Waking Nightmare
I haven’t had this happen in a long time but I still remember it very vividly. When I was around 16, I had this reoccurring experience that would happen once or twice every few months (specifically when I wouldn’t get enough sleep the last few nights). I’d go to bed and have a dream about this black silhouette that of a woman hovering above me. The only recognizable features on her face were her white eyes staring back at me and teeth. She would smirk at me really wide, then I’d wake up. That’s not the scary part.
I’d wake up lying flat, with an overwhelming sense of dread and not be able to move or go turn on the lights because of how intensely petrified I would be. After that a few minutes of lying there, not being able to move, I’d felt a pressure on my back. The closest I can come to describing it would be if someone was under your bed pushing the mattress with their hands, but like more than one set and they’re all over your back.
Every time this would happen, I couldn’t go back to sleep. I’d either have to build up enough courage to turn on the lights or wait until the sun comes up to get up and out of my bed for it to stop.
I don’t believe in the supernatural and think it might’ve been some form of sleep paralysis and reoccurring nightmares combined, but that doesn’t make it any less terrifying to me.
