Dark shapes standing in my doorway

I have had many strange experiences with things I couldn’t explain. Dark shapes standing in my doorway, figures I could never see clearly no matter how hard I tried. I have felt invisible hands grab my ankles while I was in bed, trying to pull me off. Once, something pressed on my chest while I lay frozen, unable to move or open my eyes. I could hear it breathing, low and angry, its hot breath on my face.

The scariest night was one I will never forget. I was in bed, fully awake. The room was dark. Then, my bedroom door creaked open. A shadow moved inside—not like normal darkness, but something blacker than the night. It crawled on the floor, creeping closer. I heard its slow, heavy breathing.

I was lying on my side, facing the door, too afraid to move. The mattress dipped as if something climbed onto the bed. I could feel it behind me. Then, it pressed against my back, as if trying to sink into me. Fear locked my body in place. My mind screamed, but my voice wouldn’t come out. Then everything went black.

Most of this happened in my late twenties and early thirties. It got so bad that I stopped sleeping in my own room. I wouldn’t even step inside. At first, I thought it was because of the new construction my family was doing next door, but even after I moved to another house, the nightmares followed me.

Desperate, I reached out to a group that studied ghosts and strange happenings. They told me it sounded like something called sleep paralysis. Maybe that was true. I wanted to believe it. But even now, years later, I still remember that night. I still feel the fear.