32 incredibly terrifying sleep paralysis stories - Lucid Dream Society (2023)

Read the scariest sleep paralysis stories now!

Sleep paralysis is when your mind is awake but your body is still asleep. It is a fairly common phenomenon that worries many of us.

Hesimilaritiesinclude a feeling of paralysis when lying in bed.

Auditory and visual hallucinations are also common.

Some people see humanoid forms and even creatures, and hear strange and disturbing voices or other noises.

We asked people to share their real stories about sleep paralysis on Facebook, Reddit, and also in our email.

Here are the 32 scariest sleep paralysis stories we have:

1. Footsteps in the hallway.

"One night I woke up thinking there were footsteps in my hallway. I was lying on my back, which immediately confused me and made me a little nervous as I never sleep on my back.

I tried to turn my head to see where the sound was coming from, but I couldn't move at all.

Panic seized me and I heard the origin of footsteps entering my room. Now, though he couldn't see the figure, he knew it was an intruder.

I could feel him standing on the other side of my bed, looking at me silently.

He had some kind of weapon in his right hand, I think it was a knife.

I swear my heart has never raced and raced like this in my entire life. I tried and tried to move or scream but I was frozen in place.it felt like hours.“

– Von gingeroblivion, Reddit

2. I could hear "it" breathing

"I heard footsteps coming up the attic stairs (which end right next to my bed). I couldn't see anyone coming though.

I suddenly realized that I was seeing something in the corner of my peripheral vision and I could hear it breathing.As I slowly rolled my eyes to the side, I saw the small white-faced troll head that was smiling and staring at me..

I panicked and suddenly all the phones in the house started ringing. That buzz was building and building louder and louder.

It scared me and I knew for sure that I had permanent tinnitus.

After that brief moment that felt like a long time, I had enough strength to locate and lift my arm. This immediately stopped all hallucinations and I woke up. No tinnitus :)”

—Von IthunnuhtI, Reddit

3. Inaudible whispers

“My mind woke up and my whole body, including my face, was under the covers and I couldn't move; I could not see anything.

I worried for a brief moment when I realized that I couldn't move at all. Then it got scarier.

I felt tremendous pressure on my chest; I felt like this ghost (or whatever it was) had his face inches from mine.

As if that wasn't enough, I heard an inaudible whisper in both ears and banging on the wall next to the bed.

I started crying because that was all I could do physically and in my mind I was screaming as loud as I could but nothing was coming out.

I started to struggle but eventually woke up and sat up right away, still crying. The room was silent."

En thisisnotmyusername3, Reddit

4. Babadook-Style Dark Mass

“For me, paralysis always comes in cycles. I always sleep on my side or stomach.

A recurring experience for me is the feeling that something bad is hovering over my bed and slowly descending on me. Even if I never see him directly, somehow I always feel/know that he has a big smile on his face.

It might not sound very scary when I think about it, but the fact that it's always the same damn dark mass smiling babadook scares me."

– Por Murkymidsummer, Reddit

5. Face to face with the corpse

"When I was addicted to FFXI, I played too much and neglected my sleep. One night I went to bed stressed.

I then spent a while tossing and turning in bed, when I turned to the right I came face to face with the corpse of an old man.

It had some kind of scaly reptile skin.. After about five seconds (which felt like a lot longer) it started to fade.

So I could feel a kind of omnipresence outside. It was very early in the morning, so it was dawn, however, the sky and natural light began to quickly darken as this presence made its way to my room.

I could feel it grow and grow as the window turned pitch black -the darkness of pure evil began to seep into my room.

So I jumped up and left. I splashed cold water on my face to stop this whole attack."

– Por DAFJ, Reddit

6. The Man with the Knife

"I feel awake, but I feel dizzy and so incredibly tired that I can barely move. Then I realize that I can't really move.

At the same time, I am also very aware that I am in imminent physical danger. I see a shadow in the room at the foot of my bed. He is a man with a very big knife.

I know I MUST move to save my life, but I can't move. I hold my breath because I can't move, so I try (hard) to be as still as possible.

I want my heart to race for fear that I might even hear it in my chest. He wouldn't try to stab me if "I'm already dead", would he?

I stay like this, barely breathing and wavering back and forth between awake and asleep and back again... Eventually the male shadow is gone and I finally feel like I can let it go and safely go back to sleep.

