Dead World, The Visitors & Sleep Paralysis | 410

[00:00:07] Thank you for joining me and welcome. I'm your host, Nick Ryan. Tonight's episode is brought to you by my newest supporter, Carla. Thank you so much for making the show possible. Tonight's experiences come to us from Obiswan, and this is their story.

[00:00:44] I will be the first to admit that I am not the most talented of writers, so you will have to bear with me. I do not know exactly how or where to begin my life's tales of odd experiences, though it should be very easy for one such as myself. Unlike many writers, I do not have to dredge the deepest reaches of my imagination for a novel idea or construct a well-versed and plotted-out storyline.

[00:01:08] All that is required of myself is to recount and document the strange events that I have personally experienced.

[00:01:15] The dilemma in which I am faced lies in that I have so many, many of which I am not sure how to put into words. My only hope is that my passing of these experiences are entertaining, and that I do not bore you and the audience in its telling.

[00:01:30] I will do my best and begin with an introduction followed by an event that has changed me to this very day.

[00:01:38] I will be upfront. I am a strange combination of being extremely open-minded when it comes to believing people's experiences, as well as a hard skeptic when it comes to believing the reason for their occurrence.

[00:01:49] I can talk about the joys of astral projection and the vistas that I have explored, or the entities who have paralyzed me with fear while they loom over the foot of my bed, and then how most of these phenomena can be explained by science in the same breath.

[00:02:04] I am an atheist and a scientist by nature who looks for the logical explanation, but I do not discount people's experiences.

[00:02:12] How could I? I have so many of my own. And this is my telling.

[00:02:18] When I listen to another's account of a paranormal experience, I get really excited.

[00:02:23] I get excited to hear how the person actually experienced these events, if it was only in the perception of their minds.

[00:02:29] I do believe that many of my accounts can be written off by various sleep disorders and overactive imagination.

[00:02:36] But a part of me, especially late at night, when the hairs start standing up on the back of my neck, wonder if my beliefs and explanations are just frail excuses to protect my fragile mind from what lies beyond the veil.

[00:02:50] Do you know the veil I speak of?

[00:02:53] Yes, that one.

[00:02:54] The one that I opened when I wasn't ready for what was waiting for me on the other side.

[00:02:59] But that, my friends, will come later.

[00:03:02] For now, a little more about where I am coming from.

[00:03:06] I grew up in the middle of nowhere in southeastern Manitoba, in what I often call the Styx, a patch of forest in the middle of the open prairies.

[00:03:15] My home growing up was on a dirt road that didn't even have a name until the mid-2000s, and it was located about an hour away from the nearest city.

[00:03:24] However, that never stopped the spirits and other entities from visiting me.

[00:03:29] I've never had to go anywhere to find something supernatural.

[00:03:33] Growing up, I was what I would call a lighthouse or a beacon.

[00:03:36] To this day, I often see people or things upon waking, so I would be hard-pressed to list every experience in this telling.

[00:03:44] But I will highlight a few key events.

[00:03:47] The first vivid experience that stands out in my mind occurred when I was about five or six.

[00:03:53] We still lived in a trailer on this lot of land.

[00:03:56] And before you ask, no, no one ever died on it.

[00:03:59] And no, it was not on any native burial grounds.

[00:04:03] It was a three-bedroom trailer, quite small and a bit run down.

[00:04:07] But it was home.

[00:04:08] I remember lying in bed.

[00:04:10] I was having problems falling asleep that night.

[00:04:13] My door was open.

[00:04:14] I had my nightlight on in my room.

[00:04:17] And my mom kept another nightlight on in the hallway to help me, because I did have night terrors often.

[00:04:23] And I would come flying out of my room, screaming about something.

[00:04:26] But it was always something different, but usually involved some black mass of fur, or even tendrils.

[00:04:33] By morning, I would always forget what it was that I was so afraid of.

[00:04:36] This night, though, was different.

[00:04:39] This night.

[00:04:41] I remember.

[00:04:42] As I was lying in bed, I could hear my parents watching TV in the living room next to my bedroom.

[00:04:48] My room was warmly lit by my nightlight on the wood panel walls.

[00:04:52] No harsh light and no dark shadows.

[00:04:55] I began to feel uneasy.

[00:04:57] The hairs began to stand up on the back of my neck in my arms.

[00:05:01] It's a little hard to explain how I felt, even though I had felt it many times since.

[00:05:06] This was the first time that I remembered having a ping.

[00:05:10] A ping, as I call it, is a warning that you are about to experience something, or that the potential is there.

