What Keeps You Up At Night?: Our Paranormal Experiences Or Insomniac Stories

[Petunia13]

Have you ever seen a ghost or had a creepy experience? This thread is to share it! Or ones you heard that are worth repeating

It is also for insomniacs. Storytimes and check ins welcome. 

[Maharincess]

I'm a bad insomniac. My mind starts working overtime as soon as I lay down in bed. I start thinking of all of the things that can go wrong and that leads me to worrying about other things and I'm lucky if I fall asleep before 3 am most nights. 

I have experienced a few paranormal things.  I've mentioned Darlene who was the spirit who lived in my former house.  I lost my Chihuahua Baby 2 years ago on Christmas night. She was always on the bed with me and liked sleeping up against my back when I was sitting down.  There have been so many nights that I swear I feel her walking across the bed and lying in her favorite spot behind me.  The first time I felt it I thought it was my cat but I felt with my foot and the cat was on her blanket at the foot of the bed sleeping.  I've felt her little paws walking across the bed, then it stops and I swear on my life that I feel the blanket tighten around me when she lays down.  People in my life think I'm insane but I KNOW that she's here.  

[Petunia13]

I lived in a building that was v old and I believe a converted hotel. While I lived there doors would blow open on their own, windows would slam shut (once it shattered and a shard of glass flew into my arm stabbing it), the elevator would move without being (called), it would often get stuck between floors, lights flickered, objects would be moved. While I lived there there were a few unnatural deaths one neighbor on my floor suicide and I was there when they found his body. Another tenant stabbed her bf to death one morning while I was leaving for work. It had a v eerie vibe the halls even looked like the ones from The Shining

[Maharincess]

My former neighbor who had lived in my old neighborhood since it had been built told me that a woman named Darlene had committed suicide in the hallway of my house. They found her lying in the third bedroom doorway.  She told me all of this without knowing that I had a spirit in my house that I'd named Darlene.  Our TVs would turn off all the time, she never turned them on but she turned them off a lot. I would hear somebody walking in the hallway at night when everybody was asleep. I was never scared of her at all.  I once thanked her for letting us live in her house and I told her that as long as she was nice it would be ok for her to stay. 

See? That's why people think I'm crazy!!  I talked to what I thought was a ghost like she was a real person. 

I completely believe in this sort of thing but I don't talk about it with my real life people because they'll think I'm crazy. 

[Petunia13]

I had a younger sister and we went to stay at her mothers house when she was 2 and I was 6. The first night she was hysterical and begged to go home calling my grandma a witch. What she didn't know then and still doesn't ....was our late grandma was a witch and her family is full of witches for many generations. She had moments of being canny and intuitive. She sometimes knew things I never told her or that happened in her absence but not often also unbidden and stupid stuff like what song will play next on the radio or who was calling before answering.  

[riley702]

I can remember waking up in my teens when the phone rang. My sister was listening down the register trying to figure out who was calling in the middle of the night. Half-asleep, I told her that Uncle Virgil had died. And he had! It wasn't expected, either.

I've also had deja-vu (not sure if that's the right word for it) a couple of times and it freaked me out both times. Once it was something really stupid - a raffle at the high school gym and I watched totally knowing the winner would be my biology teacher, even down to the flourish with which he handed in his winning ticket. Another time, I stayed home from church Sunday night because I wasn't feeling well. I heard my parents come home - tires crunching on the gravel driveway, car doors shutting, even footsteps up to the back porch. I looked up from my book to say hi, but they never came in. I got up to investigate and there was no one there at all. Ten minutes later, the sounds repeated, but this time it really was them coming home.

Edited December 29, 2016 by riley702

[Maharincess]

I absolutely LOVE this topic but I must say that the U and ur in the title make me cringe.  I hate that stuff. 

[riley702]

Yeah, it only saved 4 letters. Maybe we could ask the mods to change it?

[Maharincess]

I feel bad though. I feel like I'm hurting Petunia's feelings. 

[janestclair]

When my grandmother passed away a few years ago, I knew as soon as the phone rang.  She was pretty old, but the death was not expected.  It wasn't some random middle of the night time that you'd automatically think something bad happened, but I knew that's why the phone was ringing.  

My other grandmother swore she felt my grandpa get into bed with her after he passed away. 

I have some sort of link with my best friend.  She has an internal defibrillator, and one time when it went off, I bolted upright out of a dead sleep feeling like I had been kicked in the chest.   Freaked me out.  I've had other experiences with her where I knew things were happening that I should have no way of knowing, but that's the first time (of numerous others since) that I physically felt it.  

[Petunia13]

13 hours ago, Maharincess said:

I feel bad though. I feel like I'm hurting Petunia's feelings. 

I wanted it for shorter I was worried the original title would be too vague for you guys. 

But it's for paranormal or scary experience storytimes, and talking about insominia, and a thread for night owls to find someone else up to bull shit w. 