When I wake up, I'm almost always lying on my side...not on my back at all. "

Por Sandy G., Facebook

7. Sleep Paralysis Loop

"I was lying in bed at night when I realized my body was stiff. It was uncomfortable.

I tried to move but then my body started to rise off the bed. Just a few inches.a scary feeling...that woke me up. What a relief. It was just a weird dream.

Suddenly I froze again and there was this creepy green glow outside my window...and then I woke up. That was worrying.

Somehow I had dreamed again without remembering to go back to sleep.

Suddenly, he was locked in even more rigidly than before, floating so far from the bed that he was almost to the ceiling, and the eerie green glow was brighter than before. I panicked... and woke up.

He was actually awake this time. sleep paralysis sleep paralysis sleep paralysis. I dream of being exactly where I was (at night in my own bed) in the same dream in the same dream."

– About bohemia, Reddit

8. The girl

"A couple of the recurring characters are a banshee in my room who screams at me with a kind of demonic polyphony.

A little girl who comes up to me and resets my sleep paralysis and puts me in nightmares. I'm usually up for the rest of the night when I get a visit from any of them.

But I have them quite often when I'm stressed. And they tend to stress me out for the next night, so it all adds up.

Skeletons passing in front of my door. The dead look at me from my window. I don't know why most of mine are about dead and rotten things.

But they are. I'm a 34 year old man, I don't know why ghost girls scare me. "

– Fromgrundalug, Reddit

9. Six arms are extended towards my body.

“I was sleeping in my bed and I woke up paralyzed. I looked at the wall in the hallway where we have a painting.

It was slightly crooked (it was also a different painting). Then I see my brother's arm adjusting the frame to his natural position.

At first it felt like a dream, then I was like, "What the hell is my brother doing here in the middle of the night?" and I realized that he was in sleep paralysis once again. And then…got worse.

The image changes to reveal the face of the witch from The Wizard of Oz (I had a dream about her that night).

It doesn't really look scary, but shit, it was scary at the time. He laughed and jumped out of the painting and onto my bed.

I just closed my eyes in utter horror andI felt something like six arms grabbing my whole body. She stayed like that for 5 seconds before she made it out of this damn nightmare.”

– Por Kiuraz, Reddit

10. The dream demon in my room.

"I'm awake and I can't move.

My body is tingling all over and I am in a serious panic. I can't move and I remember trying to jump out of my body. "Just sit down," I told myself.

As if suddenly relieved, I get up and turn on the nightstand lamp. I see the dream demon standing on the edge of the bed.

Of course I panic and scream. Wake up my friend who is freaking out. It took me about two hours to go back to sleep.”

11. Decaying man in my bed

"It happened when I was about 12 years old and I became obsessed with Justin Bieber, so much so that I had a poster of him next to my bed.

Back then, I fell asleep on my side on my bed so I could look in the mirror and see the poster next to me.

I woke up, unable to move, and instead of seeing my Justin Bieber poster, I saw a broken, decaying man sitting on the edge of the bed looking at me...

I was so scared and all I could do was close my eyes and hope it would go away. I took out the poster after that night, haha.”

- Mr. Jansma, Email

12. French kiss

"I was happily sleeping on my back when I woke up, except I didn't, at the time I hadn't realized it was an SP episode, so I opened my eyes and then I couldn't move and then it clicked.

"Fuck, I'm not supposed to open my eyes"

A moment later, a shadowy female figure with curves and long hair appeared at the end of my bed. She didn't even have glowing eyes or anything, just a pitch black silhouette. Like Mr Game and Watch but in 3D and sexy.

Surprised but not scared because as I mentioned I already knew this could happen and actually in the real world I was safe in my bed.

"what a cute devil"

And after standing there for a few seconds, without making a sound, he jumped on top of me, shins on my knees, grabbing my wrists and pinning them to the sides of my head to keep me from cradling me to move.

"Bitch, I'm already paralyzed, what are you doing?"

And she just kissed me with her tongue, I felt everything.

"WHAT FFFFUCK?"

And I woke up in pure confusion. I couldn't even let her finish, I was so shocked that I just woke up, I definitely didn't expect that.

– Poke Zharken, Reddit

13. The tall, slender figure

"In a not-so-recent episode, I woke up in the middle of the night, unable to move, to see a tall, slender figure walk into my room.