[00:05:17] I had no idea what this meant at the time, but I would soon find out.

[00:05:21] I had no idea what was coming, but I knew that it was going to be in my doorway, at any moment.

[00:05:28] I felt the shudder and chill of goosebumps run down my neck, my back, and my arms.

[00:05:33] Then I saw it.

[00:05:35] A boy about the age of twelve.

[00:05:37] He appeared fully corporeal, and he had dusty blonde hair and blue sunken eyes.

[00:05:43] He was wearing a blue sweater and blue sweatpants, with dirty gray socks.

[00:05:48] His neck was cocked to the right side, as if he had been hung.

[00:05:52] But I could see no rope.

[00:05:55] He drifted about six inches from the hallway ceiling.

[00:05:58] The figure slowly drifted from left to right across the narrow doorway.

[00:06:02] And then he was gone.

[00:06:04] I did not run out of my room, as I was too afraid.

[00:06:08] I did not call my parents.

[00:06:10] I merely laid there in terror, until I finally fell back to sleep.

[00:06:15] Another experience that sticks out in my mind occurred when I was around the age of seven.

[00:06:20] I remember looking out my bedroom window during a heavy thunderstorm.

[00:06:24] The light show was amazing.

[00:06:26] I remember feeling my hair standing up again, and the goosebumps.

[00:06:31] Then, flash.

[00:06:33] Flash.

[00:06:33] And then by a tree in my yard, I saw a hunched-over man, digging with a shovel.

[00:06:39] Crack.

[00:06:40] He looked in my direction.

[00:06:42] Flash.

[00:06:43] He was gone.

[00:06:45] Now, not all my experiences are bad or even terrifying.

[00:06:49] Some were actually quite warm and pleasant.

[00:06:52] One night, while staying at my grandparents' house just outside of Winnipeg, Manitoba,

[00:06:56] I remember waking up in the middle of the night, because there was someone in the doorway.

[00:07:01] He was an average-built man, silhouetted by the bathroom light behind him.

[00:07:06] I remember the light smell of pipe tobacco, and that he had a cane in his hand that had

[00:07:12] a distinct 90-degree handle.

[00:07:14] He did not have any negative feelings about him.

[00:07:16] In fact, this was the first time that I had a warm and loving feeling coming from a visitor

[00:07:22] in the night.

[00:07:23] I fell asleep again and told my mom about my experience, and she told me that my great-grandfather

[00:07:29] smoked a pipe and had a cane that matched my description.

[00:07:33] I would see or feel him many more times when we would stay at my grandfather's house,

[00:07:38] and he would always be watching over us as we slept.

[00:07:42] My Oma and Opa's house, however, had a much different feeling to it.

[00:07:46] Here is where I had my first attack by an entity.

[00:07:50] I remember lying in the guest bedroom.

[00:07:52] I was maybe 10 years old at the time.

[00:07:55] And before then, we always slept in the living room or the playroom.

[00:07:59] I was excited to be able to sleep in this room in the cozy bed all by myself.

[00:08:04] That, however, would change.

[00:08:07] In the middle of the night, I woke up, fear coursing through my veins, irrational fear,

[00:08:12] a horrifying and sickening fear.

[00:08:15] Not a fear of pain or fear of the unknown, or even the fear of dying, but a fear for my soul.

[00:08:22] I tried to scream, but there was only a muted gasp.

[00:08:25] I tried to roll out of bed, but I was pinned.

[00:08:28] My body was lead, and no matter what I tried, I could not move.

[00:08:32] A dark figure stood just inside the door to the right foot of the bed, staring at me.

[00:08:38] I willed as hard as I could to move, to scream, to do anything.

[00:08:42] But I could not.

[00:08:44] This thing had me, and would not let me go.

[00:08:47] Eventually, though, it slowly dissipated, and I could move once again.

[00:08:52] Talking with my family later on, when I had the nerve to do so,

[00:08:56] my Oma and Opa did not seem to have anything to say about it.

[00:08:59] However, my father, aunt, and uncle all had experiences in that room.

[00:09:04] They all experienced being pinned down, but the entity was sitting on their chests.

[00:09:10] In writing this, I am noting that these entities always keep a certain distance from me,

[00:09:15] never getting closer than just out of arm's reach.

[00:09:17] I can count that as a stroke of luck, except for that one time,

[00:09:22] but you will have to slog through a bit more background

[00:09:25] before I retell that part of my story.

[00:09:28] My aunt also told me that she had seen a woman with a small silver revolver in the house,

[00:09:34] and then there was that time that my Opa found a finger bone in the dugout basement.

