What are Hypnagogic Hallucinations? (with pictures)
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What are Hypnagogic Hallucinations?
Prescription drugs may cause hypnagogic hallucinations.
Hypnagogic hallucinations are more common in young children.
Hypnagogic hallucinations are typically very vivid.
In some cases, hypnagogic hallucinations can be terrifying for those who experience them.
Hypnagogic hallucinations tend to be more common in people who have sleep disorders.
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Hypnagogic
are hallucinations which occur at the boundary between sleeping and waking. They can occur when people are falling asleep, or when they are starting to wake up, and they tend to be extremely vivid, feeling like a Technicolor Oz after the black and white Kansas of every day life. Many people experience hypnagogic hallucinations at some point during their lives, but recurrent intense hallucinations can be a sign of an underlying medical condition which may require treatment.
Visual, auditory, tactile, and kinetic sensations can all be experienced during hypnagogic hallucinations, and everyone experiences slightly different forms. Some people, for example, may feel like they are falling, and jerk themselves awake to avoid hitting the ground. Others may
as they are trying to drift off to sleep, or experience a vivid sensation that someone or something is in the room. Sensory experiences such as feeling like one is submerged in a pool of water are also not uncommon.
In some cases, hypnagogic hallucinations can be frightening for the people who experience them. They may include vivid and frightening images, including images which are out of scale, which can make the hallucinations seem
people may see giant spiders on the walls, for example, or feel like they have shrunk down to a tiny size in the bed. The vivid experiences may also be brought to mind over the course of the day, causing inexplicable images or sensations to filter through someone's consciousness at an unexpected moment.
The cause of hypnagogic hallucinations is not fully understood. These hallucinations tend to be more common in people with sleep disorders, especially , but they can also appear as a side effect related to prescription drugs, and drug abusers often experience them as well. Hypnagogic hallucinations tend to be more common in young people, especially children, which may be because their minds are still developing and forming pathways, which can occasionally lead to some crossed wires.
If someone experiences numerous hypnagogic hallucinations, repetitive or not, it is a good idea to see a doctor to check for health problems which could be related to the experiences. If no cause is evident, a psychologist or similar mental health professional might be able to explore the subconscious causes and help the patient deal with the hallucinations. Consulting a psychologist can also yield useful tips for people who are shaken or upset by hypnagogic hallucinations, even if the hallucinations continue to occur.
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apocalyps3
I'm 37 and have had these for as far back as I can remember. They occur in batches. I'll sleep normally for a month or two and then I'll have four or five days in a row of these visions. The subject of the visions change a lot, but usually they are about bugs/insects crawling around on the bed. Or recently of bugs inside the mattress and I can feel them burrowing under my legs and then through the mattress into my legs. This sounds more terrifying than how I actually experience them. It wakes me up and is confusing, but I'm not really scared. I get more upset that it causes me to lose sleep, than anything else
. It can be frustrating because it doesn't happen just once a night and then its over. Generally it'll happen two or three times a night (usually about 30-60 minutes after falling asleep).
I've tried to explain the experiences to my wife, but I'm not sure she really gets it, that I can truly see and feel the visions, that I'm not sleep dreaming. Usually, she sleeps through all of it. A few times I've talked/yelled at the visions in frustration, but that's been rare.
I'm not too concerned about it, as other than a few nights of interrupted sleep, it's never been upsetting or damaging. The only unfortunate thing is that I seem to have passed it on to my daughter. The last two nights in a row she's woken us upset saying that there are ants crawling on her bed and that she can still see them. Knowing what she's experiencing, I've been able to help her through it (usually just laying on a blanket or switching blankets causes the hallucinations to stop for the night). Hopefully it's just been a series of bad dreams rather than something she'll continue on with, but it sounds exactly like what I experience.
starlight11
I am 22 years old and I have had hallucinations for as long as I can remember. I will have a lot of them at a time and then have none for a long time. I only recently decided to look into these scary experiences and finally find out if I am crazy. I remember years ago my pillow and chair were talking to me when I thought I was awake. I thought I was going crazy. But as years went by, the hallucinations began to become more vivid and went from spiders and giant glowing colorful lights to people.