So far it's been an incident I'm familiar with, I have bi-weekly sleep paralysis, but this time I watched as the figure climbed into my bed with me in the big spoon position, leaned uncomfortably close to my ear, and whispered

"Go back to sleep"

and then I woke up with a start, with no sign of anyone in my room.”

– Por LaVey32,Reddit

15. Blackface

"I remember waking up for no reason. No loud noise. No tapping on my body to wake me up. Just complete silence.

I sat up thinking maybe I was thirsty or needed to pee. But something felt very strange. A feeling that I had never had before.

I can't even explain the feeling, but certain people know exactly what I'm talking about.

If I had to put it into words, I would just say: pure fear.

I felt like there was no time. I almost had the feeling that everyone stopped. I even felt like my watch was frozen in time.

I remember sitting there in a daze. As I sat up, I turned my head to the left and looked out my bedroom door.

Looking through, I saw a man standing there looking at me. He had to be about 7 feet tall, he wasn't even kidding.This man did not look hollow at all.. No spooky look.

It looked human. Completely solid just standing there and looking at me. I remember seeing the details in the clothes and everything. He was wearing all black boots, sort of like docs.

Faded blue jeans and a huge puffer jacket. Very strange since it was the middle of summer and even in CA it can still get hot at night. The jacket had a hood that covered his head.

The strange thing is that I couldn't see his face at all. Even with the dim blue light illuminating it. Her face was simply black.No facial features or anything.

Just a complete dark void where his face should be. As I sat there and stared at him, I just froze.

No noise. I was invaded by this confused feeling mixed with fear. I remember we were only looking at what seemed like minutes, but most likely it was only 30 seconds.

When I looked at him, he was scared.

I remember that I suddenly fell unconscious. I looked at him and then slowly lay down. Then nothing. Only immediately KO.Complete darkness."

16. A zombie virus

"Normally I'm not scared. I usually hear a very loud buzzing noise and my head feels like it's vibrating hahaha. I had a weird SP/dream where I was infected with a zombie virus and had to be killed to save mankind.

So I had to lie in a chamber and they turned on a machine that would shoot waves of radiation into my body.

I couldn't move and I felt this weird but comfortable feeling of power/static and the whole time I thought it doesn't feel very painful when you're being irradiated and burned alive. :D"

– Por BlackCode9, Reddit

17. Face to face with an old woman

- I heard a kind of whisper near my ear. It was really fast paced and gibberish.

When I opened my eyes to find out what the hell that was, I saw an old lady floating face to face an inch from my face.

She had a pale old face, blacklip and two very very deepblack eyes(I'm not even sure if it had eyes, I think they were sockets.)

I woke up after what seemed like an eternity of panic. That night I didn't sleep again."

— Von Sempi Senpai, Reddit

18. The Naked Killer

"One day I woke up in the middle of the night and immediately realized that I couldn't move.

I couldn't speak either and quickly realized that I was suffering from sleep paralysis.

Then I saw a person standing in the corner of my room. I was really excited, not scared, just happy to finally experience it.

Eventually I woke up and thought how cool it was, so I tried it again.

I was very tired and don't remember exactly what I did, but I did manage to get sleep paralysis another time, only this time I kept going back to normal sleep (if there is such a thing) and fell into sleep paralysis again. .

I dreamed of a naked crazy killer breaking into our house and when I was in sleep paralysis again, I think I saw the killer from my dream out of the corner of my eye. Nonetheless, I was glad to experience it all.

I woke up again and tried sleep paralysis again, succeeded and this time I really freaked out.

I remembered something I read about sleep paralysis a few years ago and said that a lot of people see the man in the hat standing in their room.

I don't know why, but the idea scared the hell out of me and I woke up straight out of paralysis.

When I woke up, I was really mad at myself for not only staying paralyzed, but for thinking I was just going to come back."

19. People without eyes

"I was sleeping next to my mom in a hotel room at the time and waking up between them and trying to wake her up to wake me up but I could barely move.

I kept going in and out of the dream state not knowing what to do at all.

The first experience was when I floated to the ceiling of the room and saw my mother being torn to pieces,scream in agonyas blood ran through the room.