[00:09:40] Now that house is no longer standing,

[00:09:42] and I hope that whatever was there is now gone.

[00:09:47] Around the age of 12, I really began to gain an interest in the occult and New Age spiritualism.

[00:09:53] Being from a Catholic family, one would assume that it would be difficult to acquire such facets of knowledge,

[00:09:59] but my parents were supportive and open-minded to me learning about different forms of spirituality up to a point,

[00:10:05] because they knew that I was being visited on a regular basis.

[00:10:09] My father had a near-death experience when he was three years old,

[00:10:13] which set him firmly in the heaven and hell camp.

[00:10:16] My mom used to be rather sensitive and had the occasional visitor until she had me,

[00:10:21] and now she just has a feeling now and again.

[00:10:24] They both lived in a house that they claimed was haunted before I was born,

[00:10:28] so they did have an open mind to spirits.

[00:10:32] By the age of 14, nightly apparitions were commonplace.

[00:10:36] I would sometimes have multiple visits a night.

[00:10:39] Most were benign, some were good, and some were not so good.

[00:10:43] I would also hear voices or feel my mattress move as if someone was crawling onto my bed.

[00:10:49] It became so common of an occurrence, and at this point annoying,

[00:10:53] that I kept a small pillow to throw at them so they would go away,

[00:10:57] because I was trying to sleep.

[00:10:58] One such casualty of my twilight pillow tossing was a small boy,

[00:11:03] about five or six, that was beside my bed.

[00:11:06] He looked worried or sad, like he was looking for something.

[00:11:10] He was not the first visitor that evening,

[00:11:12] and I really had no time for midnight rendezvous.

[00:11:15] I threw the pillow right through him.

[00:11:17] He looked surprised, then scared, then extremely sad,

[00:11:22] and he slowly curled up into a ball crying in the corner, as he faded out.

[00:11:26] I then fell back asleep, feeling sad for the poor boy.

[00:11:32] At this time, I was pretty good at meditation,

[00:11:35] seeing auras when I wanted to,

[00:11:37] and doing astral projection with the same ease as a narcoleptic taking a nap.

[00:11:42] Almost every night, I would try to astral project.

[00:11:45] I loved the feeling of floating above my body,

[00:11:48] the feeling of my spirit arms writhing and twisting unnaturally as they detach from my body,

[00:11:54] the feeling of floating, drifting, but always connected to my body by my silver cord,

[00:11:59] not to mention the sound of my heartbeat, or rancid, blaring on my CD player.

[00:12:05] Often, it would be black and starry, with splashes of color here and there,

[00:12:09] but it would be open and wide and free-feeling.

[00:12:12] If I was lucky, I could pop over to what I called the dead world.

[00:12:17] It was pretty much a copy of this world, but dead.

[00:12:20] Dead black trees, purple skies, blue hues,

[00:12:25] and most objects and structures were gray and covered in dust.

[00:12:29] Oh yeah, and black tendrils,

[00:12:32] very much like the ones that I see all the time anyway when I wake from sleep.

[00:12:36] I don't know, call me weird, but it was peaceful and beautiful.

[00:12:42] Once, I was at my uncle's house just after Christmas.

[00:12:45] I popped into a meditative state before I went to sleep.

[00:12:48] I had a vivid dream about my aunt.

[00:12:51] My aunt and cousin had died during childbirth many years before.

[00:12:55] She told me that if I was going to do this, that I must know how to protect myself.

[00:12:59] She showed me how to use my third eye while in the astral to push things away,

[00:13:04] and how to manipulate the ether.

[00:13:06] This came in handy when the bad things came.

[00:13:09] Well, some of them anyway.

[00:13:11] I know, it just got weird, right?

[00:13:13] But please, just bear with me.

[00:13:15] I promise it will better paint a picture of what's to come.

[00:13:20] Around this time, my ex-girlfriend's stepdad had committed suicide

[00:13:24] after trying to do inappropriate things with her.

[00:13:26] Being of the non-traditional variety, upon hearing this news,

[00:13:30] I may have said a couple of things that could have been taken as a curse on his soul.

[00:13:34] As an occult-y, angry teenager at that time, what do you expect?

[00:13:38] In any case, all was good, until that summer.

[00:13:42] I was alone at home, and I felt a super angry presence.

[00:13:45] I could feel that it was him.

[00:13:47] The sky began to darken as a thunderstorm came in.

[00:13:50] I know, right?

[00:13:52] I thought that it was strange, too.

[00:13:53] But being super cocky and just as angry about it,

[00:13:56] I did what any right-minded person would definitely not have done.