A little over a year ago, I was lying on the couch, facing the back of the couch. I remember
opening my eyes and in the crack of the back of the couch, an eyeball was staring at me. Shortly after I was lying in my bed on my stomach, I opened my eyes and a young child was lying next to me, staring. This probably was the scariest experience because it ended with me running to the bathroom and crying. The latest hallucinations were a couple of months ago when I got married and moved in with my husband.
I woke up freaking out and pointing at a black dog by the bed. I scared my husband and my white dog started to bark at the space where the black dog was. I have no idea why I have these hallucinations because I do not have any sleeping disorders (that I know of). I am happy I found some explanation for these experiences throughout the years.
anon978898
I am a paranoid schizophrenic with depression. As someone who deals with auditory hallucinations on a regular basis, I can say knowing it is not real is half the battle. I also have had cases of sleep paralysis, as well as a doomed sense that someone is in my house when I am asleep. It's mostly terrifying because I cannot wake up no matter how hard I try. But with the sleep paralysis/apnea, fighting the paralysis and trying to shake myself awake have helped wake me up. My suggestion to anyone dealing with this is to see a psychologist, a medical doctor, and a psychiatrist.
anon978331
My hypnagogic hallucinations revolve around my mind believing people are getting into my house at night. For instance, when awake, I know that the lights shining through my bedroom window is the streetlight and/or a passing car turning a corner by the house. To my mind though, when determined, I can "see" shadows of people outside shining flashlights through the window to see in. I know it's not real, but it doesn't stop the feeling of adrenaline and my heartbeat to increase until I turn on my bedside lamp, almost to prove to my brain that it's not real.
In another area of my room, I have a router (network) with flashing green lights. It's a small, stationary box, but
when I hallucinate, the box and lights move around slowly, almost like a security camera tilting up, down, left and right. And again, it sometimes appears like the lights are coming from the outside, like people are outside trying to get in through a hole in the wall. It's very scary, not because of the imagery, but the fact that I am awake, and I know its not real (or at least half of my brain does). The other half, however, believes the hallucination is real until I "prove it" by either getting up and touching the object or turning the light on. le sigh.
anon977782
For the last eight years or so I have experienced hypnagogic hallucinations. They usually occur in conjunction with sleep paralysis, shortly before falling asleep. I will wake up and see something I know is not there. I often see snakes, or people. On one occasion I thought my ceiling fan was going to crash on top of me and after a second I realized that I was standing on my bed trying to hold the ceiling up. The most recent episod I thought a woman's head was resting on the chair next to the bed I was sleeping on. Usually at times like these I experience fleeting fear and then promptly fall back asleep because I know it isn't real.
anon958437
I get &brain zaps& and internal visions (not hallucinations) of spiders before falling asleep, and through research I have come to believe that the brain zaps are after-effects of withdrawal from antipsychotic medications which I stopped taking years ago. At least I have been able to find some information about it online. But in addition to the brain zaps, I sometimes also experience painful &phantom& sensations like I'm being slapped and punched in the face. It's like torture. Has anyone else ever experienced anything like this?
anon954863
Last night I had my first hallucination. About an hour into my sleep, I awoke in my dark room to a light breeze being blown over my face and when I turned to see where it had come from, two or three child-sized shadows were at the edge of my bed. Instantly, an egg shaped portal opened from my closet, with nearly blinding light and what seemed to be gale-force winds blowing against me.
The light was like nothing I had ever seen, and the portal seemed multi-dimensional. It looked like a bomb in mid explosion but had depth too it. The figures leaped into the light and the portal closed with a loud swoosh.
I was completely paralyzed, and
although I tried, I couldn't scream. I thought I had been abducted by aliens, but when I turned on my light, nothing in the room was out of place. Although it was horrifying, I feel relieved that others have had these hallucinations but if anyone has had one similar to mine please let me know.
anon952120
This happens to me occasionally when I'm overtired and finally allow myself to try to sleep. I feel like my brain is on overload and images start appearing. Some &feel& scary/evil. Its like dreaming while I'm still awake and its unnerving.
I too have seen spiders. That's pretty odd so many have mentioned them. I have had spider dreams since I was young. I have since done a lot of research and think spider symbolism is more of a positive thing now.
anon946705
Red yarn! I see all kinds of different hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations, ranging from the benign to the terrifying, but most often I wake up to see loose red yarn, hanging in the air a few feet above my face.
