The Shadow **REAL STORY**

by LIliana
(California)

When I was around 5, me and my family used to live in this apartment. Every night I would have what my parents thought were nightmares, but in reality when these things happened to me I would always be awake. They never believed me and always thought that it was just my imagination. It got to the point that I had my bed moved into my parents bedroom. But even then I still woke up and to my surprise with something always in the room. It always consisted of some black shadow. I even saw this old lady once (I wasn't afraid of her, I don't know why though). My parents would always turn on the lights to make me see that there was nothing there. At some point I started to believe them.

Until one night I woke up and next to my bed was this shadow (the room was dark but not as dark as the shadow & I was still able to see my parents sleeping) which was the same height as my little sister. At first I was a bit frightened but then I thought it was her and I started talking to her. I had gone to sleep with her blanket so I thought she wanted it back. I threw it at her expecting it to land on top of her. But it just fell to the ground. I apologized to my sister but the I realized it wasn't her because she was in my parents bed sleeping. I freaked out but the shadow just stood there. I then got all of my pillows and put them on the edge of my bed so it couldn't touch me, then I covered my face and I got as near to the wall as I could. I fell asleep.
The next day I woke up around the same time. The same shadow was there except even closer to my face. Before it was closer to my feet. This scared me. The shadow was leaning on this chair with a huge pile of clothes. It had seemed to grow. I did the same as the night before and fell asleep.
This kept on happening for the next four days. The shadow kept on growing. As it grew so did my fear. I even started to dread for night time to come. I hadn't told my parents anything because they would have never believed me. They would have probably thought it was just the overactive imagination of a 5 year old.
On the last day that I saw the shadow at this age was the scariest night of my childhood life. That day I woke up around the same time. I was so scared because when I opened my eyes it was right in front of my face it had shrunk back to its original size. I remember I started crying. I tried to do the same as before but I couldn't. I called out for my mom and she told me to be quiet that it was all just a dream. I told her I couldn't then she asked if I wanted to sleep in her bed so I said yes. I grabbed my blanket and I was about to get off of my bed, but then I saw the shadow so I decided to get off on the side where my feet were so I stood up on my bed and as soon as I was about to jump off, the shadow moved there. I had never seen it move before I tried the other end but it moved there as well. This shadow was different from the rest I had seen. I called for my mom but she didn't reply. I then decided to take a running start and jump from my bed to my moms. I remember that I looked back and the shadow was now on the side where I had just jumped from. To my luck she made me sleep on the end of the bed. I covered my face with my blanket and mustered the bit of courage I had left and I peaked out of my blanket and I saw the shadow was right next to me. I eventually fell asleep.
I never saw it again until about a year ago (we live in a different place now). It was around 1am and I had just finished some work for school when out of the corner of my eye I saw this shadow. It made me feel scared. I couldn't understand why but I thought nothing of it because I was really tired and I just thought I was seeing things. But this was the just the start. I started seeing shadows hear and there but I still didn't think anything of it until one night I was getting ready for bed. I had turned off the lights and just as I got in bed I saw this shadow go up into the ceiling. Once again I felt fearful. I tried to brush it off as best as I could. I fell asleep on my back and I ended up walking up not being able to move. I felt like someone was choking me. I felt as though someone was sitting on my chest and holding onto my arms. The next day when I woke up my arms were so sore.
The next night I fell asleep in the same position and ended up waking up the same way not being able to move the same as last time. This went on for some weeks not everyday but yeah. Until it started getting worse. The last time before I changed sleeping positions I remember waking up to someone caressing my stomach and legs. There was no one there. Then all of a sudden something pulled my covers (which by the way are heavy because I get cold easily) up with one of my legs. I got scared all I could do was see how this thing kept on touching me and pulling my legs and covers. After a while I was so drained out of energy from trying to move I fell asleep. When I woke up some of my covers were on the floor away from my bed and the sheets of my bed looked as though someone had pulled them trying to get them off.
The next night I decided sleep on my side because I read online that what I could be experiencing was sleep paralysis and if you sleep on your back your more likely to experience it. So that night I fell asleep close to the wall something I have always done since I was a kid. But I woke up. I felt someone touching my arm and then it went to playing with my hair. I was so scared I couldn't scream or anything. I couldn't move and I felt so tired. Eventually I don't know how but I managed to fall asleep. This went on for a few weeks but at least I could breath. It got to the point where I would wake up to something touching me but I didn't give it that much importance because all it did was touch my arm and play with my hair so i'd just wake up and go to sleep again. (BY THE WAY I MADE SURE IT WASN'T ANYONE TRYING TO PULL A PRANK ON ME!)
Until one day I got tired of having my hair played with so I pulled it up in a bun. Thinking that not letting IT play with my hair anymore would maybe have it leave me alone for once and have a good nights sleep. That night was awful. I fell asleep and about 15 min. of going to sleep I woke up to something ferociously touching my arm then my back and neck and then my arm again. It pulled me onto my back and grabbed my wrists really hard. I felt something grab each of my legs. I couldn't breath I thought I was going to die. I was scared out of my mind. Thinking I was going to die I closed my eyes and I started to pray in my mind because I couldn't speak. I remember telling god to please forgive any of my sins when all of a sudden I open my eyes and I see 3 pairs of red eyes one one pair at each leg and the other in front of me. They got really mad and then started laughing and then the one on top of me told me god can't help you now. I cried and closed my eyes again and kept on praying for forgiveness from god and to take me to heaven. I opened my eyes again and they were gone. I was so drained out of energy that I fell asleep again.
I couldn't sleep for 3 days after that. Until my body got the best of me and I fell asleep on the living room couch. I didn't want to go into my room anymore. My mom asked why and I told her from when I started seeing them as a kid and now. She told me that when she was around 15 yrs. old that she would wake up in the middle of the night and she would feel like someone was choking her and that when she would pray it would leave. Until one day she said she saw that what was choking her was an old lady. She said she got tired of being woken up by her so she confronted her and told her to leave her alone. She told me to do the same. So the next night I went to my room and woke up because they were bothering me. I told them to leave me alone. I opened my eyes and looked at the one on top of me and told it that I had better things to do then to be woken up in the middle of the night. I fell asleep no matter how much they tried to bother me.
The next day my mom got me this necklace that she had a priest sprinkle holy water on and now I keep it near my bed. They sometimes come and wake me up but I ignore them. If I am too tired to even put up a fight or argue with them I try and get the necklace but usually when I try to do this they won't let me or I can't find it.
Nowadays they don't bother me as much but sometimes when they do I feel as though I'm really scared but I try not to because that is what they want they feed off of my fear and that is something I won't let them do. There are some times when they totally catch me off guard but I've gotten used to it. They don't bother me as much and usually when they are going to bother me at night I feel their presence so I mentally prepare myself for what awaits me that night. What I don't like is that they usually come and bother me when I actually have to sleep because I have something important to do but it's okay.