[00:14:00] I called him out, and cursed him to leave and not come back.

[00:14:04] As I was speaking, I tried to use my third eye as my aunt had shown me in the dream.

[00:14:09] It seemed to work to repel him.

[00:14:12] He was a bully in life, but he would back down if someone stood up to him.

[00:14:16] He never bothered me again.

[00:14:18] It was intense, and my words in this writing do the event no justice,

[00:14:23] but I was pretty happy with myself at the time.

[00:14:27] Later that year, one of my friend's moms who was sensitive

[00:14:30] claimed to have many uncanny insights while asleep,

[00:14:33] and she had a dream journal that she used to track her dreams.

[00:14:38] Once I was having a sleepover,

[00:14:39] and we agreed to try to meet up in the dream realm

[00:14:42] to see if we could find something out about the other.

[00:14:44] When it was time to go to sleep,

[00:14:46] I popped into a meditative state

[00:14:48] and focused on trying to meet up in the dream realm.

[00:14:51] When I came to in the dream,

[00:14:53] I was in my friend's room,

[00:14:54] but he was not there.

[00:14:56] My friend's mom came to the door,

[00:14:58] and she was in her early 20s,

[00:15:00] and she was wearing an old 80s punk dress

[00:15:02] and a pink scrunchie on her left wrist.

[00:15:05] We talked about a bunch of things

[00:15:07] that I could not remember in the morning.

[00:15:09] However, the pink scrunchie stood out to me,

[00:15:11] as odd.

[00:15:13] When I awoke the next day,

[00:15:14] I told her that I saw her

[00:15:16] and described her outfit in the pink scrunchie.

[00:15:18] She just sort of stared at me a bit,

[00:15:21] dumbfounded.

[00:15:21] She said that she did not recall seeing me,

[00:15:24] but then she pulled out an old album,

[00:15:26] and there she was,

[00:15:28] standing on a fallen tree

[00:15:29] by a dried-up riverbed in Mexico,

[00:15:31] and wearing the dress as I described,

[00:15:33] with a pink scrunchie on her left wrist.

[00:15:36] I remember getting chills

[00:15:37] when I saw this confirmation.

[00:15:40] This event is often one of my experiences

[00:15:42] that I have a hard time

[00:15:44] to logically explain to myself.

[00:15:46] With all of my successes,

[00:15:48] I began to become a bit too cocky.

[00:15:51] Well, my friends,

[00:15:52] this is the part of the story

[00:15:53] where things change for me,

[00:15:55] and I get to share the turning point

[00:15:57] of this tale.

[00:16:05] Before I continue,

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[00:16:33] Now, please stay tuned,

[00:16:35] and I'll be right back

[00:16:36] after these brief messages.

[00:16:42] My parents owned a restaurant

[00:16:44] right next to my high school.

[00:16:46] This restaurant had a ghost

[00:16:47] that patrons and staff

[00:16:49] have experienced on many occasions.

[00:16:51] She was lovingly called

[00:16:53] The Lady with White Shoes,

[00:16:54] and there were many accounts

[00:16:56] of people hearing random footsteps,

[00:16:58] and on occasion,

[00:16:59] seeing white shoes

[00:17:00] out of the corner of their eye

[00:17:01] down the hallway

[00:17:02] and into the kitchen.

[00:17:04] I witnessed this

[00:17:05] on multiple occasions,

[00:17:06] but I also saw her full form

[00:17:08] from the corner of my eye

[00:17:10] in the kitchen

[00:17:11] now and again.

[00:17:12] She did not look

[00:17:13] to be the happy sort,

[00:17:14] but she seemed to keep to herself,

[00:17:16] and I never got a bad ping

[00:17:18] from her.

[00:17:19] Just another ping in my day,

[00:17:20] which was common at this time.

[00:17:23] One day,

[00:17:24] I was waiting for my mom

[00:17:25] to finish her shift.

[00:17:27] I was 17 at the time.

[00:17:29] I decided to try

[00:17:30] some astral projection

[00:17:31] and relax

[00:17:32] as I have done

[00:17:33] many times before

[00:17:34] in the small staff room

[00:17:35] of the restaurant.

[00:17:36] There was a nice comfy couch.

[00:17:38] I laid down,

[00:17:39] I clutched the small throw pillow,

[00:17:41] and began to release

[00:17:42] my negative energies

[00:17:43] and relax my limbs

[00:17:44] and open my mind.

[00:17:46] My spirit arms

[00:17:47] began to writhe

[00:17:48] from my body,

[00:17:49] and I began to float.