It's just damned weird, is what it is.
anon931713
@anon931574: I spoke to my Aunty today about my paralysis and hallucinations and apparently she experienced the same things. I think its a genetic thing -- runs in the family. At one point with all the hallucinations and paralysis she also thought she was haunted. She would sometimes wake up with her heart beating so fast because it scared her when she was stuck in the paralysis for so long. So she went to a sleep specialist where she stayed overnight and they had electrodes stuck on her body to test what was happening.
The nurse came in after not long after she fell asleep and told her that during her sleep she had stopped breathing. This caused not enough oxygen
to go to her brain, hence the sleep paralysis. She found out that she was suffering from sleep apnea and now has to sleep with a mask that helps the air flow go into her lungs better. The doctor said she had the chance of her whole body system shutting down if the oxygen didn't flow through. Since she started using the machine she doesn't suffer from any more sleep paralysis or hallucinations.
I realized when she told me this that most times when I get sleep paralysis is when I am lying on my back. Somehow in this position my neck falls back on itself and prevents air from coming through my throat passages.
anon931574
I am 21 years old. I've been having hallucinations for a few years now. I've always remembered that when I have dreams they've always been more vivid than anyone else I know. Sometimes when I am being stabbed or my throat is slit in my dream I can actually feel these sensations.
There have been times when I lie in my bed and while starting to fall asleep, I can hear voices of familiar people in the room with me, talking to one another when really they are not there. Sometimes I hear myself replying and having a conversation with the people in my room when really no one is there and I really haven't said a word.
There have
been times where I've had at least five sleep paralysis episodes before I actually can sleep. I've felt like there was a stranger lying next to me and holding both my hands down and no matter how hard I try to pull away, it would just resist. I could even feel the weight of their head next to my arm.
I've always realized that I’m always sleepy, even in the daytime after a good night’s rest. When I’m the passenger in a car, I fall asleep really easily. Even when I'm out sometimes in a large crowd in the dance club, I yawn a lot and would rather be in bed sleeping. I thought I was just lazier than other people, but I think I am actually suffering from narcolepsy. I haven’t been diagnosed yet, but am looking to see a doctor about it soon. After realizing that could be it, I am less afraid. I really thought I was haunted before, with all the hallucinations and sleep paralysis!
anon930862
Jeez. So much fear. Hallucinations are a powerful creative tool and by neglecting the higher mind you are invoking frightening experiences. Embrace the strange and unusual because novelty and variety and infinity are everywhere.
anon929117
I am a male, 19 years old with a Hashimoto's thyroiditis (metabolism disorder). I've had hallucinations upon falling asleep since I was 15. After being diagnosed with and seeking treatment for Hashimoto's thyroiditis, I have noticed a decline in the number of hallucinations, although they are not gone completely. If you have these you should talk to a doctor immediately because it seems that many people have them as a result of an underlying condition.
Some nights I remember having multiple hallucinations in a row before actually being able to fall asleep for the rest of the night. The hallucinations are extremely vivid and frightening. Often times they are about waking up to find that I am being kidnapped or
that I am about to die of a heart attack, stroke or something of that effect. It seems to me that the things that happen in the hallucinations are things that I am most afraid of. They almost always begin with the sensation of waking up in the place that I had fallen asleep in, and almost always end with the sensation of losing consciousness. No matter how hard I try, I can't just force myself to wake up from a hallucination like a normal dream. Some times the hallucinations are so vivid that I can even feel pain along with sight, sound, touch, etc.
One night I woke from a hallucination to find that only two minutes had passed since I had fallen asleep, even though the hallucination seemed to last much longer than that, this is how I convinced myself that they were not real.
anon928897
I frequently have visions, only right after waking up from a deep sleep early on in the night, of actual tarantulas sitting on my pillow. Also large, fat, adorable, shining black spiders. And a large bright red spider web made of rope hanging on the side of my bureau right next to my bed with many smaller, black spiders (they look like the ones that you put on your fake Halloween spider webs) running up and down extremely fast. Sometimes the web and little black spiders appear with a deformed appearance, like clumps of red yarn strung together with black splotches (the spiders) throughout. I have always liked tarantulas and was never afraid of spiders at all, so this isn't
a result of arachnophobia. I am college age, have never used drugs and do not drink alcohol. I NEVER have hallucinations during the day or any time I am awake. I have never seen a ghost or any other spirit or other phenomenon. When I see these spiders I like them and try to reach for them.
