About three years ago, I was asked to move into a different
apartment in the same building so the one in which I had
been living could be renovated. While doing the initial
walk-through of the new space, I noticed a strange stain on
the bedroom carpet. The best I could come up with at the
time was that the previous occupant had probably been
burning a red or maroon candle and knocked it over,
spilling wax that did not come up completely.
About a week later (I was given an extended move-out
window, since I was doing management a favor), I started
spending the night in the new apartment. From Day One, I
had some of the most violent and disturbing dreams I'd ever
had, and I've had some jaw-droppers! The strange thing
about these dreams, though, was that they were thematic:
They always involved me protecting a woman and her children
from the mother's abusive husband or boyfriend.
One night, after awaking from one of these dreams, I was
wandering around the apartment trying to calm myself down,
when one of my arms went cold. The odd thing was that, as
I paced, it was always the arm facing the interior wall of
the apartment that was cold. At the time, I had no truck
with gods, but would not let go of my quasi-belief in the
supernatural. I point this out by way of explaining my
wording when I turned to face the cold spot and said, low
and firm, "I am I, and in my name I command you to begone."
In less time than the snap of fingers, the chill
disappeared.
As time went on, I began discovering odd things about the
apartment. A similar stain to the one in the bedroom
was "pooled" (that's the only fitting word) around the base
of one of the doorjambs. There were strange dents and
holes in the walls, that had been badly-patched. I began
to wonder if something unsavory hadn't happened in this
apartment.
All went fairly well until something--or multiple
somethings--began trying to manifest in my dreams. During
this time, the sightings occurred.
On the 13th of one month (I don't really think that's
significant, but it adds nice flavor)--I was dreaming of
tracking a serial killer when something in the back of my
mind began "screaming" at me to wake up.
Suddenly, I was fighting my way from sleeping to waking, in
a panic. I seem to remember a presence from which I tried
to shield myself, but when I did so it just laughed. I
became aware that I was in my bed: I could feel my hands,
arms, and legs; feel the sheet covering them; feel the
pillows under my head; feel my eyelids straining to open;
hear myself breathing hard with effort, and trying to make
any kind of vocalization come from my paralyzed throat; but
I could not move.
At a point when I was gaining a little physical control, I
was able to hold my eyes half-open and move them slightly.
I looked over toward the right, to the extent that I
could. What I saw there was a vaguely anthropomorphic
shadow hanging cruciform in the corner where the two walls
meet the ceiling. I was most of the way to believing it to
be just a trick of shadow—-I was still immobilized, but my
brain was starting to function—-when I saw it detach itself
from the corner and float swiftly across the room—-whether
to the closet or out the door, I cannot say with any
certainty.
I remained paralyzed for what must have been a few more
seconds. I was able then to turn my head to the left, and
on the closet door saw something black, a face/mask
reminiscent in shape of a skull, grinning at me. One part
of my mind labeled this, too, as a trick of shadows, but
the other, greater, part of my mind found in the terror of
seeing it the strength to move my arms and switch on the
light.
Thirteen days later (again, of dubious significance, but
good for flavor) I had another encounter with this. This
time, the dream was of actually confronting some sort of
enemy on the astral. Since this site is about ghosts and
not dreams, I won't go into details. Suffice it to say I
was fighting and losing. Again, instinct forced me awake.
I could hear a noise in my ears the way one does when
closing one’s eyes too tightly. I could feel myself
squeezing my eyes shut. Like last time, I could hear my
breathing. I was breathing short and fast, and knew I was
coming awake. I couldn't move again, but this time I
fought it hard. I desperately tried to get every muscle in
my body working; had I been awake and able to move, I would
have been thrashing about. I tried to sit up, but it
didn't work. I forced my eyes open and looked up into the
corner next to the windows, hoping I wouldn't see It.
The shape was there, but this time seemed to be looking out
the window.
I've tried ever since to determine what this thing I felt
and later saw was. Was it a psychic impression left by
mayhem done in this apartment? The vengeful spirit of a
victim? A spirit entity of some sort come to protect me
from one of the above? Or just an hallucination brought on
because I awoke from REM too quickly? I may never know,
because I've not seen it since.
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