[00:17:51] The universe began

[00:17:52] to expand

[00:17:52] from my third eye.

[00:17:54] It was a delightful

[00:17:55] out-of-body experience.

[00:17:56] It was calming

[00:17:57] and relaxing.

[00:17:59] A couple minutes

[00:18:01] into my projections,

[00:18:01] I hear someone say,

[00:18:03] hey,

[00:18:04] from the direction

[00:18:05] of the kitchen.

[00:18:06] I thought that it was my mom,

[00:18:07] so I dropped back

[00:18:08] into my body,

[00:18:09] and I went to the kitchen

[00:18:10] to ask my mom

[00:18:11] what was up.

[00:18:12] I found her

[00:18:13] at the other end

[00:18:14] of the restaurant vacuuming.

[00:18:15] She said that she never called me

[00:18:17] and that she would be

[00:18:18] another ten minutes or so.

[00:18:19] So being a derpy teen,

[00:18:21] rather than help my mom

[00:18:22] finish up,

[00:18:23] I went back to the staff room

[00:18:24] to try again.

[00:18:25] In hindsight, though,

[00:18:27] I wish I would have helped

[00:18:28] my mom instead.

[00:18:30] I began my relaxing ritual

[00:18:32] anew,

[00:18:33] and was right back

[00:18:33] into a relaxing

[00:18:34] out-of-body experience,

[00:18:36] my silver cord dangling

[00:18:38] behind me

[00:18:38] and enjoying being free

[00:18:40] in the ether.

[00:18:42] Hey!

[00:18:43] I heard the voice again.

[00:18:44] It was playful,

[00:18:45] and this time

[00:18:46] I could tell

[00:18:47] that I did not hear it

[00:18:48] with my body,

[00:18:49] but with my projection.

[00:18:50] This was the first time

[00:18:52] that I had met someone

[00:18:53] or something

[00:18:54] in the astral plane.

[00:18:56] Should I answer?

[00:18:57] I remember asking myself,

[00:18:59] and like a total noob,

[00:19:01] I did.

[00:19:02] Wham!

[00:19:03] I felt like I was hit

[00:19:04] by a freight train.

[00:19:05] The pain was real

[00:19:06] and excruciating,

[00:19:08] and my soul

[00:19:08] was filled

[00:19:09] with gut-wrenching,

[00:19:10] instinctual terror.

[00:19:12] Whatever it was

[00:19:13] had me from behind,

[00:19:14] and was tearing

[00:19:15] at my third eye,

[00:19:16] and trying to race

[00:19:17] down my silver cord.

[00:19:18] I was about to be hijacked

[00:19:20] by this thing.

[00:19:21] It wanted my body.

[00:19:23] I fought with all I could

[00:19:24] to get back to my body,

[00:19:26] and I did,

[00:19:27] but barely.

[00:19:29] Once I entered my body,

[00:19:30] I was still filled

[00:19:31] with pain.

[00:19:32] I had the most

[00:19:32] horrible migraine.

[00:19:34] I felt like someone

[00:19:35] stuck a cold steel rod

[00:19:36] through my third eye,

[00:19:37] and there was a sickening knot

[00:19:39] in my stomach,

[00:19:40] just below my solar plexus.

[00:19:42] The pain was so bad

[00:19:43] that I puked in the washroom

[00:19:44] and then went to find my mom,

[00:19:46] who was just finishing up.

[00:19:48] She asked me if I was okay,

[00:19:49] and I just responded

[00:19:51] that I did not feel well,

[00:19:52] and that I wanted to go home.

[00:19:55] After that encounter,

[00:19:56] all the fun stuff,

[00:19:57] the auras,

[00:19:58] the astral projections,

[00:20:00] the ability to meditate,

[00:20:02] gone.

[00:20:02] All that remained

[00:20:03] were the visitors,

[00:20:04] and at this point,

[00:20:05] I became more religious,

[00:20:06] and I did my best

[00:20:08] to distance myself

[00:20:09] from this experience.

[00:20:11] The amount of terrifying

[00:20:13] occurrences

[00:20:13] slowed down.

[00:20:15] Two years later,

[00:20:16] though,

[00:20:17] I had another

[00:20:17] uncanny experience.

[00:20:19] When I was 19,

[00:20:21] my newlywed bride

[00:20:22] got to experience

[00:20:23] some of the more

[00:20:24] peculiar sides

[00:20:25] of myself.

[00:20:26] We had a basement suite

[00:20:28] as our first home

[00:20:29] in Steinbach,

[00:20:30] Manitoba.