[Quof]

I haven't slept through the night since 2001 (so I've been cranky for 15 years); feel free to send me a message at any hour.

[Bastet]

I didn't know seeing an imaginary spider upon waking up in the middle of the night was a thing!  The one my mind conjures up looks like an oversized daddy long legs crawling up the wall.  I only started seeing them in the past few years, and don't do it often (and just go back to sleep, since I know it's not real - and would just deal with it in the morning if it was), but I do that.  I had no idea it wasn't just me.

[Quof]

I've done that, too, forumfish. Screamed, tried to jump out of bed but couldn't.  In that weird stage where your brain is awake, but your body is still asleep.   

[Petunia13]

This is a family one that my grandfather was wakened in the night by his older sister Mary and she said she saw a little girl who told her she would die but not to be afraid it would be ok and she did die months later in her sleep. 

[SnoGirl]

I was really sick (I hardly ever get sick) and woke up to a white being at the edge of my bed. My room had skylights, so I just chalked it up to a weird shadow, but I finally felt better the next day.

I've also woken up in my room to a dark shadow by my bedroom door. I swore it was someone my my house robbing me. I screamed "Get the f*ck away from me," while scrambling for the huge metal flashlight I keep by my bed. The shadow ran towards me and disappeared into my nightstand. I slept with the light on for a couple nights after that.

I always "see" things out of the corner of my eye, like someone just standing or sitting just beyond my eyesight but when I look, no one is there.

[Quof]

SnoGirl, Petunia, I hope you were liking the fact that I volunteered for late night chat, not the fact I've been exhausted for 15 years. Cuz that would be mean.

[SnoGirl]

 No, I was liking it because it was familar. I went on a stretch of this summer where I was waking up in the middle of the night and not falling back to sleep. I was absolutely miserable. I finally broke down and got some help for my insomia.

I thought it was nice you offered to chat at night. It would have been nice if someone told me this summer that it wasn't as uncommon as I thought. No meaniness intended :)

[Quof]

I've been to doctors, tried medications, nothing works. I just wake up several times each night.  I can fall asleep in a split second, I just can't stay that way.

Many years ago (perhaps 4 or 5 years in to my Unending Wakefulness) a colleague said "Oh, that's what it was like when I had my baby."  I almost smacked her.   A.  Presumably you chose to reproduce, knowing that it would affect your sleep for a time and you decided that the joys would outweigh the hell; and 2.  If your child is still waking you up every night after 5 years, there are things you could and should be doing about that. 

[SnoGirl]

6 minutes ago, Quof said:

I've been to doctors, tried medications, nothing works. I just wake up several times each night.  I can fall asleep in a split second, I just can't stay that way.

Many years ago (perhaps 4 or 5 years in to my Unending Wakefulness) a colleague said "Oh, that's what it was like when I had my baby."  I almost smacked her.   A.  Presumably you chose to reproduce, knowing that it would affect your sleep for a time and you decided that the joys would outweigh the hell; and 2.  If your child is still waking you up every night after 5 years, there are things you could and should be doing about that. 

I'm so sorry. That sounds awful. Sleep is sacred, I hope you had something cheeky to say back to your colleague. I can't imagine 15 years of what I went though this summer.

Mine was aniexty driven (I liked to call it the end of the world, meaning of life, questioning everything death spiral). Luckily enough, when I told a colleague about not sleeping, she listened and told me to see a doctor.  I was able to get the anxiety under control and therefore, got my sleeping under-control.

I hope you're able to find something @Quof....I would not wish insomia on my worse enemy.

[backformore]

The only thing I can think to add to the topic is that when I have a cold, cold medicine can really mess up my brain.   Nyquil helps with the cold, but it gives me the worst, vivid, violent, realistic dreams -  I'd rather suffer  with a runny nose and a cough. 

[Petunia13]

i was going to tie some insomnia to abuse. That ....in my past being in abusive situations that lead to experiencing insomnia. I can't say oh this is why this occurred here here and here...but think it's hard to shut your brain off after trauma or a person becomes so rattled and edgy or nervouser as person as a result just my opinion. 

[riley702]

I've had insomnia my entire adult life and that shit's hard on you. I wonder if it contributed to my getting breast cancer, since I'm the first on either side of the family. I absolutely refuse to look at the clock any more, so as not to play that game where you think, "If I fell asleep right now, I'd have exactly 2 hours of sleep." Ha! I couldn't fall asleep on command if my life depended on it. If I need to sleep, I can't. I wake up 2 or 3 times most nights, and then when I need to get up, I'm suddenly so damned sleepy... gah! It's so irritating. I have tried everything. Nothing works longer than a few weeks, tops. The best sleep I ever had were the two times I took Ambien - but then had a minor car wreck the next morning both times. On consecutive days! I got Ambien when I was diagnosed and had an accident the next day. After dealing with the insurance company and the rental car people and the body shop people, I needed sleep, so I took it again. And promptly wrecked the rental car the next day. That was when it clicked - my mind was just a little fuzzy and my reflexes weren't sharp. Regretfully, I flushed the rest. Thank goodness my mind was fuzzy enough to agree to the rental car insurance, so that didn't cost me anything. And then my sister called with all those wonderful Ambien side-effects you can find by googling - sleep-walking, sleep-eating, sleep-fucking, and more than one person who woke up outside totally naked!