There is no resistance or sensation to "touching" them and my fingers pass through them. My fingers leave a space where my fingers were, so now the spider or web has been sliced in half with a space (the width of my finger) in between, showing my pillowcase in the space. If i do not "touch" the spiders they will disappear in splotches over the course of 5 seconds. I am sure I am not dreaming for this reason: I am very near-sighted and at night, without my glasses, my bureau is somewhat blurry while my pillowcase is close enough to be in perfect focus. In my dreams I always have perfect vision. When these spiders appear, the ones on my pillow are in perfect focus, while the ones on the bureau are blurry. I see this as proof that I am not dreaming and that I am actually perceiving these spiders and webs with my own (myopic) eyes.
anon925303
I have hallucinations regularly about an hour or so after falling asleep. The thing is for me everything is going normally and I am just peaceful and then suddenly out of the blue, I sit bolt upright and turn things into things. Like I will see a coat hanging on a door as a person with a face and a chair as someone hunched over or something like that. It is creepy, confusing and shocking but it only lasts a few minutes before I regain normal view and it turns back to the real thing, like the chair.
In the moment it is undoubtedly real to me and I am overwhelmed with fear and shock and confusion but it always
lasts less than one minute or so. It is weird to say the least. Sometimes in the moment I scramble to turn on my light and sometimes I just sit in shock, it always subsides quickly though and for that I am grateful. When I go back to sleep again I am fine.
I have also seen the big spider and although I am not really scared by spiders at all, I still get the same feelings.
anon923867
I’ve had two of these in my entire life that I know of the first one I was six or seven, I think, and it was really weird. I’m not sure if calling it a hypnagogic hallucination is correct, but when I closed my eyes, there was this green woman with a dress telling me how she would murder my parents. I could always hear her voice, but I only saw her when I closed my eyelids but when I did close them, I still saw the room as if my eyes were open. After some minutes, I went to my parents’ bedroom and told them I was having nightmares but I don’t remember waking up so I closed my
eyes again and she was still there.
The other one was when I was 13, some months ago, and this one was terrible. I went to sleep and I was like, thinking, kind of, and this demon-looking face -- I kind of imagined it. I didn’t feel scared, so after that I opened my eyes, and at the other side of the room where my sister’s bed is, I could see her legs, but they looked as if they were slowly deforming themselves. I didn’t pay attention to it. I could hear someone knocking on my parents’ bedroom door, and some distorted sounds and the ceiling fan. Then I felt like if I had woken up, and this time I was kind of scared. The sounds were still there so I was suspicious if I actually was awake, so I went to get my phone. My screensaver was a red monkey with hyperrealistic red eyes and a red background. I was sure that wasn’t my screensaver, so I just tried to go back to sleep, and this time it felt like if I really had woken up and I saw my lamp. Before, I was staring at it while going to sleep and I knew I was really awake now, so I couldn’t move, talk or make a noise and I started to get a little bit freaked out trying to talk and move. Then the song “Tiptoe through the Tulips” (which makes me scared) started playing and when that happened my whole body got goosebumps and I felt this really bad fear and I was way more desperate to move to speak to scream. I kept trying to, but I couldn’t, so after that, the face which I imagined before, but in a different pose, was starting to pop up and cover my sight with it. Each time, it appeared faster so I was really scared. I tried screaming and moving and the face of a kid also started appearing and my panic level was really high.
After some minutes of that, I could move and the music still resonated in my head, which scared me the most, but I grabbed my phone and everything was good. There wasn’t another red monkey in there so I didn’t want to sleep from that point, but luckily after watching some youtube videos I fell asleep.
After that, I was shacking the whole week. I did some research and found out that’s it. I wouldn’t want to experience another one. I really hated it and it scared me a lot.
anon355665
About the sleep paralysis victims. I am one.
But I'm in a dream but in the exact position I fell asleep in. I see everything very clearly kind of
like looking through water. everything is more brightly colored than my normal dreams and I cannot move. I panic, and most of the time something very scary happens to me.
