Thread: Phantoms At Night

It is very possible that it was only your mind playing tricks.
Did you have an SP? Becouse this happens usually then, and it's called the old hag effect.
Everyone says that there is nothing to fear about it, but of course it could be very scary, but I never experienced it, so you might want to search through the forum, there are like hundreds of threads about this

No sleep paralysis. I forgot to mention that both times i looked around after the happening, and still nothing was there. I dunno if it was old hag, i've heard and read about it lots, but i don't think this was it. The sensations of someone being on and shaking my bed were so real, but then again so is the sound of the phone ringing, which sometimes isn't happening either.

Hmm what kinda shaking? Like a single violent shake or a rhythmic gentle, continous kinda shake?

I don't know if this is the right place to discuss it, but several times I have had the physical sensation (and pain) of being struck by something not there.

A Few Examples:

1) 12 years old: I felt as if someone flicked me in my left testicle. Really hurt, but my eyes were open and I was looking right ahead and nothing was there.

2) 15 years old: Lying on my left side, facing the wall. Felt as if someone has placed their hand on my right shoulder. I freaked out and flipped over, nothing there.

Originally Posted by Follower;

That could be a SP. You can move your head and look around in SP, you can even lift your hands or talk aloud. That's the same as SP hallucinations like old hag, you aren't really moving or talking. The only thing that signifies a SP is that you body is heavy and you cannot stand up from your bed.
Yeah you always have a SP when waking up or falling asleep, even if you think that you don't. Otherwise you'd be acting out all of your dreams!
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As well as often getting the 'symtoms' of SP before actually becoming fully paralysed, hence being able to still move after experiencing these while falling asleep

Thanks for the feedback everybody. To answer the question above, it was rhythmic shaking, not overly violent, but it didn't relax me or make me particularily comfortable either. In fact it made me rather uncomfortable. I am still clueless as to how and what made this happen, but i guess SP is the most logical explanation.

I'd say it's all in the Hypnagogic state. I recently started looking into that, and it's interesting to say the least. THey say that being lucid while dreaming is aking to being in a meditative state while awake, and that the hypnagogic state is akin to being schizophrenic.

One night i thought i'd try to stay aware for it, so I did some meditation (I almost never do that), and went to bed. I forget what I saw and heard, but when it was done I felt that there was an overwhelming presence in the room. I felt like a little kid hiding under the covers again, and it took me almost 10 minutes to gather the courage to get out of bed. Hevent tried that since.

As for the guy who coined the term Hypnagogic, Emmanuel Swedenborg, now there is some crazy stuff. 300 years ago he used the hypnagogic state to communicate with "angels", travel to various heavens and hells and wrote several books about it (most of which u can find online).

Keep in mind if you decide to read his books, they were written 300 years ago, so there is a heavy religious context. If it were written today he probably would have used a lot of hippie bullshit words instead. the book Heaven and Hell was good one. And reading about Swedenborg himself yeilds all kinds of strange things.

Hope that helped. I've been meaning to explore the hypnagogic state more myself, but it's scary, and I'm lazy

I've been fascinated with the hypnagogic state for many years. As a teenager, just before falling asleep, i would see images as clear as day. Sometimes i could see the room i was in, other times i would see different places and abnormal things, all through closed eyelids. I remember talking to my friends about it, and not many of them had any similar experiences, so no one could really relate to what i had going on. It was only just two years ago that i found out this is normal, and that it's been labeled "hypnagogic imagery".

Back to my original post: i know that sleep paralysis is the most logical explanation for these things i have been experiencing. Apparently hearing sounds and feeling other sensations is a rather common part of the "old hag" effect, but i just can't wrap my head around it. In both instances, it just felt so real, like someone was actually walking on my bed beside me. I still just don't quite understand it. I do believe in ghosts, and i kind of want to believe that i have had a couple of visits from the spirit realm.

Has anyone else ever felt a prescense or spirit in their viscinity? Do you guys believe in visits from the spirit world?