About 20 years ago, I started experiencing something far worse than those hypnic jerks as you fall asleep. I thought I was either going crazy or having seizures, but google is my friend and I discovered that I actually have "Exploding Head Syndrome". I shit you not. Although it's frequently described as a loud noise in your head that wakes you up and scares the shit out of you, mine isn't noise so much as the feeling that my head has exploded or what I imagine it must feel like to be shot in the head, along with a dash of an electric tingle... but without the pain. Lasts a split second, but hoo-boy, I'm awake again, damn it. Mine can go months or even years without happening, but when it's back, I'll usually have clusters of them over a few days. Usually when I'm tired and/or stressed; well, more than usual. It is apparently harmless, but aggravating.

ETA: I tried a little experiment last year. I had a week's vacation and decided to go exactly nowhere and do exactly nothing. I would stay up until I was sleepy and wake up whenever I'd slept "enough". I stayed awake anywhere from 8 to 30 hours and then slept 7 to 15 hours. Houston, we have a problem. My circadian rhythms are fried.

Edited December 30, 2016 by riley702

[riley702]

17 minutes ago, Petunia13 said:

i was going to tie some insomnia to abuse. That ....in my past being in abusive situations that lead to experiencing insomnia. I can't say oh this is why this occurred here here and here...but think it's hard to shut your brain off after trauma or a person becomes so rattled and edgy or nervouser as person as a result just my opinion. 

My brain has always gone 90 mph, shooting off in a dozen different tangents. I can't just shut it off. I've tried drugs, alcohol, but lately the best thing has been to unwind with mindless, repetitive tasks. Like solitaire a dozen times in a row. Something that doesn't require a lot of higher brain function - I'll deliberately do the easiest levels because I don't want my mind to get interested in what I'm doing. After awhile, I know it's OK to try to go to sleep.

[Maharincess]

It's 1:00 in the morning and I'm wide awake. I have both things, it takes me forever to fall asleep and when I finally do I wake up every 90 minutes, give or take.  It sucks. I don't think I've slept more than 2 or 3 hours at a time in years.  It's been much much worse since my accident.  I've also tried everything and nothing helps.  Nobody is awake and there's not a damn thing on TV at 3 in the morning, so I either lie here and read or I go to bed and toss and turn for hours. 

I hate napping so I won't sleep during the day. Every time I take a nap, I wake up really disoriented and I'm sluggish for the rest of the day.  

I'm just glad I don't have to work anymore. If I had to get up early in the morning, I'd be toast for the whole day.  I usually stay in bed until 11 ish then I give up and get out of bed.  I REALLY envy people who can lie down and go right to sleep. 

[Quof]

I am asleep within 1 minute of my head touching the pillow.  It's not a good thing, it's a sign I am truly exhausted. 

[Bastet]

I'm one of those who has no trouble falling asleep, but rarely stays asleep the entire night.  Sometimes I'm only awake for 20-30 minutes in the middle of the night, but it's not unusual for me to be awake for anywhere from 2-4 hours (during which time I stay in bed so as not to disturb the cat, and either read or watch DVDs).  I am very fortunate that I can make my own hours, so when that happens I can just sleep in to make up for the lost sleep.  On the mornings I have to get up and go to court after having been awake for a big chunk of the night and then just been getting back into good sleep when the alarm went off, I am so miserable.  (Well, I'm miserable any time I have to get up early, but extra miserable.)

[BooksRule]

Quote

Although it's frequently described as a loud noise in your head that wakes you up and scares the shit out of you, mine isn't noise so much as the feeling that my head has exploded or what I imagine it must feel like to be shot in the head, along with a dash of an electric tingle... but without the pain.

I've had something like that happen now and then, but mine doesn't seem to be as severe as yours.  Mine is the feeling that someone is shouting 'hey!' right into my ear (accompanied by a kind of loud 'hum' or 'thrum' sound), which wakes me up.

As for paranormal experiences, I've had a couple.  I remember when I was a teen, waking up in the middle of the night and sitting up in bed to see my younger brother (he was probably about 7 or 8) standing in the doorway of my room (when I sat up I was facing the doorway).  He was dressed in white and was holding a small box (about the size of a cigar box) in his hands.  I called out his name, but he didn't say anything.  He then just faded away.  The next day I asked him if he had come into my room, but he said that he hadn't.  I never saw such a thing again, and I've never had any type of experience that would explain it--he's fine and I never figured out what the box might mean.

