Due to the personal nature of this post, I am changing the names of the people in the story to respect their privacy.
That being said, I don't know where to turn for help and I am concerned deeply for my friend. I am all too familiar with night terrors and sleep paralysis. I had them when I was a child and experienced others second hand while I was in military basic training. Several men in the barracks could not handle the stress of military training coupled with regular berating from the drill instructors. My friend, Ryan, was a military man as well. He went Marine and I went Air Force after graduating high school. He did well in boot camp and enjoyed gaining the discipline we had lacked as teenagers. We both had finished are service terms and have been civilians for quite some time.
About two months ago, my friends and I (including Ryan) went bar hopping to celebrate one of our close friends from high school moving back east from California. Normally, Ryan was the life of the party, and a heavy drinker. At 6' 5" he was usually drinking my 5' 6" ass under the table. He was even once a bouncer and bartender at one of the bars we visited.
That night, however, was different. Ryan didn't drink any alcohol. He even prefaced the outing with, "Hey guys, I know we are celebrating Jeremy's homecoming, but I've been trying to get healthy so I've quit drinking. If it helps, I'll DD anyone around and only charge 80% of what Uber charges! Ha!"
This struck me as odd. Far be it from me to stop a guy getting healthier, but this was just so out of the ordinary for Ryan. We had always been close, so I approached him and asked if everything was alright. He looked at me and shook his head in a bedraggling way. "I'm just really tired. Been going through a lot of shit lately. Haven't been getting a lot of sleep, you know? I think my house is haunted."
This last sentence he said with a bit of humor in his voice, but a serious look in his eyes. I had not been to his newest house so, naturally, I asked him to elaborate. He went on to explain that he keeps waking up in the middle of the night and seeing things in his room. First he said he felt like someone was watching him from the foot of his bed for several nights. Then he said he saw the outline of a figure in his room at the foot of his bed and that he woke up screaming and shaking. He said it was so bad, that it woke his girlfriend up. I told him that It sounds like he may be having night terrors or sleep paralysis. He laughed and told me I was probably right.
A few weeks later he messaged me saying that his long time, live in girlfriend had left him for another guy and that she had been sleeping with someone on the side for over a year. The worst part was they were still living together, but sleeping in different rooms (financially neither one of them could move out immediately). He told me the figure was back in his room all that week standing at the foot of his bed. When I asked him to describe what he saw, he told me that he couldn't make out any real features in the dark, but he could swear it was smiling at him (possibly even laughing). I told him I would work things out with my wife to sleep over at his place sometime soon.
Earlier last week he called me up and said the visions were getting worse and he was afraid to close his eyes. His voice sounded strained like he hadn't slept in days. He told me the figure was back and even closer to his bed this time. I asked him if anything else had changed and he said the figure was giving a low chuckle and was holding something that looked like a head. He said once he was able to force himself awake, he grabbed his blanket and went out into the living room.
I went by his house last night. He was sitting on the couch wrapped in a blanket, staring at the TV (which was off). His eyes looked heavy. He smelled awful and his face was covered in a thick scruff. I asked how he was doing and he only shrugged, eyes still fixed on the TV. I sat next to him and patted his shoulder. I told him he shouldn't be embarrassed about this, and that stress can bring on all sorts of ailments and abnormalities. I asked if his ex was there. Again, only a shrug.
Finally, I looked toward what I assumed was his room and asked if he was going to try and sleep. He slowly turned his head to me and said, "No. I don't go in there anymore." I told him no worries and hung out with him until sleep got the better of him and he fell out on the couch. After he was asleep, I walked over to his room and opened the door.
What I saw haunts me even as I type these words: The floor, parts of the walls, and sheets were stained with dry blood. The body of his ex and the body of who I assumed was her lover were propped into sitting positions in opposite corners facing the bed (her head placed in his lap and vice versa).
As horrible as the scene was, the one detail that made my stomach twist into a knot that has yet to come undone is that at the foot of Ryan's bed was a wide, full length mirror.
