Scaring myself

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Kerr

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I watched a pretty good flick tonight on scifi called Living Hell, one of those new computer animated ones, a good story line, good acting. I guess it got my hairs up. Here's what happened....

A reflection on the window caught my eye as I rose from the toilet. I jumped, then looked more closely. The bathroom window is a crank out type like you find in basements. A ruffled valance hangs halfway down while several bottles of cleaning liquids, an ashtray in the shape of an opened-mouthed fish, and another large green glass fish line the base, leaving only an inch or two of space between for reflexion. A pale blue towel is rolled and stuffed along the bottom to ward off drafts. A line of reflection follows the towel. Ah! That is probably it, I think. But as I move away from the window, another pale reflection moves, as well. It's me. I laugh, reach for the light switch, and stop. The window looks out on a small screened porch that faces the backyard. The porch is never locked. We are pretty much alone out here, no other houses within a quarter mile. But anyone who cares to walk could enter the porch and look right into the window. Why am I spooking myself like this, I wonder. But there's no stopping this strange fascination of mine with the bathroom window. It's not the first time I've felt other eyes watching. I turned off the light and go to peer out.
#
Okay, that's it! But as I'm writing this, something crashed into one of the large windows where I write, adjacent to the bathroom. It's pitch black out there and all I can see in these windows is me. I have to stop writing and go wake up my OH because every hair on my body is now standing at attention. There are no footprints outside in the snow. It's doubtful any birds are flying at night. In the end, we decide it's probably ice falling from the roof. Maybe? Probably.... So my question is, what's scared you lately?
 

bluntforcetrauma

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Alright already! I'll just quit visiting you if it freaks you out so much. BTW...throw that Boilermaker towel away!
 

Expanding Ink

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Yeah, I have the most irrational and ridiculous fear of sharks, yet I'm also completely fascinated by them. So, I tend to seek out movies of the Giant Killer Stalker Shark variety, and then freak out even though I don't live remotely close to any substantial bodies of water. Or to any Giant Killer Stalker Sharks.
 

zahra

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I woke up the other night and heard someone in my living-room. For the three seconds before my brain kicked in, I totally forgot that my sister was staying the night. Not the most fun three seconds I've ever had!

Not recently, but one of my 'best' scares, was when I was trying to put a jacket in my wardrobe a few years ago. It kept sliding off the hanger whenever I moved away. After trying four times, I got really convinced there was something weird happening. I put it on really firmly, no way it could slide off. I watched it. It stayed. I moved away. It slid off. By now, I was toying with the idea of running screaming to the vicar I was trying to snog at the time (good excuse to fling myself into his manly arms, if nothing else). I put it away one more time, and this time I noticed that there was a thread from the jacket caught on my blouse button! Hence the sliding off whenever I moved!

And I'm also frequently scared in the Florida house, mainly because I stay there alone, whipping myself into a horror frenzy writing and reading late into the night, so it serves me right.
 

Kevin Yarbrough

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I scare myself everytime I get out of the shower naked. God, it makes me jump, sends shivers down my spine, and goosebumps appear. Then I relaize that the gorgeous person in the mirror is me, I wink at myself, blow a kiss. "You damn sexy devil you."

God it hurts being this good looking.


(then I wake up screaming.)
 

Anthony Matias

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I have a fear of walking up the stairs with the lights off.

We have an 18 foot ceiling on the main floor and the stairs leading up have an open railing that looks down to the floor below. When I go to turn off the lights, prior to walking up the stairs to go to bed, I begin to get goosebumps and the hairs on my neck and arms stand on end. With the ceiling being so high and there being a stong wind outside, the drafts can really move around giving me the feeling that I am being touched from behind. As I'm making my ascent, I also feel that something is watching me from below and I've often found myself reaching the top in a few short bounds.
 

Kerr

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Kelly, EI and Zarha, all of us girls. So is it just women who have a blatant belief that something unnatural is about to happen, or is it that men are humiliated if they admit to their own groundless fears? Come on guys, be totally honest. We all have those things that set our imaginations into gear. My thinking here is that something might plant a seed in someone else's mind in a whole new way. Maybe you guys were little the last time you remember being frightened.
 

Kerr

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Yea Anthony! :hooray: That's what I'm talkin' about. Next.
 

Tedium

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Yeah, I have the most irrational and ridiculous fear of sharks, yet I'm also completely fascinated by them. So, I tend to seek out movies of the Giant Killer Stalker Shark variety, and then freak out even though I don't live remotely close to any substantial bodies of water. Or to any Giant Killer Stalker Sharks.

What about Land Shark? :p

I have sleep paralysis often and during an episode I have a very intense, primal fear that something horrible is about to happen or, more often than not, it is a fear that something horrible is trying to manifest itself. I found out a long time ago that I can scare myself better than anyone else.

On a lighter note, I used to run up to the mirror when I was a kid and make scary faces. One time I really managed to scare myself and looking back, I laugh everytime I think about it.
 

dolores haze

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I live in an old house out in the country. It's pitch black at night, and this old house makes some weird noises. My husband works nights a lot, and many the time I've laid in bed, wide awake, convinced that someone is trying to get in to the house. I keep a variety of "weapons" stashed around the place - tennis rackets, baseball bats, etc. One of these nights I fear my hubby is going to get smacked over the head as he tries to sneak into the house without waking us.

PS - How is your head feeling, Haggis?
 

Kerr

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...this old house makes some weird noises.

