. I saw them once more but it was not nearly as exciting because I just saw 2 standing at my feet and I just wrapped up in my blanket and went to bed.
I have not seen them again like that but I do see things out of the corner of my eye occasionally but that's probably just my brain. We saw "flying shadows' June 20, at dusk. We live one mile from the beach, but we are still in a relatively rural area of South Carolina. The Flying Shadows, they were too large to be bats, which fly in a similar manner, at dusk, and are very fast and you can only catch them out of the corner of your eye. But these were large and we did see them, they indeed had no attributes other than a shadow. Their shadow may have had appendages , but as they flew away it all seemed to go into a black swoosh.
The texture and color of a shadow also seems accurate They also seemed solid I saw these and my spouse also. We live in a wooded rural area. We did not know we BOTH were seeing these until we were inside. Then I saw one inside, which startled me. That is when I realized I really were seeing these things, and it was not a trick of the sunset at dusk thru the wooded trees that surround our house.
I then asked my spouse if she saw these, and was surprised to learn that indeed she saw several outside. The conversation ensued on how we were seeing these and what they were. Whatever these shadowy flying things were, we sensed no evil nor threatening feelings or such toward them. If I actually had to feel a "feeling" it was curiosity, on our part and there. I am a tax attorney, my spouse a Physical Therapist. I am 45, my spouse 48 years old.
Admittedly, we do not believe nor have time for imaginary or made up sightings. Were scientific people who deal with ALOT of reality and alot of our societies problems on a daily basis. We live in the real world. We don't live with our parents and watch lord of the rings and smoke pot in the basement all weekend long. Were not two little teenage girls who have nothing to do but make this stuff up and shop for lip gloss on Amazon. But, I must admit we saw these things, we both saw these flying shadows I have not gotten to the point where I see a figure that is the shape of a person Yes they real i assume all ard harmless im 20year old from philly and heen experience this stuff since i was 6 , but these shadow people ard really the coolest thing on the planet if you fearless and make them your friend the stuff they can do is truly amazing, as in some magician ard friends with them , i can tell the future in my dreams and do a lot can somebody please inbox if you relate.
Dont let the movies fook you they not evil dont fear cus i think that you telling them that you dont wanna be friends. Also I used characters now. One experience confirms its existence. I saw this shadow form in the corner of my eye. I continue to go into the kitchen. I hear my friend call out in this teasing voice 'from upstairs: I run to the bottom of the stairs, she's at the top. I run up to her and hold her. That's why she said 'cindy' like she did. At least that was my exp, I felt it in the room before I saw it and as I had just got into bed n turned the light out, I hadn't slept yet so it obv wasn't a dream or anything along those lines.
Turned round n it was right next to my bed n it stood there for a good 20 min with just this feeling of rage coming from it. I think saying these things are harmless is extremely naive. I should mention I know the reason it was there- I stupidly tried a luck spell I saw on the back of a magazine earlier that day, just for a laugh really. I feel it was threatening me 'humans shouldn't mess with that stuff' or something. No worries there, never doing that again! My mom, my 2 sister and my dad have encounters with this creature.
My mom always notice him when it's starting to get dark, as he always pass by in our front yard so quick that my mom could only glance on it in seconds. A big guy with a sinister aura as she mentioned. My 1st sister encounter is different. She is seeing this guy since we're little and since we've moved in our present house.
As of her statement is she's seeing this late at night staring at me. Since we're in same room she can't even scream or move herself when she seeing this identity and felt force not to move and pretend she's sleeping. My mother's statement is similar to dad because she's seeing this when it is starting to dark and As of my dads encounter it is totally the same day and and time as mom seeing this entity but the differences is he's seeing this on backyard since he is always there hanging out. The same statement and the same description, passing beside our home front yard to backyard.
As of their encounter this guy always pass our house too fast that they can't analyze this entity. What they just know he was 3D human like not a 2 dimensional shadow as usual. As of my 2nd sisters testimon, because here in Philippines were cooking outside of our houses. Its 3am trying to cook for breakfast for school when one dawn she passed to the front yard and noticed big tall guy with the same description, she felt curious and stare on it and move closer and closer. She saw red evil eyes on him, she stared at it for moments and can't even move.
She tried to scream but she can't. She tried to ran but she's forced to stopped. She cant remember everything on that incident but she just remembered her feet walk away calmly without her forcing it. She felt she's mandated to do it. I've had enough experiences nearly my whole life. And not even just at night. One just recently appeared as I was doing the dishes in broad daylight currently 7: I even had one visit me in a dream in the form of a relative then turn into a winged demon who flew at me, turning everything into darkness and creating a falling feeling with temporary sleep paralysis.
