Many years ago, I had a horrible, but unforgettable experience.

It was mid-afternoon, and I was visiting my parents at their home.

A wave of weariness overcame me and I begged leave of them for a short nap.  Being the kind and wonderful folks that they are, they urged me to use the rear guest room.

I was a rather warm day and the overhead fan was blowing.  I laid down in a single bed, and felt the coolness of the fan on slow speed mix with the interjections of warm air that seeped in through screen, then puffed through the half-inch-opened crack of the window.   The fusion of currents and rhythmic whir of the fan soon brought me to blissful slumber.

I have no recollection of how long I slept, but I can very distinctly remember what happened next.

I woke, or believed that I was awake, and made a motion to rise, but my upper torso felt as if it was riveted to the bed by invisible nails.  My legs felt completely numb, as if cinder blocks had laid atop them for hours, and would not respond to my brains request for even a tingling feedback.  I tried to pull my head up from the pillow, and though I could feel it move upward slightly, the force with which I was contending felt fifty times that of normal gravity. I tried again to raise my shoulders and arms, and though I thought at that time, that my musculature was formidable, it was as if I was fighting the pinning force of a giant.

After several moments of this futile struggle, I began to feel an intense moment of panic and dread, fearing that I would remain in this state, and may even be crushed.  At this moment, I realized that my eyes were still closed, and when I made to open them, my lids actually obeyed.  The pressure upon me was revealed, and it had a form.  Pressed upon my body was a shadowy, human-like figure, dense and powerful, the likes of which I could only compare to something from a supernatural or horror movie.  But this form, felt as real, and seemed as concrete, visually, as anything I’ve ever seen in the real world, and it was rendering me paralyzed.

I recall closing my eyes, and somehow finding a deep breath of air.   Internally, I willed myself to be rid of this oppressive figure, and steadied myself for what I hoped would be a giant push.

I clenched my jaw and heaved my entire being against the dark force.

I shot up in bed, and took a shaky breath while I nervously looked around the room.

To this day, I can still recall that feeling, and the deep, intense sensation that came with it.  It felt completely, utterly, real, in every sense.

Recently, and only a few times, that crushing, overpowering sensation has returned when I have laid down.  But fortunately, not to the degree of full body immobilization.  Fortunately,  the restrictions have been limited to the head only, or arm only, with no visual accompaniment.

I pray that it shall be limited to only these slight pressures, and that I will not again have to see that see and feel, that heavy, dark, shadow.

Humbly yours,

J