Nightmares
By skinner_jennifer
- 3695 reads
Going to sleep for me at one point in my life would leave me in a hot suffocating bed of sweats and fighting to breathe. The main scary part of my dreams was feelings of paralyses. An invisible dark something would begin creeping up my body, even in the blackness of night I would see a cloudy mass. Whatever it was would breathe heavily and groan in my ear.
I would be petrified as it squeezed my breasts, while I was unable to shout out. I remember feeling sure my eyes were open at the time and tried to open my mouth, but still I was unable to scream. My partner who lay beside me would sleep completely oblivious to my situation.
The experience seemed to go on for ages, but in fact probably only lasted seconds. As soon as I was able to use all my strength, I would kick out with my legs and think in my head! “Get out...get out of my dreams”. I could never get back to sleep afterwards even if it was the middle of the night.
Reading up on books about evil creatures called incubus and succubi gave me chills and I wonder how many other people have had a similar experience. I haven't had those dreams for well over twenty years now...thank goodness.
It was Jane Hypen's poem, 'The Hidden Help,' that inspired me to write this memory down. It just makes you wonder about all those other poor people that suffer this paralysis feeling constantly.
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Comments
Hi Jenny,
Hi Jenny,
Those succubi and incubi are real enough, evil creatures that look for young virgins in the night. Or maybe you were just a bit breathless and had a mild panic attack!
Hilary
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An incubus is a demon in male
An incubus is a demon in male form who, according to mythological and legendary traditions, lies upon sleeping women in order to engage in sexual activity and 'beget' children with them. Its female counterpart is a succubus.
That is the fanciful explanation, Jenny. Did you get pregnant at the time? If not you got off lightly. Only joking. I can imagine how uncomfortable it must have been.
Scientists - spoilsports - offer a different version and say that victims may have been experiencing waking dreams or sleep paralysis, a phenomenon that is well established.
Luigi xx
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I've heard about people
I've heard about people having something similar to this, women in particular. It's sounds absolutely terrifying, maybe a form of sleep paralysis as Luigi said. I once woke up and felt somebody's hands gripping tightly around my neck, also I once woke up and there was an angry goblin next to my bed.
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Hello Jenny,
Hello Jenny,
I once dreamt hands were around my neck...but when I woke up...they were mine. I had all scratch marks on my neck. I had been dreaming I was fighting.for my life.
Nice to be back. Hope to get around to reading more of your work.
Moya x
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Hello again, Jenny,
Hello again, Jenny,
Dreams can seem so real which is okay if they are pleasant ones. I want to get around to read some of your poems soon. I always enjoyed them.
Moya x
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Sounds absolutely awful,
Sounds absolutely awful, Jenny. I've never had anything like this, but I'm a great one for seeing things flicker in the corner of my eye. Especially when daughter has been home with her damn Netflix subscription and insisted we watch 'The Haunting of Hill House'.
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sleep paralysis
Sleep paralysis can really be very terrifying. These sleep experiences are very common and well known and are well documented medical phenomenon and has absolutely nothing to do with the supernatural.
Really an excellent piece of prose clearly out of own experience.
& Nolan
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sleep disturbances
I have read these are typical of an experience where one regains consciousness during sleep but where the body “is still asleep”. And thus is paralysed as such.
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