Once I saw two feet standing on the bed. It was a woman with bare feet and a white night gown. I was able to look up, and she was just standing there on the bed in between me and my girlfriend. She was wet and had the most sinister smile on her face ear to ear very demonic and creepy
. I couldn't move so I tried to speak. and I felt like I was being chocked. I finally managed to say "Jesus" and I was able to move and woke up.
Another time I awoke paralyzed like this and the devil was taunting me laughing at me. All of a sudden, I was able to move. so I got up in my dream, found someone and asked them to help me wake up. They said, "Why? Because the devil is in your dream?" and their face twisted and morphed into something evil. I turned and faced a wall and prayed. I felt like I was just standing there for about five minutes and then I woke up.
I would suggest to anyone who gets sleep paralysis two things.
1. Try to say " Jesus " I don't know why, but this helps me every time.
2. Try to just shake your head in a "no" motion. That also used to help me before I learned to say "Jesus."
I really hope this helps someone out there for the next time they get stuck and can't wake up.
anon355110
I might have a solution for you all:
My story: I’ve experienced sleep paralysis many times before in my life. However, after I first tried ecstasy I started to hear voices as I was in between the state of wakefulness and sleep. They were voices of my friends, and my mind definitely wasn't controlling w it was like my friends were in my mind. In a way it scared me and I had to force myself to wakeup, but after the voices were over I would experience sleep paralysis. I’m only 15 and still a frequent user of Molly and Ecstasy (I know, it’s a problem that I need to seek help for). Now every night when
I fall asleep, I have very vivid dreams as I fall asleep, however part of me is still awake. I see very vivid scenes when my eyes are closed and hear very vividly as well. I don’t see things in my room though, because my eyes are closed the whole time. When I fully awake from these vivid mini dreams, I get sleep paralysis and have to jolt myself to full wakefulness.
Anyway, I found a solution. I was so happy to find a solution for myself because the half awake dreams and auditory hallucinations and sleep paralysis was always frightening and gave me that feeling of a presence in my room. If I play music while falling asleep or leave the TV on with a sleep timer (so it turns off on its own), I don’t have any of the sensations and have a normal sleep! Basically if I fall asleep with sounds around me. it works.
I’ve tested this. When I fall asleep with music or the TV on, I fall asleep normally. And when I fall asleep with pure silence, I experience the dreams and sounds and sleep paralysis.
I hope some of you try this and I’m curious as to see if it works for others!
anon354484
I'm 15 and I've been having these for about six months, maybe longer. I've had a bad past with drugs and and even worse past with my father. I too have been having flashbacks, and I seem to have more trauma memories than seeing people or bugs. I relive every moment and more. I feel every scar as if it were happening again. I feel the emotional pain as well. I don't see it getting better.How do I deal with this happening almost every night? I'm in high school! I should be worrying about homework and finals, not what's going to happen when I shut my eyes. The only thing I've found to help is sleeping meds, like melatonin, which is an over the counter sleep aid, yet I have found one other thing: falling asleep to my boyfriend's voice.
I had them a lot as a kid, and sometimes still have them. Mostly if I lie perfectly still, it feels as if I am lying a solid wood floor. Not a big deal. But the past few days, I have been waking up to see bugs crawling on my ceiling. I had just woken. I close my eyes and look again. I do this about three times and it really feels like I am seeing a big bug, which scares me terribly. I did once have one when I woke in middle of the night and saw a stranger at my bedroom door. I was so terrified, I remained motionless but my heart was racing. Eventually, I closed my eyes and he was gone. I thought he was very real. I was pretty freaked out for weeks.
anon345918
Wow, I didn't know other people were experiencing this, too! All mine are bug related. Every couple of weeks or so, while I'm trying to fall asleep, I'll think there is a spider crawling on my face, and sometimes between being asleep and waking up, I'll see a big line of ants crawling around on the wall. I'll jump up and run clear into the kitchen before I realize that there was no spider.Except once last week actually. There actually was a spider on my face -- a daddy long legs. I squished the crap out of it after that. Makes me think these spiders were actually here the whole time.