I work in a fairly new library now, but before it came along we worked in a small library that was built in the 1920s.  Most noises could be explained by the nearness of a railroad track (when a freight train would go by, the building would jostle a little).  But, a couple of times there were noises when there was no train.  One night I was working with a co-worker and we thought that everyone had gone except us (it was near closing time).  We both heard the distinct sounds of someone taking several books of the  shelf, flipping through pages, replacing the books and shoving the bookend against the books.  When we walked around the corner to check, there was no one there.  We had security check the entire building, and they found no one there except us (and no one could have left the building without us seeing them).  Another time, I was walking through the library (which was basically one big room with a couple of offices along a side hallway).  As I walked down the center of the public area, I could see a study table near the back window.  It was one of those that had a partition through the middle so that people could sit on both sides and have a little privacy without having to stare at the person across the way.  I could see that someone was sitting on the far side of the table, because I could see legs (someone wearing brown pants and brown or black shoes).  Because of the partition, I couldn't see their upper body.  I walked around a range of bookshelves and when I came back around the corner where I could see the other side of the desk, there was no one there.  When I went up to the front of the library where the security guard was standing, he said that no one had come past him.  He checked the building, but we only have two ways to exit the building and both were in sight of the guard or myself.  He didn't find anyone else.   

[zxy556575]

This was many years ago but was the eeriest out of things that have happened to me.

I was awakened at a little after 2 am by a woman's voice repeatedly saying, "Help me." I got up and looked out my balcony and into the apartment hallway but couldn't see anyone. The voice was so clear and distressed that I even got dressed and went outside to search around the carports outside my windows. Didn't see anyone.

The next day I went to visit my husband who was in the burn ward at the hospital after an accident. I asked how he had slept and he said not well because a woman in the unit had woken him up calling for help. What time was it? About 2 am.

[theredhead77]

On 12/29/2016 at 8:47 PM, backformore said:

The only thing I can think to add to the topic is that when I have a cold, cold medicine can really mess up my brain.   Nyquil helps with the cold, but it gives me the worst, vivid, violent, realistic dreams -  I'd rather suffer  with a runny nose and a cough. 

OMG me too! The last time I took a Benadryl I woke up exactly 4 hours later telling my then boyfriend that I had to get ready for work. It was 3am and I worked at an ice cream place. He let me take a shower but apparently I took a shower, washed my hair, got dressed before he finally got me back to bed after I couldn't find my keys. I had no recollection of any of it.

I've seen UFOs. As in literal unidentified flying objects. Both times were over the ocean. The first one was seen by a bunch of people, over the beach at night. It was a hovering object with lights but it wasn't a plane, glider or hot air balloon. We're all staring at it when it launched vertical and disappeared.

The other, I'm fairly certain was a C130. It was around 10pm, some random night late in November of 2001. My friend and I were hanging out, notsmokingbecausewedontsmoke, by the beach and all of a sudden we see a huge dark shadow moving through the sky. There were some street lights on and it was a clear night. After a WTF moment, instead of you know, bolting to the car, we continue to stare at it as it flew over us with no lights and no sound, as if the engines were completely cut. It continued to glide, at a disturbingly low altitude (even for not being 2 months removed from 9/11) with no lights and no sound. Then it vanished. The silhouette looked like a C130 and the area we were in could in theory be a flight path for the NWS a few miles away. But the no lights and no sound was disturbing.

I also have premonitions. My best friend of nearly 2 decades (she's the one with me during the second UFO sighting) has seen it happen enough times that she convinced me to trust myself and that I'm not going crazy.

Edited December 31, 2016 by theredhead77
Fix parts of structure I forgot about.

[Maharincess]

Insomnia sucks. I FINALLY fell asleep after 5 this morning. I tossed and turned until about 3 am then I read in bed for a while and finally got back in bed about 4 and was still awake when the sun came up.  I slept on and off until about noon then got up.  

I just want one night where I fall asleep right away and sleep all night.  That's not too much to ask. 

[BookWoman56]

I've had insomnia off and on for years but for the most part now I can keep it under control. In the past I used prescription sleep aids on a temporary basis. I do take an antihistamine every night before going to bed, because I live in an area with a lot of pollen, and if I don't take the antihistamine, I will wake up in the middle of the night with serious postnasal drip going on. The antihistamine helps me go to sleep. However, even with the antihistamine, I would sometimes have trouble falling asleep. The last few years I've been able to fall asleep by establishing a routine in which I indulge myself with making up what I would call an emotional fantasy rather than a sexual fantasy. I simply tell myself a story about something I would like to experience, and by the time I have thought through the entire fictional experience, I drift off. I've used the same basic story for about four or five years now, with some variations in some specific aspects of it. For me it's like writing a story in which I am a character, but I'm writing it in my head rather than using a laptop, etc. I'm not sure why it works, other than perhaps it allows me to relax with something familiar, but as long as it continues to work, I'll keep using it. If I am having extreme anxiety/anger or some similar strong emotional/mental state, I may not be able to fall asleep by using the story routine. In that case, I generally go with TheraFlu, which reliably knocks me out and makes me not care about anything for at least several hours.