[00:20:30] It was small

[00:20:31] and cheap,

[00:20:32] but perfect

[00:20:33] for a newly married couple

[00:20:34] with no interest

[00:20:35] in having children

[00:20:36] anytime soon,

[00:20:37] and it was walking

[00:20:38] distance to work.

[00:20:40] One night,

[00:20:41] I woke up paralyzed,

[00:20:42] pinned in my bed again,

[00:20:44] and green and black

[00:20:45] spirit flames

[00:20:46] covered my bedsheets.

[00:20:47] A woman with dark,

[00:20:49] matted hair,

[00:20:50] wet like she came

[00:20:51] from the rain,

[00:20:52] and clothes like

[00:20:53] she was out in the town,

[00:20:54] stood at the foot

[00:20:55] of my bed,

[00:20:56] staring at us.

[00:20:57] She was translucent,

[00:20:59] and I could see

[00:21:00] my closet door

[00:21:01] behind her.

[00:21:02] She had waves

[00:21:03] of green aura

[00:21:04] with crackling black lines

[00:21:05] that shot around her

[00:21:06] like lightning.

[00:21:07] My first thought

[00:21:08] was for my wife,

[00:21:09] and suddenly I got

[00:21:10] control of my body

[00:21:12] once again.

[00:21:12] I placed both of my feet

[00:21:14] in the small

[00:21:15] of my blushing bride's back,

[00:21:17] and unceremoniously

[00:21:18] launched her

[00:21:19] with all my might.

[00:21:20] From a deep

[00:21:21] and peaceful slumber,

[00:21:22] she flew from the bed

[00:21:23] and straight into the wall,

[00:21:25] bouncing off

[00:21:26] with a thud

[00:21:26] and onto the floor.

[00:21:28] She jumped up

[00:21:29] and turned on the light.

[00:21:31] She looked like

[00:21:31] she was about

[00:21:32] to rip me

[00:21:32] a new one,

[00:21:33] and rightfully so,

[00:21:34] but when she saw

[00:21:35] my face,

[00:21:36] she allowed me

[00:21:37] to explain

[00:21:37] what had happened.

[00:21:39] The next day,

[00:21:40] one of our friends

[00:21:41] told us how she used

[00:21:42] to live in that house,

[00:21:43] and that her sister

[00:21:44] had been hit by a car

[00:21:45] coming back from a party.

[00:21:47] It had been raining

[00:21:48] that night,

[00:21:49] and her bedroom

[00:21:50] was in that basement.

[00:21:53] As my wife

[00:21:53] got accustomed

[00:21:54] to my fits,

[00:21:55] she would hop up

[00:21:56] and turn on the light,

[00:21:57] and this would help me

[00:21:58] snap out of it quickly.

[00:21:59] To this day,

[00:22:01] I always have

[00:22:01] some form of light

[00:22:02] in my room

[00:22:03] or the window open

[00:22:04] with a streetlight

[00:22:05] shining in.

[00:22:06] If I can look

[00:22:07] at a bright light,

[00:22:08] I can snap out of it.

[00:22:10] My wife became

[00:22:11] my protector,

[00:22:11] and over the course

[00:22:13] of about five years,

[00:22:14] the occurrences

[00:22:15] became less and less.

[00:22:17] I still saw things

[00:22:18] on awakening,

[00:22:19] but they were often benign.

[00:22:21] During this time,

[00:22:22] I did a lot of research

[00:22:23] into sleep paralysis

[00:22:24] and aspects of narcolepsy

[00:22:26] that seemed to explain

[00:22:27] many of my experiences.

[00:22:29] If you suffer

[00:22:30] as I did through this,

[00:22:31] it's nice to have

[00:22:32] a scientific reason

[00:22:33] to fall back on.

[00:22:35] The years of feeling

[00:22:36] mostly normal

[00:22:37] and leaving my experiences

[00:22:38] behind

[00:22:39] did come to an end

[00:22:41] when we moved

[00:22:41] to Winnipeg

[00:22:42] in an old turn-of-the-century

[00:22:43] apartment building

[00:22:44] that was in various

[00:22:45] states of disrepair.

[00:22:47] The building

[00:22:48] had a long

[00:22:48] and full history.

[00:22:50] At one point,

[00:22:51] it was reputed

[00:22:51] to be a brothel.

[00:22:52] It then spent

[00:22:53] some time abandoned

[00:22:54] and then got picked up again.

[00:22:56] It was a decent-sized

[00:22:58] two-bedroom apartment

[00:22:59] with dirt-cheap rent

[00:23:00] and our best friend

[00:23:01] was living downstairs

[00:23:02] from us.