anon345154
I used to hallucinate often as a child, most of the time when falling asleep or waking up. The most vivid memory is when I'm falling asleep, my eyes are closed and I feel the sensation of being in a large room. Sometimes I am up very high in this room and sometimes I'm on the ground. But I always feel a strange but exciting presence in this room. It's not so much an image, but a sensation. It's quite fun and hardly happens anymore.When I was young, I would sometimes crawl into my mom's bed in the morning and sleep for another half hour. There were large framed photos on the wall -- portraits. Sometimes I would wake up and the mouths of the people in the portraits would be moving, I thought it was fun and not scary.
anon345026
I am 60 and have had these all my life, but not with any regularity. Usually I think there is someone in the room, walking into a corner or closet. Sometimes someone is just looking at me. As a child, I saw monkeys swinging from the curtain rods of windows. Sometimes I see spiders on the wall, or am sure that a squirrel has come into my bed. The thing is, they are always so real. I have had dreams where I knew it was a dream, but these are so real. I get up and look for what I saw and it takes a few minutes for me to realize what happened.
My husband had to wake me up after I sat up in the bed and asked him to get the people out of my closet. He said he got up, turned on the light, opened the door and went in there. He came out and said there is no one there and turned the light off, but he said I still argued with him that they were there. He said I got really upset and told him that he didn't believe me.
The next morning I remembered a small portion of what he was saying, but not all of it. He said he really thought I was asleep and when he realized that I was really asleep he was scared
. I have done this almost every night about different things -- some not as severe as others -- for the last 15 years. I have been to doctors and psychologists about this but nothing helps.
I had a very bad upbringing and was abused most of my childhood and teenage years. Could this finally be a result in my trauma that I thought I had accepted and dealt with?
amypollick
@anon338016: This sounds Sundowner's Syndrome, which can be a precursor of Alzheimer's Disease. I am not a doctor, but your mom's symptoms sound like Sundowner's to me. You and your dad meed to get her to a neurologist to get her checked out.
anon338016
My mum is normal during the day, but as the night progresses, she turns into a totally different person. She starts slurring her words, she starts walking around the house for no reason, she can't walk straight and sometimes she makes herself sick. It's like she is 'sleep walking,' but hasn't gone to sleep yet. My dad and I try to guide her to bed, but she turns very aggressive easily, She has accidentally hit me when she turned aggressive. Sometimes she has even woken up with bruises on her face from when she had fallen over a table after walking around the house. The next morning she can't remember anything at all and is a normal person again. My dad and I really would like for her to see someone but she refuses and thinks there is nothing wrong. If anyone knows what this may be, please respond.
anon337852
What I m wanting to know is if anyone else has experienced flashbacks during the day. I still get these. I've had them in the middle of the day. For no reason in particular, I will start to recall some element of what I am sure I can only have dreamed or hallucinated. The vague images in my mind (which I can never remember afterwards) are accompanied by dizziness, nausea and sometimes tunnel vision and a buzzing in my ears. Any sense of fear is mild especially now, and the experience is mostly confusing and only mildly disturbing. It usually passes in three or four seconds. Also, I suffered from anxiety, panic attacks and sleep paralysis for years.
remember having these hypnagogic hallucinations while I am dreaming or when I am having sleep paralysis. These flashbacks are happening only when I awake in interactions whit s some elements during daytime. Are these brief "Dream flashbacks" from hypnagogic hallucinations, or maybe from night terrors? This is very disturbing. Should I be worried? This has been happening for five years on and off.
anon334147
When I was eight, I saw two glowing red eyes above the foot of my bed, on the shelf at the top of the closet. Something swooped down and as I covered my head I could even feel the wind from this hallucination as it passed over. I am 50 and still remember this quite clearly.
anon333836
I see others post things about scary images and other frightening pictures and experiences, but as I fall asleep, I get this paralysis feeling where I can only tell myself to wake up. It's hard to move, almost like I'm glued to my bed and I can move any part of my body.
I don't see anything. It is dark and somewhat frightening only due to the fact that I cannot get up. I haven't tried opening my eyes or my mouth. It's like a balance. If I decide to give in, I get this feeling as if I'm being sucked through my bed and honestly it's scary, almost like I feel as if I am going to die. If
I fight it, I wake up and think for a minute, then go back to sleep and wake up in the morning.
