It is called sleep paralysis: many people have suffered from this condition. They’re hallucinations occurring whilst in the REM stage of sleep. Hallucinations include all five senses, making whatever dream you’re having seem unquestionably realistic.
There’s very little you can do in this stage of sleep as you are completely paralyzed. You just have to let it pass but that’s not always as easy as it sounds.
You’re laying there, unable to move your head, you don’t know if you’ve woken up or not. Completely still your heart starts to beat faster as you hear a noise. It’s like creaking, wheezy breathing; a combination you didn’t even know existed. Under the breathing you can hear a laugh like if someone was trying to hide a chuckle under their breath.
The room is almost pitch black, the moon casting strange shadows across the walls. As you stare at the odd shapes they begin to sway; dancing in the moonlight, pulsating like your dizzy head. Shiny black beetles are now in place of what were dark blurs. They’re scuttling all over the walls, the sound of their little bodies hitting one another almost drowns out the wheezing. They’re all over your body, crawling under your skin, rippling from the inside.
You try to scream but it’s like they’re blocking your airways. Terror is too mild a word to describe how you’re feeling right now.
Struggling to move you forget about the wheezing but it doesn’t last for long. The wardrobe begins to open slowly. The large, black hand with long clawed fingers wraps itself around the door as the sickening smell of blood fills your nose. You stop struggling, too petrified that if you move then the creature will see you. But it’s too late. A large black head reaches out behind the wooden door. Antennas jaggedly curled with round, glowing yellow eyes. Head cocked and jutting out as if its neck were snapped. It would look more harmless if it weren’t for its huge, cracked mouth, seemingly stuck in a permanent smile. It looks cruel. Wicked. Evil.
Your eyes are glued to it, your heart beating impossibly fast. It slowly approaches you with its glowing eyes fixed to yours, coldly matching your stare. You can’t look away as much as you try. It’s hypnotizing. Moving twisted and jittery like it has many broken bones fused to one another; the small, sharp movements just add to your fear. It’s huge; it looks too big to be in the room but it must only be about six feet tall. Its long, skinny limbs sticking out at odd angles make grinding sounds as they move. It reaches your bed finally and bends down, surprisingly smoothly compared to its previous movements. The beetles are still crawling under your skin, you can feel them swimming in your veins, pouring out of your mouth so you’re almost choking.
You feel dizzy and sick.
You must be asleep but everything feels and looks so real. The stench of blood drenches the air you’re struggling to inhale as the creature breathes into your face. It smiles hideously wide as if it has just found something it has been looking for, licking its teeth as it seems it has no lips or definition of where its mouth starts and its face ends. Its tongue is also black, shiny and dripping with thick, scarlet liquid you can only assume is where the horrible smell is coming from. With its talons the monster reaches for your face, its sharp nail stopping as it lightly touches your face sending shockwaves of intense pain into your whole body. You black out.
The sun is shining brightly into your room as you open your stinging eyes. You come to the conclusion it must have been a nightmare. Of course you had, there’s no such thing as monsters. You sit up covered in sweat as you breathe a sigh of relief. You turn towards your wardrobe as your heart skips a beat.
Why is the wardrobe open?