[00:23:03] It was perfect.

[00:23:05] When visiting my friend

[00:23:06] who was living

[00:23:07] with his girlfriend

[00:23:07] at the time,

[00:23:08] I noticed a bunch of pings.

[00:23:10] My hair would stand up

[00:23:12] and I would get

[00:23:12] shivers and chills.

[00:23:14] I also noticed shadows

[00:23:15] now and again

[00:23:16] at the corners

[00:23:17] of my vision.

[00:23:18] I did not feel

[00:23:19] any malcontent

[00:23:20] and whatever was there

[00:23:21] seemed more playful

[00:23:22] than anything.

[00:23:24] I asked him

[00:23:25] and his girlfriend

[00:23:25] if they had ever noticed

[00:23:27] anything strange

[00:23:27] in their apartment.

[00:23:28] They both said

[00:23:30] they hadn't.

[00:23:31] Two days later,

[00:23:32] his girlfriend came up

[00:23:33] to give me an earful

[00:23:34] and told me to make

[00:23:36] them go away

[00:23:37] because after our conversation,

[00:23:39] she had noticed

[00:23:40] many of the same things

[00:23:41] that I had.

[00:23:43] My own apartment

[00:23:44] had very little activity

[00:23:45] other than an odd

[00:23:46] white ball

[00:23:47] or orb

[00:23:48] which I would notice

[00:23:49] from time to time

[00:23:50] in my living room.

[00:23:52] Intrigued

[00:23:53] that I seemed

[00:23:53] to be experiencing

[00:23:54] things once again,

[00:23:56] I decided to try

[00:23:57] astral projection

[00:23:58] and meditation.

[00:23:59] Sadly though,

[00:24:00] all I managed

[00:24:01] to accomplish

[00:24:02] was falling asleep.

[00:24:03] I did have many

[00:24:04] vivid dreams

[00:24:05] during that time,

[00:24:06] but those

[00:24:07] are not for these stories.

[00:24:08] I would love

[00:24:10] to float again,

[00:24:11] but it is not

[00:24:12] in the cards.

[00:24:13] I find that

[00:24:13] I am always afraid

[00:24:14] that I will stop breathing

[00:24:15] or be attacked

[00:24:16] if I do,

[00:24:17] and I always chicken out

[00:24:19] at the last minute.

[00:24:21] Perhaps,

[00:24:21] someday maybe.

[00:24:23] I still consider myself

[00:24:25] a grounded man.

[00:24:26] I understand

[00:24:27] the scientific explanations

[00:24:28] and believe those

[00:24:29] to be true,

[00:24:30] but I also understand

[00:24:31] that even with

[00:24:32] an explanation,

[00:24:33] these experiences

[00:24:34] are real to the person

[00:24:35] experiencing them.

[00:24:37] They can be terrifying

[00:24:38] and fun

[00:24:39] and delightfully odd.

[00:24:41] I still see things

[00:24:42] when I wake up

[00:24:43] and will often feel

[00:24:44] movement on my mattress

[00:24:45] and hear odd noises

[00:24:46] as I try to fall asleep.

[00:24:48] Thankfully, though,

[00:24:49] I have learned

[00:24:50] a couple of tricks

[00:24:50] to help reduce

[00:24:51] the attacks

[00:24:52] as well

[00:24:53] as their effects.

[00:24:55] If you suffer

[00:24:56] from unwanted

[00:24:56] nocturnal visitations,

[00:24:58] I would like to share

[00:24:59] some tips and tricks

[00:25:00] that worked for myself.

[00:25:02] Familiarize yourself

[00:25:03] with the current research

[00:25:04] on sleep paralysis.

[00:25:05] You are waking up

[00:25:06] when your body

[00:25:07] is still releasing

[00:25:08] paralytic hormones

[00:25:09] like GABA

[00:25:10] and glycine.

[00:25:12] This prevents you

[00:25:13] from moving

[00:25:13] and kicking your partner

[00:25:14] in the face

[00:25:15] as you dream.

[00:25:16] The hallucinations

[00:25:17] come from the ongoing

[00:25:19] REM dreams

[00:25:19] that fill in

[00:25:20] your visual scape,

[00:25:21] and the supernatural fear

[00:25:23] comes from the instinct

[00:25:24] of being trapped.

[00:25:26] Next,

[00:25:27] sleep with a light on.

[00:25:28] You will always have

[00:25:29] the ability

[00:25:29] to move your eyes

[00:25:30] because you are stuck

[00:25:31] in a heightened REM state.

