Need help in Illinois

jezbel64 · Curious About Ghosts Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 2

I'm so glad I found this forum. I hope somebody may be able to offer us help!

Three years ago, we built an addition - a bedroom, full bath and home office - to our small home. Ever since then, the following has occurred: Sounds of footsteps in the adjoining hallways, extreme cold temperatures, knocking on the doors, to name a few.

The more extreme occurrences include me actually getting "poked" in the shoulder; seeing what I can only describe as a black shadow of a dog following our (now deceased) pet; and my daughter seeing other shadows of black figures that are about 3-4 ft tall.

We've tried having the house blessed, praying, cleansing, you name it, but it continues, not all the time, but enough. Our 2 year old dog has nightly "fits" of growling & barking, usually around 12 a.m. to 3 a.m. She will do whatever it takes to get me out of my room, including pulling on my hand, my hair, etc.

What drove me to the Internet tonight, though, was an awful experience that happened to me last night. I was in the original part of the house, in my bedroom. I had just gone to bed, with my dog laying at the foot of the bed. Well, our dog started her usual nightly "fit" of growling, and suddenly I found myself unable to MOVE. I mean, I couldn't move, speak, and I could barely even breathe.

This is going to sound really bizarre, probably crazy, but please believe me, nothing like this has happened before. I actually felt like I was weighted down - and the more I tried to move & scream, the worse it got. After a few moments of struggling, I finally was able to break free of whatever the heck was holding me down. At that point, I flipped on my bedroom light & started praying out loud for God to help me. As soon as I finished praying, I felt a release & was able to sleep out in the living room.

After dealing with all of these things, and now the horrific occurrence from last night, I am wondering if I'm just losing my mind.

Please, anyone - I would really appreciate your advice. Thank you so much.

Aedryan Methyus · Posted: Nov Sat 04, 2006 1:47 am Post subject:

Hi Jez,
Thanks for sharing your story. What you experienced lastnight is known as "Sleep Paralysis". It is a fairly widely reported sleeping disorder that was once referred to as, "The Old Hag Syndrome", because people frequently reported an old hag sitting on top of them (on their chests), holding them down.

You will find A LOT of information online about sleep paralysis and the "Old Hag Syndrome" with a few simple searches on Google. Here is a link to the sleep paralysis threads in our old forum. We had a few members there who experienced this on a regular basis and they were being treated by doctors and sleep specialists:

Old SHGHRS Sleep Paralysis Forum

Was that the first and only time you have ever experienced it?

- Aedryan
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jezbel64 · Curious About Ghosts Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 2

Thank you so much for replying, Aedryan! I really appreciate the information.

Yes, this was the first time it has happened - hopefully the only time, too. I didn't sleep well last night at all-spent the majority of the night on the living room couch.

I wish I could prevent this from happening again because it was truly the most frightening thing I've ever experienced.

Thanks again for your help.

fratka · Posted: Nov Sun 05, 2006 12:03 pm Post subject:

Aedryan is right, this sounds like the classic symptoms of sleep paralysis. I did quite a bit of research on this for a former member of this forum. The simple way of describing what has happened to you is your brain was awake but your body was asleep. It is actually very normal and everyone experiences it while they are asleep. It protects us from acting out our dreams and hurting ourselves.

Some people, like yourself experience this spontaneously and sporadically. There are others who induce this state, but that is a different story.

Will it happen again? Probably! Expect it but don't dwell on it. The more scared you get and the more you struggle the more terrifying it can get. Your mind will start producing all kinds of "perceived hallucinations", meaning you can perceive something in the room with you or a presence. You may hear breathing near you...be calm...the breathing is coming from you.

The way of dealing with it.... stay calm. No one has ever died from it or had any serious effects. It is un-nerving and your first instinct will be to panic and struggle. Keep your mind under control and make a conscious record of what you are feeling and experiencing.
_________________
Frank Ratka

Death does not exist!
http://thecontactfield.blogspot.com/