[theredhead77]

I hate / suck at math but I do really really really long division to help my mind stop focusing on random things I said to people I no longer know 15 years ago. I typically fall asleep before I finish the equation. I usually start the sequence pretty easy, 2465832xxxxxxx / 3 (did I write that in the correct order?). By the time I've gotten to the 4th or 5th number while trying to remember the other numbers I'm out.

[riley702]

I saw a UFO with my whole family when I was maybe 14 or 15 (roughly '75 or '76). My Dad's brother and his wife would come over most weeks and play euchre. Uncle Kenny smokes, but Mom has never allowed anyone to smoke in the house, so he went out on the back porch. After a few minutes, he called us to come out and look at this thing. I remember standing out in the backyard watching a cigar-shaped object hovering over the woods. It was maybe slightly domed on top instead of truly cylindrical, but had no features. It was a bright LED red and completely silent. Judging by how long it appeared to be in relation to the woods and how far back from the house the woods were, it had to be at least as long as a football field. We watched it maybe 10 minutes (one of my brothers actually got bored and went back inside) and then it shot off to the west (we were facing north) very quickly, seemed to hang briefly, then accelerated out of sight instantly.

One other time, I was in bed one summer night and I kept hearing this airplane circling. I finally got up and went outside. I could still hear it clearly, but couldn't see anything, even though the noise was so loud, it seemed to be right over the house. This was one of those moonlit nights so bright, you could almost read by it. The sky was completely clear and I could hear it circling around and around, but there was nothing in sight. I even woke up my Mom to come outside, but she was baffled, too. After a long time, the noise eventually faded.

Shortly after my Dad died, Mom woke up when she heard the sound of Dad coming back to bed after a trip to the bathroom, and then realized that couldn't be. She saw Dad standing in the doorway just looking at her. She asked, "Bob?" and he just dissolved in a shower of gold sparks and was gone.

Edited December 31, 2016 by riley702

[Maharincess]

I play word games in my head when I'm trying to sleep.  I worry about everything when I'm trying to fall asleep so those games help keep my mind occupied.  I pick a topic like singers, movies, streets in my city, places outside and inside of America and every other topic I can think of, then I start at A and go down the alphabet with words that start with whatever topic. I know that probably makes absolutely no sense at all.                  It doesn't always work but it helps keep my mind off of all of the disasters I start to imaging as soon as I close my eyes. 

My only problem is that I've had insomnia for so long, I ran out of topics for my game. 

[auntlada]

When I was a kid and couldn't fall asleep, my mom told me to count sheep. I tried, but the sheep wouldn't move away from the fence they were jumping over, so there was a big pile-up and no more sheep could jump. (I know I should have been able to make the sheep move since they were in my head, but The sheep in my head have always been rather recalcitrant.) So Mom told me to count Christmas presents, as it was almost Christmas (the likely cause of my inability to go to sleep -- I have always had difficulty sleeping before exciting things, boh good and bad). I did that for years, counting presents as they stacked up to the ceiling.

A few years ago, I tried counting backwards to relax. It worked for a while, but I had to start with a high enough number if I didn't want to restart a lot. I got that idea after having wisdom teeth pulled under general anesthetic. The surgeon had me count backwards as the anesthetic was taking affect.

I have also told myself stories or just read. I do not have real insomnia like many of you, though. I just sometimes have problems turning off my brain. What makes me not sleep more often is reading stories like you have been telling, but I can't stop reading them. I like them; they just give me the willies.

[theredhead77]

Deleted. User error.

Edited December 31, 2016 by theredhead77

[NutMeg]

7 hours ago, Maharincess said:

I play word games in my head when I'm trying to sleep.  I worry about everything when I'm trying to fall asleep so those games help keep my mind occupied.  I pick a topic like singers, movies, streets in my city, places outside and inside of America and every other topic I can think of, then I start at A and go down the alphabet with words that start with whatever topic. I know that probably makes absolutely no sense at all.                  It doesn't always work but it helps keep my mind off of all of the disasters I start to imaging as soon as I close my eyes. 

My only problem is that I've had insomnia for so long, I ran out of topics for my game. 

Maharincess, two years ago I had major insomnia, to the point that when I finally managed two hours of sleep per night I felt as if at last I had a full night. It lasted for a few months, never had happened before, never have happened since.

In these cases, I would get up and start writing. Doesn't matter what you write, journal, fiction, you in the third person, you just put it out there, as much as you want. When you've written enough, your mind is at ease, and you can sleep again.

Maybe what writing was for me could be drawing, sculpting or composing for someone else. But I really think that putting all the worries/dreams/thoughts that circle in your mind at night on paper/clay/recorder/whatever your chosen support frees your brain of things it was clinging to and helps it go back to sleep.