The second experience was when I saw two people standing in front of me and cooing to me,but they had no eyesand I couldn't move and I didn't know who they were."

– Por Kirrans, Reddit

20. Shadow Maria

“I went into sleep paralysis and went into my normal panic.

My eyelids fluttered open to see the mist of a shadow drift through the door and stop just at the end of the couch at my feet.

When I fully woke up and my friends came home, I had the name of Maria in my head.

I kept thinking that the shadow's name is Mary or that it's trying to tell me something about Mary."

– By asiamfmike, Reddit

21. The Shadow of Teleportation

“I settled down, fell asleep and woke up in the middle of the night, opened my eyes and looked around, that was all I could do.

I had never heard of sleep paralysis so I didn't know what the heck was going on and then I saw what looked like a shadow walking around and then teleporting away.

He teleported towards me and leaned his head right over my face,then it climbed onto my chestand I felt immense pressure there. I assumed it all really happened until I heard about sleep paralysis and that many people have had almost exactly the same experience.

For a long time, my father and I thought we saw a ghost that day, but it was only my mind creating things that would haunt my nightmares forever.

After climbing onto my chest, the shadow first teleported to my sister's room, and then teleported, it went to the bathroom.

Then he turned into a dog and the dog barked at me but there was no sound, it was like someone silenced him, then he was completely gone and I never saw him again.

Then I forced myself to move my toes a bit and slowly tried to move the rest of my feet and it worked and I got up."

– Von livingpieceofshit, Reddit

22. The Loud Whisper

"I was laying on my bed when I heard some noises, but I assumed my cat was running and didn't really pay much attention to it.

I also noticed that my window blinds were open a bit, but I thought I forgot to close them.

As I try to get up to close the blindsPlease note that my body is very heavy., I try again, but I don't move at all.

At the same time, the noise in front of my room gets louder and closer andIt sounds like a lot of people whispering but very loud.

I'm starting to get really confused and a little scared because I think I might get robbed.

I try to reach for my phone to light up the room, but I remember that I can't move. At this point, to be honest, I'm starting to get really anxious.

A few seconds later I hear the doorknob and it begins to open slowly, revealinga shadow figureI try to ask who was there, but my mouth doesn't answer.

I'm starting to freak out and I can hear my heart beating unbelievably fast, I want to scream but I can't, the shadow moves slowly across the room and approaches my bed, the creature's whispers getting louder and clearer.

I can almost make out what some of the voices are saying.The shadow leans over the bed.and among all the whispers I clearly hear my father's voice:

- Do you want some peanuts?

I am completely confused and suddenly I realize that my room is completely dark, the door is closed and there is complete silence.

I'm still scared but a bit relieved and realize I can move again but choose not to as that 'thing' might still be there."

– By Quetas83, Reddit

23the man who jumpsHallusions

"I remember a case right after seeing Twin Peaks: The Return.

I was really obsessed with this show at the time and tried to do a WILD one night.

I'm not quite sure if it was sleep paralysis, but I had some faint hallucinations that reminded me of it.the man who jumpspor Twin Peaks.

I messed it up a bit before the hallucinations got worse and forced me to wake up again."

– By Bonanza Burger, Reddit

24. The skinny girl with long hair

"I slept alone in my grandparents' basement during a vacation.

I woke up in the middle of the night to a girl's voice calling my name over and over and saying "Where are you?"

Then I hear her slowly coming down the stairs. It was a very old house, so every time I heard it creak and the voice got louder and louder.

Then I saw her silhouette standing in the doorway. She was a super skinny girl with very long messy hair. She just stood there and stared at me for what seemed like forever.

I tried to do anything to get up or yell at someone but I couldn't move and I thought I was so scared.

Finally he lunged at me and just before he reached me I woke up. Probably one of the scariest experiences I've ever had."

– Por Stekl, Reddit

25. A man screaming in pain

"I had triedan induced lucid dreaming methodwhere you wake up after 5 hours of sleep, then lie still andmove your fingers as if you were playing the piano.

I felt like I was entering a lucid dream, which I guess turned into sleep paralysis.

I couldn't move and then all of a sudden when I was trying to go back to sleep my whole bodybegins to vibrate violentlyand I can't see and hear what sounds like a man screaming in pain.

I immediately "woke up" from sleep paralysis and jumped into my bed.