I was 11 at the time and that's pretty much when it all started. I see them more frequently as I've gotten older. Now on average once two weeks or so. Minus the episode that started it all it's all pretty much the same. I see them out of the corner of my eye and then gone when I look. Darting off around the corner. There have also been times I feel someone or something touch me from behind when I'm walking. Not always alone either. I also get at random a tingly sensation on the top of my head in the shape of a hand as if someone was resting theirs on my head.
And to top that every once in a while the center of my forehead likes to go completely numb and twitch every now and then. Some beliefs say it's an awakening of the third eye but I never notice a difference. I've had 2 experiences with shadow people. When I was a teenager, we were down the shore at a hotel. One afternoon I was lying on the bed. Suddenly I had great difficulty breathing. I had to force myself to take each breath.
I looked up and a giant black figure was standing in front of me. I thought it was Death. I started laughing at it. It was gone in the blink of an eye and I could breathe easily again. The second time was as an adult. I was at my brother's apartment. It was an upstairs apartment and I was outside smoking. I left the door open so I could get back in.
371 thoughts on “Shadow People, Astral Spiders, & Hypnagogia”
I walked across the street to through something out in a trash can. When I looked at the door, a large human shaped shadow was standing there. It had burning red eyes and it smiled at me. It flitted up the stairs. I was pretty scared but I had to go back in and make sure my brother was okay.
He was watching hockey on tv with a friend. I got a distinctly evil impression from that one. So im not sure if what i saw was that because when I looked at it, it didn't flee it just stood there and looked back and moved up its arm and this part is weird because I saw a big mass of shadow darker then everywhere else and passed my hand through it and my hand got really cold and nothing else then it stopped like the noises and then they were gone.
GeorgeF - Wow, what a story! Thank you for sharing. These beings can be rather frightening. Okay my brothers and sisters,I say this bc its good knowing that Im not alone in this. I tried reading everyones but its getting late and also I have not had any episode for a while. Sleep paralysis or visitations from spirits ,demons. Im truly terrified even bringing this topic up feeling that it could trigger this thing that absolutely kept me from turning my lights off at night.
I had to sleep with the Tv on for a while before reaching that comfort of not being watched or played with. I relocated back to New orleans back in Anyway here is my story. And please cut me a break with the grammar Im exhausted and just kind of felt like I was going to have another episode and started googling which I will regret FmL Here it goes, I remember being between the age of and recall just being in a trance state in the living room sitting on the floor Indian style just staring at the ceiling fan for a while squinting my eyes moving my head side to side making the light from the bulbs move like lasers shifting.
A wierd habit I had as a kid. And after that it came down crashing to the floor. Then after that weeks apart I was passing my moms room and was seeing her struggling to move tearing from the eyes trying to tell me and my sis to help her. We didnt know what to do so we called Then I remember moving to a different house and sewm to be normal for about a year then crewpy things started back up again.
I was at this time like yrs old. I started hearing snoring under one of the beds.
It was a big room we shared with my sis and teenage Aunt at the time. I at first just thought it was one of them snoring and got annoyed but when I walked closed to their bed to kind of give them a shrud like damn you snore to damn loud you know Lol! It didnt come from neither my sis or Aunt. So I totally was freaked out and jumped on my Aunts bed. I woke her obviously and explained.
The following night I had to go to bathroom late at night and jist felt this eerie presence watching me and I was so terrified and never wanted to let my parents know. I was afraid of my mom. She abused me mentally and physically until the age of 16 till I put a stop to it. And my dad he never was the social type. Good provider just worked all the time and never had that bond with him.
Just to find out he wasnt my biological dad when my mom told me on my 18th birthday. Anyway sorry for going off track. Back to the bathroom thing. So soon as I opened the door there was a floor heater , you know the old school ones before central air I had to step around it to get in the room but something said HEY. Okay, so i am a 33 year old man.
I do not really buy into the whole "supernatural" thing, beleive in magic nor am i very religious. I am always the first person to be sceptical and analize someone "close encounter" experiences. That being said, not too long ago I encountered a shadowy figure on my way to a friend's house. I was driving around 12am or 1am with my girlfriend. We were just exiting the freeway. As I was coasting up to the stop light I grabbed my phone and looked down at it to text my friend that I was almost there.
There were no other cars at the intersection and one car quite a little ways behind me getting off the freeway in the adjacent lane. So i was texting my friend when i saw something move out of my periferal vision. I immediatly looked up applying my foot to the brake which cause my girlfriend to also look up from her phone. There right in front of me in the middle of the crosswalk was this I blinked a few times trying to adjust my eyes, thinking that I was seeing what i was looking at wrong and my eyes were playing tricks on me.