[00:25:33] I often leave

[00:25:34] my window curtain open

[00:25:35] so I can see

[00:25:36] a streetlight

[00:25:36] and my bedroom door

[00:25:37] open a crack

[00:25:38] with the hall light on.

[00:25:39] My guess is that

[00:25:41] this works

[00:25:41] because the light

[00:25:42] will stimulate

[00:25:43] your pineal gland

[00:25:44] and release

[00:25:45] the waking hormones

[00:25:46] and shut down

[00:25:46] the paralytic hormones

[00:25:48] discussed earlier.

[00:25:49] Also,

[00:25:50] try sleeping on your side

[00:25:52] or adjust

[00:25:52] how you normally sleep.

[00:25:54] I found that

[00:25:55] my experiences

[00:25:55] often occurred

[00:25:56] when I was on my back

[00:25:57] and my guess

[00:25:58] is that it may also

[00:25:59] correspond

[00:26:00] with some sleep apnea.

[00:26:02] However,

[00:26:02] sleeping on my side

[00:26:03] has greatly reduced

[00:26:04] the terrifying

[00:26:05] sleep paralysis.

[00:26:06] That being said though,

[00:26:08] I still do see

[00:26:08] many things

[00:26:09] when I awake,

[00:26:10] but they are rarely

[00:26:11] as malicious

[00:26:12] and I am able

[00:26:13] to move.

[00:26:14] Next,

[00:26:15] do not try to move.

[00:26:16] This trick takes

[00:26:18] a lot of practice

[00:26:18] but try and remain calm.

[00:26:20] The more you try

[00:26:21] to physically fight,

[00:26:22] the more terrifying

[00:26:23] it will become

[00:26:24] because of the

[00:26:24] paralytic hormones

[00:26:25] discussed above.

[00:26:27] Try and will

[00:26:28] the hallucination

[00:26:29] away with your mind.

[00:26:30] Use your third eye,

[00:26:32] which oddly enough

[00:26:32] happens to be

[00:26:33] your pineal gland

[00:26:34] according to

[00:26:35] some spiritualist lures.

[00:26:37] This may actually

[00:26:38] help stimulate you awake

[00:26:39] or at the very least

[00:26:41] let you focus

[00:26:41] and not feel helpless.

[00:26:43] This may sound weird,

[00:26:45] but have you noticed

[00:26:46] how faith

[00:26:46] often seems to work

[00:26:48] against these visitors?

[00:26:49] Use that

[00:26:50] to your advantage.

[00:26:51] Also,

[00:26:52] if you have a partner

[00:26:52] who is able to sense

[00:26:53] your upcoming fit,

[00:26:55] have them jump up

[00:26:56] and turn on the light.

[00:26:59] Now,

[00:26:59] I apologize

[00:27:00] if this last bit

[00:27:01] makes the previous events

[00:27:02] seem less spooky

[00:27:03] and fun,

[00:27:04] but I would rather help

[00:27:05] fellow sleep paralysis

[00:27:06] sufferers

[00:27:07] with what little

[00:27:07] I have gleaned

[00:27:08] through my experiences

[00:27:09] rather than just

[00:27:11] have them suffer further

[00:27:12] just to increase

[00:27:13] the entertainment value

[00:27:14] of this tale.

[00:27:16] As a parting note,

[00:27:17] though,

[00:27:18] I did experience

[00:27:19] some amazing responses

[00:27:20] on an impromptu ghost hunt

[00:27:22] when a friend

[00:27:23] pulled out an EVP device

[00:27:24] at an officer's mess

[00:27:25] one evening.

[00:27:26] But that is a story

[00:27:28] for another night.

[00:27:33] As I bring tonight's episode

[00:27:35] to an end,

[00:27:36] I'd like to thank

[00:27:36] Obiswan

[00:27:37] for coming forward

[00:27:38] with their experiences.

[00:27:39] And if you'd like

[00:27:40] to share your

[00:27:41] paranormal encounter

[00:27:42] or learn more

[00:27:43] about supporting the show,

[00:27:44] you can find all my

[00:27:45] contact and support

[00:27:46] information in the

[00:27:47] show notes.

[00:27:48] And of course,

[00:27:49] at paranormalmysteriespodcast.com.

[00:27:53] Until next time,

[00:27:54] thank you again

[00:27:55] for being here,

[00:27:55] and I hope you'll join me

[00:27:57] for my next episode

[00:27:58] as we continue

[00:27:59] our journey

[00:28:00] into the unexplained

[00:28:02] right here

[00:28:03] on Paranormal Mysteries.