I didn't sleep the rest of the night because I had a bad and scary feeling. "

– By ethanlaubmeier, Reddit

26. Terrible whisper

"When I 'realise' that I am awake, I see shadows moving on the opposite wall of the basement.

I start to freak out and try to move but nothing happens.

I heard that deep, horrible whisper that sounded like they were getting closer and the shadows closed in on the wall next to me.

Shadows moved right over and to the side of my bed and the whispers were so loud they sounded like a train whistle.

I remember squeezing my eyes shut as hard as I could."

– By cdoc06, Reddit

27. Unwanted "guest"

"I woke up sometime in the middle of the night and tried to go back to sleep.

I felt a strange tickle/vibration through my body. I couldn't move at all, but I could feel my body lying on the bed. I know my eyes were closed and I was sleeping, but

I could see the room in which I was dreaming. I heard someone open the front door of my house and then some people started walking on the floors and walls.

A feeling of dread began to wash over me as the sounds got closer, but I was calm knowing that it was only SP due to my remaining consciousness. Finally, the noises disappeared."

– From the quasar crash, Reddit

28. The man from my dream entered my room.

“One night I had a dream that I walk into the raid and there is a man in a cloak with a hood on top.

I don't remember the details of the dream, but I knew I had to get away from the man and I remember feeling a lot of panic.

Then I woke up, but found that I couldn't move.

I lay on my side facing the wall and felt that the man from my dream was in my room and standing right behind me.

It wasn't a fun experience."

– Von Cassadora, Reddit

29. Black energy coming out of my stomach

"I've only experienced it once, but I slept on an air mattress in a room I don't normally sleep in.

There was a fan over my head that had a soothing sound that I remember, but I also felt this black energy coming out of my stomach and chest, it was above me looking down.

I couldn't see it, but I could feel it, so I guess I was imagining it.

It filled me with dread and my whole body felt like lead (unintentional rhyme).”

– Von apathetic666johnson, Reddit

30. Little boy coming to my face

"One time I fell asleep on my couch and I was in a creepy place and this little boy who kept showing up in my dreams was there.

He had huge eyes and little brown bangs and he got all dark and weird and he got closer and closer to my face until I was choking and then I woke up, I felt like it was going to happen."

– Por stagnantriver35, Reddit

31. My friend was drowning

“By far the scariest example was when I was in my college dorm.

The scene was dark, the only thing illuminating the room was a thin ray of light coming from the corridor through the lower opening of the door.

I was sleeping on the scene and suddenly woke up like from a nightmare, trying to catch my breath and pull myself together and go back to sleep.

Once I lowered my head my heart sank when I suddenly heard heavy breathing and looked at my roommate thinking it was him and lowered my head again but he kept coming closer and making more noise.

In my trepidation, I scanned the room with my eyes only to see a tall, shadowy figure in the right corner, and he began to laugh hysterically in a twisted, demonic manner.

I tried to yell and yell for my roommate, but I didn't have to speak. Then a sudden force knocked me down on the bed and no matter how hard I tried to get up, I couldn't.

I lean out and watch as the figure jumps on my roommate, brutally and literally tearing him apart. I tried to look away, but he forced me to look.

I still remember the sound of my friend choking on his own blood as he was eaten alive.

Realizing that this was probably a sleep paralysis experience, I tried to collect myself and kept saying it was almost over.

But the figure that was now looking at me slowly approached my rigid body.began to touch my motionless faceHe licked my cheek with his miserable bony fingers and started yelling things into my ear as the laughter around me crushed my body and before it could escalate, it was over.

– Von Ariveracre, Reddit

32. The Spaceship

"Sometimes I experience sleep paralysis and I'm usually facing a wall or under a blanket, so I don't get a lot of images, just shadows of people behind me.

But what really gets me into the noise.

It sounds like a spaceship or plane is flying right next to me on my bed.

The strongest I can process consistently and during the sleep paralysis period it gets a little STRONGER?

I don't understand how I can physically hear these things as if they were external, but my gosh, it feels real and so strong every time."

– Von GigaTrigger69, Reddit

Have you experienced something similar?

Or would you also like to share YOUR sleep paralysis story?

Do not hesitate to write your experience in ours.facebook group, or in the comments section!

Finally, if you want to learn more about sleep paralysis, be sure to read the following articles: