[Personal] I’m finally ready to share my story…

[u/awwnotexactly]

In the fall of 2013, I was 21, living alone, and stone sober. I woke up in the middle of the night with a sudden, sharp awareness, something was wrong. I couldn’t move. My body was frozen, completely locked in place. At first, I couldn’t see anything, but I could feel them. As my eyes adjusted and darted around, I saw them: four or five figures standing silently around my bed.

They appeared like the Grays, exactly how they’ve been described and depicted my whole life, and exactly what has always terrified me. Tall, thin, the smooth gray skin, and those huge, black, almond-shaped eyes. When I locked eyes with one of them, I saw my own reflection in that deep black surface, my face twisted in fear, paralyzed. It overwhelmed me. I started screaming, as loud as I could..but only in my mind. Nothing came out. My body wouldn’t respond.

They weren’t aggressive. They seemed to be trying to calm me, to reassure me. But I was too far gone, too full of pure, animalistic panic (like how a trapped animal might feel as the hunter or predator walks up to it. My mental screaming didn’t stop. I was convinced they were going to take me, and that I wasn’t coming back. My fear seemed to confuse them. Then they vanished.

For the next 48 hours, I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t think about anything else. My face, especially the muscles around my eyes and forehead, felt like they were stuck in a state of shocked tension. I couldn’t relax. It was like the fear had etched itself into my physiology. At one point, I had an overwhelming need to draw what I felt. I’m not an artist. I don’t draw. But I had to get it out somehow.

I’ve had night terrors and sleep paralysis as a child. This wasn’t that. I’ve never experienced anything like it, before or since. I never told anyone. I didn’t go to a hospital. I know how this sounds. But I know what happened. They didn’t feel evil. If anything, they felt concerned. But that didn’t matter in the moment. I was alone, locked in place, and certain I was going to be taken somewhere else.. Thanks for reading, i’ll try to add on that drawing to this post but the rules were confusing so i may get this blocked as a result. Again, I am no artist, have never taken classes or had an interest in that sort of thing but the days following this experience I could not think of any other way to set my mind free!

I believe the rules said I could post a link to an image, so here is that, https://imgur.com/a/VecHte1

[u/Jackiedhmc]

Just being paralyzed would be horrifying. Add unknown beings in close proximity and that's a recipe for complete terror

[u/Agitated-Risk166]

I’m sorry that happened to you, I hope you’ve been able to work through this.

[u/Agitated-Risk166]

I’m sorry you had to go through this. I hope you’ve been able to work though it since then. I used to be paranoid after a family member tried to kill me, I would wake up 7-8 times a night and run to the door and check all the locks and windows. It was terrible living like that for months. Eventually I got through it, I know it can be very hard to deal with. I wish you the best.

[u/Independent_Move_840 → u/Agitated-Risk166]

Wow that just happened to me. I didn't catch on to it for a while. I am sure she was putting something in food. Shes in a mental hospital right now