I read some articles and somebody said to let go, and I would begin to dream outside of my body or something like that, almost like I would be able to control my dreams. They also said that with practice I could control the paralysis.
Does anybody have any info for me? Is it a demonic possession or something? I believe in God and Jesus and I will not tolerate a demon inside me. That's a no no! Please somebody tell me how to master this or stop it. Some say it's a gift and some say it's a curse. What is it, really?
anon331155
Interesting that so many people have negative experiences with this.
I find that the most restful part of the whole night's sleep is the hypnagogic imagery upon awakening. It's v I would say like HDTV of the mind. The imagery is totally random. Sometimes it's objects like doorknobs, sometimes abstract scenes like a rope against a inky black space. Other times, it's faces, and often, sidewalk bricks.
It always appears as though there is more, visually, to be known about the objects, seeing them in this way, hypnagogically, than if I had seen them through normal physical eyes in waking life. It's an intimate visual acuity. Textures are rich and detailed. The leather of a woman's handbag, for
example, would be fascinating to stare at, for as long as the image could last (I would try to hold it for as long as possible, usually a few to several seconds), and infinitely rich in detail. No blurriness, no visual boredom or need to look at anything else whatsoever. I never feel more rested and alert mentally than after I've seen the imagery. The longer-lasting, the more intense, the better I can think and the more rested I feel. My brain is super-charged afterwards. This imagery is really the vitamin component of sleep. (Unless it's from alcohol. Alcohol can induce more images, but they do no good mentally, and they're dull and not detailed.)
I just tried to doze off at work for a few minutes. Didn't sleep, but I saw some imagery for a few seconds and that was all I needed. No more nap was necessary. It's a pretty common occurrence, but that's what prompted me to get on the 'net and write about it.
anon329057
For the past few weeks, when I settled in for a night’s sleep, once I close my eyes I see human life forms with colorful attire and light colored hair floating around me. The scariest part of this is I open my eyes and I still see them.
anon324580
Actually, hypnogogic is the state of consciousness between awake and asleep. Hypnopompic is the state of consciousness in which one is between sleep and awaking. I've experienced this hypnogogic state of consciousness before and I (what felt real and physical) felt that I was being picked up and moved to the other side of my room (which was very frightening). I felt conscious throughout this 10 second hypnogogic state and so I jerked myself out of it.
anon311242
I just started researching a disorder of mine a few minutes ago, and came upon this. It fits the description almost perfectly. What I mainly experience is not a visual or audio hallucination. A doctor said that for me, information from my sub-consciousness may be leaking into my consciousnesses. It is simply the most frightening thing I've ever experienced. I have attempted suicide because of it, and the idea still lingers with me every day. Thank you for posting this information.
anon299522
For some (unexplained, stupid) reason, I do feel some relief due to the many posts. I thought I was going totally mad. I still feel that way, but wanted to make others feel better. I have a horrible problem that happens every single darn night! I see people who aren't there, and I don't want to sleep anymore! I am so darned afraid and tired. Most of these are people I do not know, but some are, as last night, I saw
my hubby. The night before there were many. One was my sister-in-law and the others? Who the hell knows? I feel like I am going mad. I am not trying to make light of this, just so very frightened of what is happening to me.
anon296143
It's a thing. It's real. I'm not just weird. I have these all the time and they scare the hell out of me. I don't even want to explain them. I was just researching 'Sleep Hallucinations' for this writing project I'm working on and I came across this and when I was reading it I literally started crying because of remembrance and because I'd previously thought that I was alone.
anon294408
I smoked pot every day, morning until night for four years from age 16-20. Then I did mushrooms and liberty caps. For the next eight months, every time I entered alpha sleep, whether I was trying to sleep or was just bored somewhere, I had a massive jolt of adrenaline and what felt like an electric shock in my head. I believe this is tactile and makes me not sleep more than about 10 hours a week. I was in a crappy state. Now I'm just careful.
anon292665
If you are having hypnagogic hallucinations and/orsleep paralysis, and excessive day time sleepiness, seea doctor and be evaluated for narcolepsy.
anon290792
I want the fairy lights to return. Looking back, I have had some of these sensations many times before. Swirling tiny spiders, one spider, the pressure on the bed as if someone had just sat down, voices emanating from the air purifier. Only this time it was more intense.