[methodwriter85]

I don't think of myself as being a "sensitive to spirits" kind of guy, but I did have three things happen.

I went on a ghost tour when I was in grad school. We toured one of the older school buildings and tried to contact spirits. We used a flashlight that had the ability to "flash" by being slightly twisted. We started talking to one in a classroom, and I asked the spirit questions about their lives. The light kept flashing, and I felt a very strong chill go up my spine. When we left, the guide looked at me and told me, "You know he was behind you the whole time, right?"

I also volunteer at a museum. There's a light that we use for illuminating objects that we're photographing for the catalog record. It will flicker on and off, which isn't unusual because it's an older building. What's not unusual is that when I was alone in the building, I saw the switch on the light just flick off like it had been pushed.

Another time I was there by myself, I was using a glue stick for a project. I couldn't find the cap and I looked around. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the cap just flew at me.

[Demented Daisy]

On 12/30/2016 at 0:38 AM, riley702 said:

My brain has always gone 90 mph, shooting off in a dozen different tangents. I can't just shut it off. I've tried drugs, alcohol, but lately the best thing has been to unwind with mindless, repetitive tasks. Like solitaire a dozen times in a row. Something that doesn't require a lot of higher brain function - I'll deliberately do the easiest levels because I don't want my mind to get interested in what I'm doing. After awhile, I know it's OK to try to go to sleep.

My husband does this, but with Candy Crush.  He'll play for 20-30 minutes, because it's so mind-numbingly repetitive.  Probably not the kind of endorsement the company would want.

I can't sleep without a tv on.  It's too quiet and too dark otherwise.  It also helps to shut my brain up because I focus on what's happening in the episode of the tv show that's on (we're on season 7 of South Park right now).  We put the disc in, hit the repeat button, and go to sleep.  I know it's a terrible waste of energy, but I'll lay there for hours otherwise, trying to get my brain to shut up.  On the rare occasion that I'm not at home (staying a hotel with friends or family, for example), I wind up (mentally) saying "Shhhhhh" over and over again.  Literally telling my brain to be quiet.  It's the only thing that works for me.

Now, ghosts.  We had a ghost in our home in Germany.  I never saw it, but my husband did.  It frequently knocked things over, but we didn't mind that.  It wasn't until the night it threw a small display cabinet of glasses across the room that we finally paid attention to it.  The next night, my husband woke up and had a chat with the ghost.  He was an older man whose family portrait had hung where we put the cabinet.  He asked that we not put anything else on that spot on the wall.  My husband agreed and we never heard from the ghost again.

[ari333]

1 hour ago, Demented Daisy said:

My husband does this, but with Candy Crush.  He'll play for 20-30 minutes, because it's so mind-numbingly repetitive.  Probably not the kind of endorsement the company would want.

I can't sleep without a tv on.  It's too quiet and too dark otherwise.  It also helps to shut my brain up because I focus on what's happening in the episode of the tv show that's on (we're on season 7 of South Park right now).  We put the disc in, hit the repeat button, and go to sleep.  I know it's a terrible waste of energy, but I'll lay there for hours otherwise, trying to get my brain to shut up.  On the rare occasion that I'm not at home (staying a hotel with friends or family, for example), I wind up (mentally) saying "Shhhhhh" over and over again.  Literally telling my brain to be quiet.  It's the only thing that works for me.

Now, ghosts.  We had a ghost in our home in Germany.  I never saw it, but my husband did.  It frequently knocked things over, but we didn't mind that.  It wasn't until the night it threw a small display cabinet of glasses across the room that we finally paid attention to it.  The next night, my husband woke up and had a chat with the ghost.  He was an older man whose family portrait had hung where we put the cabinet.  He asked that we not put anything else on that spot on the wall.  My husband agreed and we never heard from the ghost again.

Wow. I do that too except now I listen to podcasts or audio books, but for the same reason you mentioned. When you go to a hotel or visit family can you take a portable CD player and listen to a book or something? Or if you have a tablet or smart phone you can listen to tv show form various internet sources (some are free.) Podcasts come in all kinds of topics too and many are free.

Did you see the cabinet fly across the room? I'd be terrified!

On ‎12‎/‎28‎/‎2016 at 10:36 PM, Petunia13 said:

I had a younger sister and we went to stay at her mothers house when she was 2 and I was 6. The first night she was hysterical and begged to go home calling my grandma a witch. What she didn't know then and still doesn't ....was our late grandma was a witch and her family is full of witches for many generations. She had moments of being canny and intuitive. She sometimes knew things I never told her or that happened in her absence but not often also unbidden and stupid stuff like what song will play next on the radio or who was calling before answering.  

