As a child I suffered from nightmares, which, at the time, I had a difficult time explaining to others.

One time I dreamt I woke up in the middle of the night, and all the lights were on. I opened my door and walked down the hallway to my parents' bedroom, to find they were lacking in attendance. I walked back to my doorway to discover the lights in my room had shut off. Frightened, I ran downstairs. When I was approaching the bottom, I could see all the lights upstairs had turned off. At this point I subconsciously knew I was dreaming.

Screaming, I ran into our living room, where an episode of Full House was on without anyone watching. I shut the door behind me and sat on the couch. Immediately the lights turned off, followed by the television. I screamed again, and the door opened. I didn't look directly at the doorway, but I could tell the lights were all off outside. Somehow, though, a shadow darker than the darkness stretched into the room and began to approach me. I picked up the stuffed animal that was next to me and covered my eyes. The shadow then took my fluffy friend from my grasp, revealing his disfigured face.

He told me not to scream. I tried to scream. I tried to kick. I tried to thrash my arms. I couldn't move. I realized I was dreaming. I still couldn't move. I thought hard about waking up, but the shadow told me not to dare try to leave. He strangled me for half a minute. I woke up in real life, crying and screaming for my parents.

These nightmares where I became paralysed and couldn't wake up happened much too often.

Are these considered lucid dreams or night terrors, and has anyone had similar experiences?