Author Topic: Something darker than the night (Read 2505 times)

bpjon · « **on:** December 02, 2004, 07:05:58 PM »

I recently posted this on another forum in response to another poster. I thought you fellows might like a read as well.

A few years back I was staying up at the cabin for a few days, just me and my black labs, Snoopy and Jake. Late one evening, about 2am, I awoke in a terrible fright. I was laying in bed on my left side, so I was able to look directly down the stairs to the ground level. There was a dark shape coming up the stairs. Now this cabin is in a remote area, about 60 miles south of the Canadian border, and it was a moonless night. It was so dark you literally could not see your hand in front of your face. Nevertheless, there was something blacker than the night coming up the stairs towards me. I was quite literally paralyzed, I could not move. I also felt an intense chill, even though it was late summer.

An amorphous darkness floated up towards me, and then stopped just short of me. It gained definition on the left and top sides. The darkness had an edge, a place where it definitely stopped and mere night began. The right and bottom edges had no such definition, and the thing's boundaries seemed to ebb and flow, and fade in and out like a black mist. All the while I remained immobile with terror.

Although rooted with terror, I never sensed evil or malevolence, just iciness and "other". I have no words to explain what I felt, it was something entirely beyond my comprehension of emotion. But it was cold, and it was powerful, and it was terrifying.

Then I felt an icy cold hand, as frigid as anything I have ever felt, reach around and grab my neck from the rear, but the fingers did not seem to stop at my flesh, but slipped through the muscles and settled on my bones. Then another hand caressed my spine from top to bottom. I felt this thing was glad I was there, and the thought of what could gladden a thing such as this only added depth to my fear.

Then it smoothly pulled back and began to dissolve into tatters, like smoke in the wind. The pieces drifted quickly to the east and dissolved.

I was left shivering in my bed, repeating the Lord's Prayer over and over as soon as I had recovered enough to gain control of my faculties. It was some time before I could find enough courage to reach out and turn on the light.

HipShot · « **Reply #1 on:** December 03, 2004, 09:38:00 AM »

I hate it when that happens.

bpjon · « **Reply #2 on:** December 03, 2004, 02:09:39 PM »

Something similar happened one other time at the cabin. I have never experienced it any place else. I was not overly tired and hadn't had a drop. I had nothing out of the ordinary in my life at the time.

And truly, the edge of sleep, when the subconscious mind is beginning to open up and the conscious mind to close, is a scary place and one should not linger.

victorcharlie · « **Reply #3 on:** December 03, 2004, 02:56:04 PM »

sounds to me like the angle of death was looking for someone, but not you!

Graybeard · « **Reply #4 on:** December 03, 2004, 05:23:17 PM »

Quote

And truly, the edge of sleep, when the subconscious mind is beginning to open up and the conscious mind to close, is a scary place and one should not linger.

Ain't that the truth. I wondered the same as was asked about your state of consciousness.

Because of a combination of sleep apnea and insomnia I spend way too much time in that zone between real sleep and real awakeness. I've seen some seriously weird stuff at such times. And it seems as real to me as things when I'm fully awake. Real dreams when in a sleep state are not nearly so real feeling and are pretty well always easy to differentiate from reality. Not so during that mid state between sleep and awake.

For me sleep is pretty much never much longer than an hour at a time and comes mixed with periods of awakeness which can last from minutes to hours. Yeah I know about CPAP. Got one, just can't seem to learn to get along with it.

bgjohn · « **Reply #5 on:** December 04, 2004, 02:25:42 AM »

Quote from: victorcharlie

sounds to me like the angle of death was looking for someone, but not you!

:shock: :eek: :?: What were your dogs doing when this happened? Did they react?

Graybeard · « **Reply #6 on:** December 04, 2004, 04:05:40 AM »

Quote

Yep, I too deal with sleep disruptions...and what is CPAP?

Constant Positive Air Pressure. It is a machine that pumps a variable (you set the pressure level) pressure air flow. You wear a mask over your mouth, nose or both and it pumps enough air to keep the air passages open when sleeping.

Apnea is a condition where one stops breathing during sleep. When I did the sleep test I stopped breathing on average once every two minutes.

michbob · « **Reply #7 on:** December 05, 2004, 01:39:42 PM »

Well! This is a pleasant topic to think about while laying in bed tonight! :shock:

It is speculated that those who experience "alien abductions" have experienced something like that described above: the in-between state wherein the voluntary muscles are still paralyzed--as happens in the dream state--but dreams leak into the (semi) conscious awareness, resulting in the feeling of a presence, often threatening.

OK, I'm starting to freak myself out. Ya know it's not REAL, but the scared monkey in us all is still scared of the things that go bump in the night.