Really? That is fascinating! This kind of stuff is so interesting to me. I assume your family witches were the good kind. :-)

I think 2 year olds can be very perceptive and sense danger that is real. Maybe they don't have the words to describe it fully. Wen I was 3. I saw a man, dressed in black, with a black hat peeping into my bedroom window of our then small, first floor apartment. I assume it was a live human as opposed to a ghost or entity, but IDK. It was night. I ran screaming to my parents room.  They didn't believe me and sent me back to the room. I was terrified. I don't recall seeing him at my window after that.

However, I did see a man two days later outside  in the daylight. It looked like the same man, but he was several /feet yards away - not close up -so I couldn't be sure.  I told my mother. That made her alarmed enough that I wasnt' allowed to roller skate (yes, at three) alone on the sidewalk anymore, which I had done many times. (alone)  

I had a lot of nightmares after that and trouble sleeping.  

Weird.I just typed out 4 of the same posts about the entity in our former condo. Each time, something different happened  to the post . "opened new tab"  -Ididnt do that. Next time it just deleted everything. I  didn't do that either. then two other times poof.  

Anyway, I'll try again later bc it is kind of interesting (imo) and creepy. MAybe I'll type a couple of sentences, post it, then edit to add to it so I don't lose the whole thing.

[Demented Daisy]

1 hour ago, ari333 said:

When you go to a hotel or visit family can you take a portable CD player and listen to a book or something? Or if you have a tablet or smart phone you can listen to tv show form various internet sources (some are free.) Podcasts come in all kinds of topics too and many are free.

It's been almost 3 years since I had to stay in a hotel with family.  I'll keep that in mind in the future.  :-)

1 hour ago, ari333 said:

Did you see the cabinet fly across the room? I'd be terrified!

No, but the crash woke us up around 4 am.  When we went into the living room, the cabinet was on the floor about 6 feet away from the wall.  

[ari333]

29 minutes ago, Demented Daisy said:

It's been almost 3 years since I had to stay in a hotel with family.  I'll keep that in mind in the future.  :-)

No, but the crash woke us up around 4 am.  When we went into the living room, the cabinet was on the floor about 6 feet away from the wall.  

Omg I was not doubting you. I hope it didn't sound that way. The crash is terrifying, especially when you're the only two in the home and it is 6 feet from the wall! Woah.  I would need to take a beta blocker.

We used to hear crashing noises in the empty condo upstairs at night. We told ourselves all kinds of rationalizations. We heard no footsteps (which we always heard when  a person was there.... always heard them (real people) on that wood floor. There was a cheap, poorly designed,  thin divider between our ceiling and the floor above. It sounded like a heavy bookcase or piece of furniture being pushed over. The condo was vacant and no, - no one was sneaking in to be there and if they were we'd have heard footsteps (We tried to tell ourselves kids were maybe sneaking in/breaking in to do whatever, but still we would have heard footsteps.)

We (both of us heard it thank goodness not just me) we heard weird rolling bowling ball sounds. That's the only way I can describe it. IF someone had been there we'd have heard footsteps. We always heard steps when someone lived there; and when it was vacant we heard footsteps when the realtor etc repairmen, painters came over. But when we heard the crashes and rolling ball noises, there were no footsteps

This was happening in the condo above us. We had our own freaky stuff in our own condo too  but let me post this before it gets gone. :-)

Heh now everyone take a drink very time I say, "footsteps." :-)

Edited March 3, 2017 by ari333

[Demented Daisy]

9 minutes ago, ari333 said:

Omg I was not doubting you. I hope it didn't sound that way.

Nope, not at all.  :-)

[ari333]

1 hour ago, Demented Daisy said:

Nope, not at all.  :-)

I didn't think so, but was just checking. Sometimes tone doesn't come across in the written word. :-)

In our condo I saw some kind of black thing. I was terrified. I told my then husband and he laughed his ass off at me... until... he saw it. It freaked him out and he finally believed me.

The weird part and the good part , if there is one, is that it never came in the bedroom. It would dart around the hall and other places, but not  our bedroom, But the guest bedroom, oh yeah. It loved it in there to the point where my then-husband called the guestroom the, "devil room."

One time I was wallpapering (and I say that bc that's how I KNEW FOR SURE I was not cooking) I smelled something weird. I went into the kitchen and the stove was on. that scared the hell out of me.

Another time I was coming out of the shower or something and I smelled a burning smell. I was the only person at home. I went to the living room and a heavy lamp was over on its side with the shade off (and it was an attached shade with a twisty thing) and the bulb was burning the couch and making smoke. Not flames yet but it was smoking up to start a flame had I not caught it in time.

They say the devil knows your fears? I dont know much about the devil, but I  have intense fear of fire bc(as I mentioned in another thread) that when I was five, our car caught on fire and my mom screamed "GET OUT! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE."

I hope I'm  not boring. I don't know why the black thing didn't come into our bedroom.  We had some religious  items in there, but there were some elsewhere in the condo too, so that cant be it (can it?)

