4. A Skeleton with Claws
While it would seem that ‘Rich’ was somewhat in control of his own body during his sleep paralysis attacks, the subject of this next story experienced some incidents that stand out from what would be considered the normal sleep paralysis experience. He reported the ‘usual suspects’: shadow figures lurking in the corners of his room and an overwhelming sense of dread at an unnamed and faceless evil presence, but then there were two incidences that stood out from the crowd.
Unable to move, our storyteller awoke facing away from the door. He felt the bedclothes lifted and pulled back and something that he could not identify climbed into bed with him. He couldn’t jump from the bed and he couldn’t shift position to see who his new companion was. A thin and boney appendage slid around his waist in an experience he described as “cuddling a skeleton with claws”.
Still paralyzed, he was unable to flee and lay for some time with the ‘thing’ next to him. After a time, it whispered in his ear “Not yet. You’re not ready yet.” Withdrawing from his bed it finished with “I’ll come back when you are”. With that, it was gone.
In a surprising twist, the second story has to do with as shadowy and faceless man. He was the silhouette of a kind elderly man. He was knelt, as if in prayer, at the edge of the sleeper’s bed. Instead of terror, the waking sleeper felt as though the man was there to tell him everything would be alright.
