I’ve had a recurring type of nightmare throughout my life which I’ve always found interesting. It’s not a dream Ive had regularly and I can only recall having it maybe 4-5 times in my life but in it I’m always in my house (childhood or current) at night. Usually I’m around my stairs and alone in the dark. Suddenly something will trigger the situation to turn nightmarish and I will become terrified in the dream and feel like an evil haunting presence is all around me and on occasions I hear scary voices and even terrifying screams! Then I find I have gone blind and as I try to open my eyes I can’t. They’re too heavy and seem to be stuck down and all I can see is a faint fuzzy strip of grey where my eyes can just see through. I also find my body has gone stiff and I can only move in slow motion and usually I’m trying to hurry up the stairs and back to my bedroom but I’m unable to get there or move properly. In one situation this evil presence even took me and pinned me to the floor and as I tried to cry out for help I couldn’t speak and only a whisper came out. Terrifying!

Luckily these dreams aren’t too persistent. After learning about lucid dreaming and practicing and improving my recall though I’ve had two of these dreams within a few months of each other and wonder if they are more common then I expected. It’s lead me to wonder if this is a form of sleep paralysis but not one where I’m confined to my bed as is the typical SP scenario. There are key similarities. The evil presence in the room along with scary noises and voices, the setting is within my house, I’m unable to move properly, speak and open my eyes which is like a form of paralysis.

The dream probably stems from a silly childhood fear that is still a little present in my adult life. When I’m going to bed I usually walk past my dark staircase and I always feel a little scared to look down encase something scary is looking back up! It’s an irrational fear but I think it seeps into my dreams sometimes as I see that dark staircase every night before bed.

Can anyone who has experienced SP relate to this and has anyone else had similar nightmares?