Night Visitor
Another
moment recalled in my series of Sue Ryder Home stories involves a much closer
and personal experience.
The staff accommodation is on the top floor (third). It consisted of two very long corridors, with seven rooms on one wing divided by the occasional firebreak and four on the other. In all, the two wings run the full length of the building. Bathroom and kitchen facilities are shared but they are big enough to not cause problems. There are two staircases leading up to this floor. The decor is plain in comparison to the main building, but originally these were servants’ quarters, not seen by the upper crusts. My room was number 24, roughly 10 foot by 20 foot and had one window looking out over the car park then into the trees.
Fields, woods and a long drive down to the nearest road surround the hospice. Because the building is so for away from the roads, there are no streetlights or car lights to poison the air. Unless the moon is out, when you turn off the lights you get black. Bliss. And so my story begins…
After my usual busy day on the wards I chilled out before going to bed. This usually consisted of playing music, reading or writing. Outside was dark and cold and I could hear the wind giving the trees a good shaking.
I turned off the light and sleep soon took me to the black depths of unconsciousness. A couple of hours or so must have passed but while in my sleep I sensed something was wrong. My eyes opened to reveal only darkness, though my senses alerted me to the fact that I was not alone. It was cold and the atmosphere felt airless. I lay flat on my back and unable to move. It was as though I was being held down by a malevolent entity that sat on my chest, pinned my arms and legs down then watched me sleep.
I could feel my body being pressed into the bedding from the weight of this invisible force. While the darkness prevented me from seeing anything, I knew I was staring into the face of this creature. When I tried to speak my jaw was clenched shut. In my head I shouted the words, “get off me, now!” Nothing changed. I felt helpless and desperate as everything I tried to do failed because of the paralysis. ‘If I could only move my finger to break the spell’. I tried to shout again, “get off me. I'm not scared of you,” and no sooner had that thought entered my mind the weight lifted and I felt able to breath again. After a few moments the atmosphere cleared.
It was still the early hours and even though I felt shaken by what had happened I put the light on, turned over and went back to sleep. The following morning, I awoke to find my light on and then I remembered the event. I grabbed a pencil and scribbled down what had happened. My thoughts on the matter were mixed - concern and curiosity. A couple of weeks later it happened again.
This time was no different. Pressure on my chest, paralysis, sense of evil in front of my face, the wind howling outside and pitch-blackness. But I wasn't bothered - I was angry. I was so tired, this disturbance enraged me. I tried to shout, “get the f…” but that only developed as a thought, however, it ended in a loud, audible, “uck off me”. I could sense the feeling lift as though something was climbing off me. Then it was gone.
A few weeks later I moved in to a much bigger room down the other end of the corridor. The dark, sinister creature however, never came back.
Since these events I have read about ‘Old Hag Syndrome’ and ‘Sleep Paralysis’. It explained a lot about what I experienced. As a sceptic I want logical answers and the information I learned ticked some of the boxes I needed to tick. What I did learn from this is;
- The events felt and seemed real on both occasions.
- I've had this experience a couple of times since leaving the Sue Ryder Home but they ‘felt’ different.
- I knew it was sleep paralysis.
- Was the experience made worse by the dark?
I was always lying flat on my back when all of the incidents occurred. I never sleep on my back now and funnily enough I've never had an incident since.
So did I experience something paranormal or natural or both?
My article on the Old Hag and Sleep Paralysis can be found Here.
This
story was published in Paranormal Magazine,
Issue 18.