I watched the movie Insidious yesterday and it was terrifying. The little boy, Dalton apparently gets stuck in an alternate world called ‘The Further’ which is filled with demons and dark spirits. A place where some poor souls go after they die. Apparently some humans can accidentally ‘astral project’ themselves into ‘The Further’ while sleeping. Of course this is all fiction… or is it?

It’s no secret that I have night terrors, sleep paralysis, and that I sleep walk. A few months ago I had the worst night terror/sleep paralysis experience ever. I didn’t talk about it with anyone, but I wrote it out in journal form with the pages of Dreamwalker. (One day it will get published…)

After watching Insidious I began to wonder if this could actually happen in real life. And not that the demons would actually infiltrate our world after attaching themselves to a human who accidentally astral projected themselves into ‘The Further’ while dreaming. But that a person gets stuck in Dreamworld and can’t wake up. I know… I know, crazy thoughts, but I’ve felt like this sometimes while dreaming, when I feel stuck and can’t wake up.

Nightmares, Night Terrors and Sleep Paralysis

Yesterday at a book signing event I met someone new and learned that she also has suffered from sleep paralysis and Nightmares. Apparently it’s more common than I ever imagined. She didn’t seem to want to talk about it and that’s pretty common… I never really started talking about it with anyone until about five years ago and only with a friend who also experienced all of the above. While some people find the subject fascinating, others find it uncomfortable and weird.

It’s definitely a very strange experience, one that I don’t wish on anyone. It’s terrifying and it’s why I began writing Dreamwalker. My hope is that it helps others who experience these same things finds comfort in knowing they aren’t alone and that they aren’t crazy. When I was in my twenties I legit thought I was going insane. I was having these out of body experiences while sleeping and not realizing that I was in fact still sleeping, but aware of my surroundings. I never told any of my roommates or friends about it.

Looking back on it now I wish I had someone that I could have talked about it with… It only took fifteen years to understand that what I was experiencing was in fact night terrors, and sleep paralysis. Back to the movie Insidious and ‘The Further.’ About a week ago I had a crazy dream and I actually added it into Dreamwalker as a journal entry and I wanted to share it here. A little sneak peek into the novel Dreamwalker and what you may encounter:

Dream Journal (Dreamwalker excerpt)

 As soon as I closed my eyes I was transported to someone’s home, which was akin to a demon’s lair. The lighting had a reddish hue, and there was a smell in the air. The set up was similar to our apartment but there was a couch where our dining table would have been and I was lying on that couch watching two people spoon on the floor beside me. They seemed to be unaware of my presence. At that moment I didn’t feel frightened or out of place, which was odd. After a few moments the girl stood up and walked into the kitchen. I could hear her footsteps pitter patter across the linoleum floor. Then as she stepped up to the sink she looked up and into me. I wanted out… I know longer felt safe.

The scene quickly changed to Billy and I walking into our apartment. He was completely trashed and as we stepped inside I realized that I was still in dream world and back in the demon’s lair. Billy fell as we stepped into the kitchen (the same kitchen where the girl had been). He was able to stand back up and he looked into my eyes, and I wanted to run away. His eyes had turned jet black. Billy turned away and headed towards the couch that I had been lying on and then fell hitting his face on the corner of it. He began writhing about as if a transformation was occurring.

I felt paralyzed and couldn’t do anything but stand there and watch in horror. He quickly stood and ran at me. I began to scream and finally was transported again to our living room in our apartment, but still not awake. I was lying on our couch with Lucy sleeping at my feet. For some reason I stood up and walked to where our dining room would have been to find myself standing in front of a couch. There was an old woman lying on it, her skin was shriveled, her eyes were red, and then the room darkened, only lit by what appeared to be the moonlight. The old woman grabbed onto my shoulders, pulled me down onto the couch and began to scream incoherent words. She was crying. She then began to shake me… I then began to scream and begged to be taken back home. I looked over to our living room to find Lucy looking towards me, but didn’t seem to be upset.

The old lady disappeared, and I closed my eyes and awoke once again back on our couch in our living room. This is where the dreamworld and my world seemed to be merging. It was kind of glitching in and out. I looked over my shoulder to find that girl from the kitchen walking towards me. She had short brown hair with little knotted buns perfectly placed and she was wearing a skirt and short sleeve crop top. She had on black socks and short black boots and just stood there smiling at me. Staring into my very soul. Had the Shadow Man morphed into this girl. Was she the same girl that had been in the window?

I wasn’t sure, but she frightened me. I needed to wake up. I was finally able to look away and as I did I finally woke up and gasped for air. I quickly turned and looked over my shoulder to find that she was gone, and our living room was normal again. I knew I couldn’t fall back to sleep or else I would be immediately transported to that place.

I had been hoping that leaving Manhattan and returning to Castle Rock would stop the night terrors, but yet they just seem to be getting worse.

Terrifying

That was all of it… the most frightening night terror I had ever had. I felt like I couldn’t get out or wake up. What if that girl had reached the couch? Like in Nightmare on Elm Street, if the person was killed while dreaming they wouldn’t wake up. Or like in Insidious, if they accidentally ‘astral projected’ themselves into ‘The Further,’ they would end up in a coma and would have to be retrieved to wake up.

Thoughts, comments, suggestions are always appreciated. Thank you for reading this far and if you haven’t done so please like and subscribe. Happy Sunday Funday!