August 27, 2022
A great pressure loaded on my chest. I couldn't move, I couldn't shout. I seemed wrapped in the chair. A blurry dark-figured woman appeared in my sight. I couldn't see her face. Her long dark hair was obscuring it. I knew whose figure it was. I couldn't talk. I couldn't move. I couldn't ask for help. She wasn't moving either and just standing in front of me. "What is she thinking? Why is she not talking? Am I hallucinating? Is this a nightmare?" Questions were forming in my confused mind. I closed my eyes back to sleep and tried to fight whatever evil spirit there was. I didn't like the feeling. "What if I don't wake up anymore?" I wanted to get up but I couldn't.
Mustering all the strength I had, I pushed my legs and tried to move my arms. As I woke up completely, I seemed out of breath and the figure was gone. Indeed, it was just sleep paralysis. I stood, ran up the stairs to our room, and laid down on our bed where other girls sounded asleep.
The next episode was even more frightening....
When I first stepped into our staff house on Bantayan Island Cebu in 2013, I knew there was something wrong, I sensed it. I felt it. Along with other workers from outside Cebu, we lived in that concrete 2-story old house located in the middle of the Bantayan town. During my first days, I couldn't sleep well in that house. I didn't even want to be alone on my work off.
The house was huge but lacked lights. The kitchen was dark even during the day, so the light was always on if we were at home. At the back of it is an empty lot that has been occupied by bundles of old papers from our branches. Wild grasses were fully grown and some wooden stuff seemed forgotten over time and started to deteriorate. And a tree seemed to have grown over the years of staying alone in the empty lot.
On the second floor was one room, occupied by the ladies. There were no decks, only some mattresses lying on the floor where we sleep beside each other at night. The boys' place was outside the room, in a small space near the stairs. The company usually assigned one or two boys to stay in that staff house and they seemed to be like the guards of the ladies as we were all young, ages 21 to 25. I found it uncomfortable sleeping with the girls in one place. But as days passed by, I became used to it and started to like our sleeping positions.
One holiday came that gave us a full rest for a day. Ram who's living in Mainland Cebu went back home a day before the holiday, and the two ladies left at the staff house, including me.
The day was spent like a typical day at home. We cooked and ate, washed clothes, cleaned the house, and rested. In the afternoon, everyone seemed tired and so we opted to take a nap after some chitchat. I didn't like sleeping in our room during the day as sun rays are passing through jalousie windows, making the room hotter.
I stayed in the living room on the first floor, lying on a long bamboo chair while playing on my phone. Until I felt heavy and my eyes closed slowly. I wasn't sure for how long I'd been sleeping, but I was certain that I was awakened by a sense of dread and pressure on my chest. I thought I was awake for real, but I couldn't move and speak out. I felt like being wrapped in a chair.
I felt like struggling to recover back my senses. Then blurred imprints of a lady appeared in front of me. I knew whose figure was that even if her face was covered by her hair. It was Jov's. I still couldn't move and talk. I felt scared by her dark figure which reminded me of a white lady's covered face in movies.
I tried to pull back my senses, pushing my feet and trying to move my arms. It was exhausting in my mind, but I didn't want to give up. As soon as my senses were far restored, I ran up the stairs to our room where ladies sounded asleep. I wanted to tell them the story but I didn't want to disturb them. My body seemed to be sleepy still and wanted to lay on the bed. I did as I wished, and closed my eyes until I drifted back to sleep.
After a moment, my eyes half opened with blurry vision. I checked if the other ladies have woken up. Jov in my right was still sounding asleep. As I turned to my left, I thought I saw Tin standing by the wall. The figure was staring at someone next to me. I followed his stares and saw Tin sleeping uncomfortably. I thought I was having a dream again. I felt too tired to process it, so I just told myself it was just a dream and closed my eyes back.
By the moment we were all awake in that late afternoon, my feelings seemed heavy and the other girls seemed uncomfortable. Probably due to taking a nap for a long.
Tin spoke out in a worried voice, and that's when we felt frightened by what had happened.
"Rub, I got a nightmare. I saw someone staring at you when you were sleeping." Said Tin to me.
I got goosebumps all over my body, and Jov felt scared as well.
"Are you serious Tin? I also saw someone staring at you in my dream." Then everyone was frightened.
I then asked Jov.
"Jov, did you go down earlier when I was sleeping on the chair?"
"No, why?"
"I saw your figure standing in front of me and when I fully woke up, that's when I ran up here."
We were only three in the staff house that afternoon and we couldn't even go down to the first floor because of what happened. Our sleep paralysis was connected and remained mysterious and unbelievable.
After that incident, we always play Hillsong at night and pray before going to sleep. We requested our supervisor to have a house clean up. We decluttered unnecessary things and cleaned the empty lot outside the kitchen. Fully grown grasses were cut down. The piles of old documents were packed in big sacks and organized in a certain place. And every night, we kept our light outside the house open as suggested by our co-worker from the island. Then the house was renovated after a few months.
It's almost a decade ago, but the memories are still fresh in my mind. That incident also reminded me of my sleep paralysis back when I was in college. Almost the same situation. I fell asleep from working on our thesis one afternoon in my friend's apartment. On the same long bamboo chair on the first floor of the apartment. A figure of a woman also appeared in my dream. She was sitting at the end of the chair and my feet seemed tied that I couldn't move. When I finally recovered, I immediately ran up the stairs to my friend's room who was also sleeping that afternoon.
Do you think the lady that appeared in my dream in Cebu was the same as when I was in college?
These were the most creepiest sleep paralysis experiences I ever had.
This was drafted last July when I heard from my co-Filipinos that Hive PH might have a contest about creepy experiences. But then it didn't happen 😅. And since I was too busy today, I opted to post this, lol.
Have you ever had the same experience?
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Yes, i had same experiences not long ago, nowadays not so much, once in while it will come n disturb me, i also don’t really understand why it happened.