---
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/4o56l0/trying_to_help_a_friend_with_his_sleep_paralysis/
That being said, I don't know where to turn for help and I am concerned deeply for my friend. I am all too familiar with night terrors and sleep paralysis. I had them when I was a child and experienced others second hand while I was in military basic training. Several men in the barracks could not handle the stress of military training coupled with regular berating from the drill instructors. My friend, Ryan, was a military man as well. He went Marine and I went Air Force after graduating high school. He did well in boot camp and enjoyed gaining the discipline we had lacked as teenagers. We both had finished are service terms and have been civilians for quite some time.
About two months ago, my friends and I (including Ryan) went bar hopping to celebrate one of our close friends from high school moving back east from California. Normally, Ryan was the life of the party, and a heavy drinker. At 6' 5" he was usually drinking my 5' 6" ass under the table. He was even once a bouncer and bartender at one of the bars we visited.
That night, however, was different. Ryan didn't drink any alcohol. He even prefaced the outing with, "Hey guys, I know we are celebrating Jeremy's homecoming, but I've been trying to get healthy so I've quit drinking. If it helps, I'll DD anyone around and only charge 80% of what Uber charges! Ha!"
This struck me as odd. Far be it from me to stop a guy getting healthier, but this was just so out of the ordinary for Ryan. We had always been close, so I approached him and asked if everything was alright. He looked at me and shook his head in a bedraggling way. "I'm just really tired. Been going through a lot of shit lately. Haven't been getting a lot of sleep, you know? I think my house is haunted."
This last sentence he said with a bit of humor in his voice, but a serious look in his eyes. I had not been to his newest house so, naturally, I asked him to elaborate. He went on to explain that he keeps waking up in the middle of the night and seeing things in his room. First he said he felt like someone was watching him from the foot of his bed for several nights. Then he said he saw the outline of a figure in his room at the foot of his bed and that he woke up screaming and shaking. He said it was so bad, that it woke his girlfriend up. I told him that It sounds like he may be having night terrors or sleep paralysis. He laughed and told me I was probably right.
A few weeks later he messaged me saying that his long time, live in girlfriend had left him for another guy and that she had been sleeping with someone on the side for over a year. The worst part was they were still living together, but sleeping in different rooms (financially neither one of them could move out immediately). He told me the figure was back in his room all that week standing at the foot of his bed. When I asked him to describe what he saw, he told me that he couldn't make out any real features in the dark, but he could swear it was smiling at him (possibly even laughing). I told him I would work things out with my wife to sleep over at his place sometime soon.
Earlier last week he called me up and said the visions were getting worse and he was afraid to close his eyes. His voice sounded strained like he hadn't slept in days. He told me the figure was back and even closer to his bed this time. I asked him if anything else had changed and he said the figure was giving a low chuckle and was holding something that looked like a head. He said once he was able to force himself awake, he grabbed his blanket and went out into the living room.
I went by his house last night. He was sitting on the couch wrapped in a blanket, staring at the TV (which was off). His eyes looked heavy. He smelled awful and his face was covered in a thick scruff. I asked how he was doing and he only shrugged, eyes still fixed on the TV. I sat next to him and patted his shoulder. I told him he shouldn't be embarrassed about this, and that stress can bring on all sorts of ailments and abnormalities. I asked if his ex was there. Again, only a shrug.
Finally, I looked toward what I assumed was his room and asked if he was going to try and sleep. He slowly turned his head to me and said, "No. I don't go in there anymore." I told him no worries and hung out with him until sleep got the better of him and he fell out on the couch. After he was asleep, I walked over to his room and opened the door.
What I saw haunts me even as I type these words: The floor, parts of the walls, and sheets were stained with dry blood. The body of his ex and the body of who I assumed was her lover were propped into sitting positions in opposite corners facing the bed (her head placed in his lap and vice versa).
As horrible as the scene was, the one detail that made my stomach twist into a knot that has yet to come undone is that at the foot of Ryan's bed was a wide, full length mirror.
---
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/4o56l0/trying_to_help_a_friend_with_his_sleep_paralysis/
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