Been there. For about six months, until the thing burnt down one night while the girls and I were visiting my folks, we lived in a rickety old trailer. It had the heating ducts underneath, running down the middle. When it would come on at night, you'd swear it was someone walking. Creak! Creak!
 

zahra

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What about Land Shark? :p

I have sleep paralysis often and during an episode I have a very intense, primal fear that something horrible is about to happen or, more often than not, it is a fear that something horrible is trying to manifest itself. I found out a long time ago that I can scare myself better than anyone else.

quote]

Sleep paralysis is the work of the devil! Could the human body manifest anything more scary than not being able to move and simultaneously imagining dreadful things coming to get you? When I had sleep p. more regularly, I used to hear literally masses of voices, all hissing evilly at me. So entirely not fun.
 

Kerr

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I have sleep paralysis often and during an episode I have a very intense, primal fear that something horrible is about to happen or, more often than not, it is a fear that something horrible is trying to manifest itself. I found out a long time ago that I can scare myself better than anyone else.
quote]

Sleep paralysis is the work of the devil! Could the human body manifest anything more scary than not being able to move and simultaneously imagining dreadful things coming to get you? When I had sleep p. more regularly, I used to hear literally masses of voices, all hissing evilly at me. So entirely not fun.

What exactly is sleep paralysis? I had one incident that I published a story about which was so frightening, I still recall every detail. At the time, I thought and hoped it was more along the lines of lucid dreaming. I got up to use the bathroom around five. It was still dark. I returned to bed, lit a cigarette and started watching (Conan?). Suddenly, like seconds later, I could not keep my eyes open. I thought that I would burn the house down if I didn't put the cigarette out. I felt paralyzed from head to toe, but struggled against it and managed to get the cig into the ashtray. Then I was frozen, could not even open my eyes, though I felt that I could see right through my lids, the square of light that was the TV, and a dark shadow at the top of the stairs that I could see right through the cabinet built along side the bed. I tried to call out or touch my OH but managed only a moan and to move one finger. Every time I moaned, though, our little dog would whine. I could see her right through the bed, looking at the shadow, her hair standing straight up. Suddenly, whatever it was that held me, let go. I was struggling so hard to move, that my arm swung and belted my OH. I yelled his name. He woke and jumped right off the bed. "He's there! At the top of the stairs!"

But no one was there. I was so certain, I went halfway down the stairs to see for myself. No one was there that my eyes could see, now, awake. But several stairs down, I walked right into something. The feeling was so overwhelming that tears jumped right out of my eyes.

Of course, this is very condensed, but I told the story in an ezine that dealt with the paranormal hoping someone would step forth and offer something logical.
 

KikiteNeko

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I'm easily freaked out. I don't like scary movies. I don't like scary books. My friends don't like ME because they can't tell scary stories without me saying "SHUT UP AAAAH"

One time, my friend and her boyfriend were driving me home. There's this long spooky road far from civilization surrounded by woods. No streetlights. And it's about five miles long. So we take that road, and he just stops the car and rolls down my window and locks it on me. And I was like "This is not cool." And he was like "WhoooOooOoo" and I was like "Do you want pee in your car? Because people will say 'what's that smell?' and you'll have to say 'Lauren peed there.' Is that what you want?"
 

Kerr

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Nice picture, Lauren. Now I can see you and hear your voice perfectly in my mind's eye. Come visit anytime. We love to send shivers up the spine. It's a hobby around these parts.
 

Anthony Matias

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Wikipedia definition of Sleep paralysis:

Sleep paralysis is a condition characterized by temporary paralysis of the body shortly after waking up (known as hypnopompic paralysis) or, less often, shortly before falling asleep (known as hypnagogic paralysis).

Physiologically, it is closely related to the paralysis that occurs as a natural part of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is known as REM atonia. Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain awakes from a REM state, but the bodily paralysis persists. This leaves the person fully conscious, but unable to move. In addition, the state may be accompanied by terrifying hallucinations (hypnopompic or hypnagogic) which cause an acute sense of danger [2]. Sleep paralysis is particularly frightening to the individual due to the vividness of such hallucinations[3]. The hallucinatory element to sleep paralysis makes it even more likely that someone will interpret the experience as a dream, since completely fanciful, or dream-like, objects may appear in the room alongside one's normal vision. Some scientists have proposed this condition as a theory for alien abductions and ghostly encounters.[4]

The paralysis can last from several seconds to several minutes "after which the individual may experience panic symptoms and the realization that the distorted perceptions were false".

My only memory of sleep paralysis was when I was about 10 years old.

I awoke in my bed and lying on my stomach. I remember that I had the feeling of someone being in the room with me and very close; almost whispering in my ear. I was completely immobile and my heart was racing. It lasted for maybe a minute and then I could move. I sat up and was extremely frightened. I looked around but no one was in the room with me. That was all I recall.
 

KikiteNeko

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I don't think this is the same thing, but while I was beginning brainstorming for my second WIP (and I had JUST finished my first novel, so I hadn't been sleeping properly for weeks), I was up all night. I finally crashed around 10 AM. I woke up at 10:20, heart pounding, and when I tried to stand my legs wouldn't work and I fell back into the bed. It was a few minutes before I could feel them again... I attribute it to stress and fatigue, and I've tried to maintain a healthy sleep cycle even while writing. Tried being the operative word.

Wikipedia definition of Sleep paralysis:



My only memory of sleep paralysis was when I was about 10 years old.

I awoke in my bed and lying on my stomach. I remember that I had the feeling of someone being in the room with me and very close; almost whispering in my ear. I was completely immobile and my heart was racing. It lasted for maybe a minute and then I could move. I sat up and was extremely frightened. I looked around but no one was in the room with me. That was all I recall.
 
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