This is weird... and good (imo). In the bedroom I frequently saw purplish and white orbs around the room. (No, I was not high or drunk or etc) The lights felt comforting and I was not afraid at all. I actually liked it. I don't know what it was ,but I know what I saw and it was more than once.

And keep in mind that that black thing never came inside our bedroom (fwiw for those of you who know anything about this stuff and can comment bc  I don't) One time my husband was sick. the white orb came close to his head. I put my hand over the top his head, resting on his hair. The orb went through my hand and into his head. I was shocked , but not scared and oddly comforted.

I'm not nuts, but it sounds nuts. I know what I saw and I was awake (not a dream). I kind of wondered if the purple white orb thing was keeping out the black scary darting thing from our room while we were sleeping. IDK.

Fwiw, it wasn't the color of the thing/s that scared me or did not scare me. It was the feeling I got when I saw them - if that makes sense.

On ‎12‎/‎31‎/‎2016 at 2:14 AM, riley702 said:

I saw a UFO with my whole family when I was maybe 14 or 15 (roughly '75 or '76). My Dad's brother and his wife would come over most weeks and play euchre. Uncle Kenny smokes, but Mom has never allowed anyone to smoke in the house, so he went out on the back porch. After a few minutes, he called us to come out and look at this thing. I remember standing out in the backyard watching a cigar-shaped object hovering over the woods. It was maybe slightly domed on top instead of truly cylindrical, but had no features. It was a bright LED red and completely silent. Judging by how long it appeared to be in relation to the woods and how far back from the house the woods were, it had to be at least as long as a football field. We watched it maybe 10 minutes (one of my brothers actually got bored and went back inside) and then it shot off to the west (we were facing north) very quickly, seemed to hang briefly, then accelerated out of sight instantly.

One other time, I was in bed one summer night and I kept hearing this airplane circling. I finally got up and went outside. I could still hear it clearly, but couldn't see anything, even though the noise was so loud, it seemed to be right over the house. This was one of those moonlit nights so bright, you could almost read by it. The sky was completely clear and I could hear it circling around and around, but there was nothing in sight. I even woke up my Mom to come outside, but she was baffled, too. After a long time, the noise eventually faded.

Shortly after my Dad died, Mom woke up when she heard the sound of Dad coming back to bed after a trip to the bathroom, and then realized that couldn't be. She saw Dad standing in the doorway just looking at her. She asked, "Bob?" and he just dissolved in a shower of gold sparks and was gone.

Wow that whole post gave me chills. .. especially the part (good chills) about your dad coming back to bed. Awesome about your dad and weirdly comforting .

Edited March 3, 2017 by ari333

[methodwriter85]

I guess I'll admit the other thing is that I've had sleep paralysis a couple of times, and it's absolutely terrifying when it does happen. I have the sensation of not breathing, and  trying to drag myself and fall down on the ground. It usually only happens if I'm sleeping on my back on the couch, but it's been awhile since I have. Thank god.

Quote

 I lost my Chihuahua Baby 2 years ago on Christmas night. She was always on the bed with me and liked sleeping up against my back when I was sitting down.  There have been so many nights that I swear I feel her walking across the bed and lying in her favorite spot behind me.  The first time I felt it I thought it was my cat but I felt with my foot and the cat was on her blanket at the foot of the bed sleeping.  I've felt her little paws walking across the bed, then it stops and I swear on my life that I feel the blanket tighten around me when she lays down.

My family has had cats over the years (although I never had a pet myself) and I've had the sensation a couple of times of feeling like a cat crawled onto my bed to sleep even though there hasn't been a pet in my house since 2006 or so. It might just be sense memory but it's a weird sensation.

[emma675]

I had Graves Disease a few years ago and had to go on a beta blocker to help my heart calm down. One of the side effects they don't mention with the drug I was on was dreams so vivid they were almost waking hallucinations. I had a dream one night that a man had hung himself from my bedroom ceiling and I actually jumped up and ran for the door before I was awake, slamming into the door frame. I fully woke up later on the living room couch with a black eye.

[riley702]

Whoa! That's one heck of a side-effect not to mention!

[ari333]

51 minutes ago, emma675 said:

I had Graves Disease a few years ago and had to go on a beta blocker to help my heart calm down. One of the side effects they don't mention with the drug I was on was dreams so vivid they were almost waking hallucinations. I had a dream one night that a man had hung himself from my bedroom ceiling and I actually jumped up and ran for the door before I was awake, slamming into the door frame. I fully woke up later on the living room couch with a black eye.

Thank you for that. I do take  atenolol for tachycardia. And lisenopril for HTN.I think atenolol is  a beta blocker IIRC. Anyway, if so, maybe that explains the horrible dreams. I always dream of terrible things that actually happened to me in real life in  the past - things I try to forget Then I have to re-live them in nightmares. It's horrible.

[emma675]

ari333, yep, atenolol is a beta blocker (I was on propranolol and they had to switch me to a different one because the dreams were so nuts) and that could explain your dreams.