Michbob

PS: Hey! Doesn't this remind anyone of a folk legend from Europe? I can't recall the source, but it seems familiar.......

bpjon · « **Reply #8 on:** December 05, 2004, 03:05:24 PM »

My experiences closely parallel both alien abductee's experiences like you mention, and reports of demonic rape and seduction from the Middle Ages. Of course the simple folks of the 1300s had never heard of "Night Terrors" or the subconscious mind, so they explained the experience with what they believed to exist in the world, Incubi and Succubi. Unfortunately I, being a modern man and reasonably knowledgeable, just get the terror, not the kinky demonic sex.

Sometimes I think demons or aliens would be less frightening than the critters scampering around in the darker corners of our subconscious. But at least my subconscious won't probe me :shock: or mutilate cattle.

twodollarpistol · « **Reply #9 on:** December 06, 2004, 03:27:22 AM »

Quote from: bgjohn

Quote from: victorcharlie
sounds to me like the angle of death was looking for someone, but not you!

:shock: :eek: :?: What were your dogs doing when this happened? Did they react?

That is what I was wondering.

bpjon · « **Reply #10 on:** December 06, 2004, 05:36:40 AM »

The useless furballs didn't make a peep that I heard. Maybe they were cowering under the table, maybe they were sleeping. I don't know. Several years later I did have another dog who absolutely did not want to go into the cabin. The one time I took him up there I had to drag him in at night, and he spent the whole night next to the door.

bullet maker · « **Reply #11 on:** December 06, 2004, 07:24:49 AM »

Hi bpjon

very interesting story, and I don`t doubt you at all. There are strange things in this world cannot be explained. A friend of mine had an experience a lot like yours one night. He was in a motel in Ft. Scott Kansas. He was lying in bed trying to go to sleep, when a dark object with a hood over his face, came out of nowhere and sat on his back. (he was laying on his stomack). At first he thought it was one of the other railroaders, had snuck into the room and was playing a joke on him. He started to hollering at the person, and got no responce. He said the being was getting heavier and heavier, and it came to the point it was hard to breath. He tried to fight the being off but was pinned on his stomach. Just when he thought he would die, he hollered out ( in the name of Jesus) and the being vanished immediatley. I was the only one he told this story to except for his wife. We all agreed that is was the death angel. He went for a doctor checkup, and found out he had numerous health issues. Needless to say, he started going to church, after that.

bullet maker

De41mag · « **Reply #12 on:** December 06, 2004, 05:54:39 PM »

Lucidity!!!

A state of mind in which dreaming occurs, but the conscious mind is also aware of the dreaming that is being played out in the subconscious.

MATLOCK12C · « **Reply #13 on:** December 07, 2004, 09:40:36 AM »

Maybe it was "ole Mr, Grim" that came callin on ya. :shock: But I doubt it. I have heard of folk's seeing what they called "shadow people" like you said they are blacker than the darkness. Maybe that is what you saw.
I will say that I too know that level of terror in the night, but I never see anything. It's like your body is asleep and your mind is awake, and you are paralised, and stuck in this limbo like you are suffacating. Your mind is trying to get your body to move, and it's screaming in your head to just move something! All the sudden you jerk, and start breathing again and wake up this time that is! Yea, been there! Got me fan blowing in my face at night, and they went away. The mind can play some dirty tricks on ya' but sometimes it's just a medical problem.
I do think you seen something, real or dreaming don't matter, it was real enough to you both times.

SAWgunner · « **Reply #14 on:** December 07, 2004, 11:51:06 AM »

Quote from: MATLOCK12C

Maybe it was "ole Mr, Grim" that came callin on ya. :shock: But I doubt it. I have heard of folk's seeing what they called "shadow people" like you said they are blacker than the darkness. Maybe that is what you saw.
I will say that I too know that level of terror in the night, but I never see anything. It's like your body is asleep and your mind is awake, and you are paralised, and stuck in this limbo like you are suffacating. Your mind is trying to get your body to move, and it's screaming in your head to just move something! All the sudden you jerk, and start breathing again and wake up this time that is! Yea, been there! Got me fan blowing in my face at night, and they went away. The mind can play some dirty tricks on ya' but sometimes it's just a medical problem.
I do think you seen something, real or dreaming don't matter, it was real enough to you both times.

That experience is what coined the term "nightmare". The old Scottish legend described not being able to breathe (sometimes), unimaginable terror, a feeling of a presence (not always, though) and being wide awake without being able to move. They called it a nightmayre (spelled similar to that I believe) because it was believed that a hag would come in and sit on your chest. So, in fact, the modern use of nightmare is incorrect. Heh heh, just helping out by spewing forth the useless crap I know like a fountain of knowledge. heh heh....Have a good 'un.

