I’ve had multiple sleep paralysis episodes in my life. They’re not pleasant, but I am still going to share portions of some of my most memorable ones.

The Quinceañera Dolls

I’ve shared bedrooms with my sister since we were children. When she turned 15, my family celebrated her quinceañera and her quinceañera doll was placed in our room. There was already another quinceañera doll in the room from the previous year when I was chambelan for another girl.

Things were fine with both dolls in the room during the first year, but not during the second year (my high school senior year). All of sudden, there were nights when I tried going to sleep, but felt completely conscious. It was almost as if I was floating above my body and watching myself. My body felt restrained; I would struggle to move any part of my body. On top of that, the room felt chilly and I sensed an evil presence. I felt anxious, so I would yell, but no one could hear me. I often woke up in sweat and with a rapid heart rate.

The first few times that I woke up from the spells, I did not make eye contact with the dolls. When I finally started to, I got unsettled as I tried looking deeper into their eyes. I got so uncomfortable with the dolls that we threw one of them away and moved the other to the living room. The nightmares stopped for some time.

The Hotel Suite

In the summer of 2014 I went to Jupiter, Florida for a 10-weeks summer internship. During that time, I shared a hotel suite with another intern. We would switch between the bedroom and the living room every week.

One of the weeks that I got the bedroom, I got an undesired surprise. It was two in the morning and I was sleeping on my back in the middle of the bed. Slowly, cool air started to come into the room and a dark figure lured over me. Then, my legs were pulled with a such a strong and supernatural force. I prayed every night that I could then after and never experienced a scare like that for the remainder of my internship.

The People

About two weeks ago (the week of July 10^th), I felt the need to open my eyes while I was sleeping. Well I did, or at least I though I did. As soon as they were open, I noticed that anything that looked remotely like a person, started taking on the shape of a person. But the people did not stay in place. They started moving closer and closer towards me. I quickly closed my eyes and they returned to their starting points. The cycle of people moving towards me and them returning back to their original positions lasted more than needed to be. I finally woke up and the “people” returned back to their original object shape.

Sleep paralysis can be terrifying. I know I was beyond frightened the first few times that it happened to me. However, different sleeping practices and talking to people, especially ones who have experienced sleep paralysis themselves, about them have my episodes less scary.

I will continue this conversation in the future. Until then, if you want to share your experience(s) or have questions for me, feel free to contact me.