SAW

michbob · « **Reply #15 on:** December 07, 2004, 01:57:19 PM »

Ah, yes! That was the folk story I remembered, dimly. You (SAW) are indeed the fountainhead of all obscure and arcane knowledge...I stand humbled in yer presence.

It's funny, but I had a waking dream/nightmare myself. I was about 10, but I remember it clearly, even 25 years later. I was lying in bed, half awake, when from of my closet I hear clear, distinct animalistic snarling! :eek:

Talk about pucker factor! As I recall, I ran screaming to my parents bedroom. They were slightly freaked out, as this was at about 2 AM. Needless to say, there was nothing there, but when your brain tells you little white lies (or big, black, evil ones), they seem real.

Michbob

1911crazy · « **Reply #16 on:** December 08, 2004, 08:48:16 AM »

I have sleep apnea very bad and i'm up all night inbetween short naps, i'm like in and out of it sometimes too. I've seen this darker than the night vision its about 3' to 4' high and goes down my hallway sometimes in the middle of the night. If its the angel of death it sure passes me by but its there. It always goes the same direction too. My two dogs are nearby and quiet too and my rottie hears and barks at things i don't hear or see too yet she is quiet the whole time this happens. I'm not on my meds at night nor do i drink either. I never told anyone about it but the darker than the night is what i've been seeing. I've only seen it lately. If the angel of death stops in my room so be it.

BigBill

I have two brothers who have passed on ahead of me. One of them paid a recent visit to my other brother and appeared in a long black robe and told my brother he works for God now and we will have no problems when we get there he's waiting for us.

I told my brother who is still alive when he told me this dream he had of my older brother comming to him I'm not ready yet, lets not push it but i hope he's at the gates waiting for us. It pays to have someone pave the way for us right?

gwindrider1 · « **Reply #17 on:** February 01, 2005, 05:44:39 AM »

DAMN!!! :shock: I'm pretty sure that I would never set foot in that cabin again! Good luck with sleep!

RedRyder21 · « **Reply #18 on:** February 01, 2005, 02:22:22 PM »

I heard graybeard and a few others mention CPAP.

Working in EMS I run into many things, and I have to say CPAP is a wonderful thing. The CPAP usually has a mask that goes over the nose and forces air though your nose. This prevents many of the problems associated with sleep apnea. The CPAP will also help prevent heavy snoring which is a sign of sleep apnea. Working in EMS we stay at the ambulance station 24 hours and of course sleep there. I work with 3 people who have started using the CPAP. They sleep much better and look much better since they have a better nights sleep.

dbuz · « **Reply #19 on:** February 02, 2005, 05:35:58 PM »

I used to practice a technique called lucid dreaming. There are mental exercises you do during the day to help you realize you are dreaming during the night. You can then control your dreams and make whatever you want happen, or so they say. One of the exercises was to close your eyes and try to make yourself float throughout the day. When you open your eyes, of course, you are still on the ground. You make such a habit out of this that while you are dreaming and do the exercise and open your eyes, you are floating through the air. You then realize you are dreaming. One night drifting into a dream, I was sitting at a friends house at his table in the kitchen. I started to float up and the ceiling fan blades were hitting me in the face. I woke up, my neck was bent back and the muscles were so tight it hurt for a couple of days. I couldn't move or scream. I gave up the lucid dreaming junk. That stuff will kill you.

jerkface11 · « **Reply #20 on:** March 06, 2005, 08:42:20 AM »

I've experienced sleep paralysis on several occassions. You are totally awake your eyes are open you cannot move or make a sournd. And i ALWAYS both see and feel a dark THING fairly man shaped. Totally freaks me out at the time but i go back to sleep and when i wake up i know what it was.

Of course there was also the ghost at the house i grew up in. You could feel it in the room with you. I only saw it a couple times just a man shaped shadow. No one but my mother and i ever saw the thing either.

mmwb · « **Reply #21 on:** August 08, 2005, 02:02:41 PM »

Quote

sleep paralysis on several occassions. You are totally awake your eyes are open you cannot move or make a sournd.

Try very deep, rapid breathing, this will usually break the paralysis. If you feel a shaking sensation, and sometimes a rushing noise, this is described by many before having an out of body experience.

Atomic Chicken · « **Reply #22 on:** August 09, 2005, 01:54:52 AM »

Quote from: bpjon

...Unfortunately I, being a modern man and reasonably knowledgeable, just get the terror, not the kinky demonic sex...

Hmmm...
Does modern science have to ruin EVERYTHING fun?....

Just kidding!

Best wishes,
Bawko