I had just stopped taking a pain killer the day before, my husband had gone into another screaming rage, my daughter was about to be married, my step-children were coming home and, except for three days on the pain killer, I had not been sleeping well for months. An hour or so before bedtime I was sitting on my bed, working on a craft project. I looked up towards the
door, sensing my husband was there. I saw a shadow as it entered the room and started to approach me. I told it, ‘Go away. I do not want you now.’ It left. What was that? Was it bad? I could almost see the black robe and hood, the proverbial scythe. It wasn’t the good witch for sure. It left as suddenly as it had come, acquiescing to my demand to go away. Then the chanting began -- soft, almost feminine chanting.
Soon thereafter, I heard a radio announcer with a garbled voice, talking fast, with high happy energy. I almost recognized his words as he introduced the country songs coming through the radio. I very rarely listen to country songs and we have no radio. My husband went to the television set to make sure it was turned off, even though he hadn’t heard anything.
Later, in bed, I was remembering the visitor. This night, only the light from the moon coming through my bedroom blinds brought light into the room. I got up to get some water. I had been thirsty for days -- thirsty as well for peace and harmony in my life and relationships. My husband was in bed next to me, still boiling from a runaway argument. Suddenly, I saw tiny fairy lights all around me. They were thousands of swirling, shining, pinprick, silvery golden lights all aground me and above me. I was incredibly amazed and delighted. My husband became angry with me, accusing me of trying to frighten him or make fun of him, but I knew that they were real. I returned to the bed and the lights continued.
Soon I left the room to go downstairs. For more water? To check on the cat? There were more lights in the hall. Suddenly, the lights became flickering flames, bright hued yellows, menacing reds. My husband was now in the hallway. He had gotten out of bed when I said I saw more lights. ‘Quick,’ I said, ‘tell me you love me. We have to get rid of this negative energy!’ Suddenly I was frightened. Where were the fairy lights? I went back to the safety of my bed. Soon, I was up again. This time, small dash-shaped, silvery-golden lights flew around me and as I lifted my face and arms to the lights I could feel them hitting my skin, little bolts of electricity. ‘Come to me!’ I said. This was good and my husband was very concerned. I now had a sense of terrific forces being in the room. I almost joked, ‘Oh I am finally cracking up. I am having a hallucination but I am fully awake. Okay, now I am really crazy.’ He was not amused. He asked if I was ‘doing this on purpose to annoy’ him. Good grief!
In bed, the atmosphere suddenly changed. I looked up at the ceiling and in the dark room it looked sort of brown, with a moon crater like appearance. Suddenly three dimensional snakes were swirling above me, hundreds of writhing snakes and these images suddenly turned into fish and then fish like monsters. Soon, more to the point, eventually, it was over. The negative and the positive energy beams had left as swiftly as they had come. I want the fairy lights to come back. I am grateful to these testimonials. After searching the internet and finding this site I am both relieved and disappointed. Relieved because I am not alone and disappointed because perhaps the lights are not truly real after all.
anon289594
When I was a child, about five years old, I had to go to the hospital for an operation. They gave me the wrong dose of drugs so I was awake throughout it, and the pain became a visual movie in my mind of what they where doing to me.
How I saw it was the doctors and nurses are holding me down while trying to cut me open with a bread knife and then they cut me open and I can’t do anything. I try to scream, but nothing happens, and I stop breathing for long enough that I “wake up” breathing heavily and dripping with sweat.
I think after that feeling of being powerless, I started to get
these weird hallucinations, where everything would zoom out in the sense that I became very small in a big room. I then see a conveyor belt with things on it, and for a while I do nothing. Then I take one and I am rushed by a massive giant type figure that crushes me ( I get a tight feeling on my chest and can hear bones breaking). This seems to go on for ages and then I pass out and wake up an hour or so later.
I have the first nightmare (if you can call it that since it doesn’t happen when I it just happens when I am tired and my mind starts to wander) about once or twice a week.
The second hallucination happens most nights before I go to sleep. I wake up one or two hours later and find it hard to sleep at all after that.
anon288646
I experienced this when I was a young teenager, hearing menacing "demonic" voices, loud sounds, footsteps, music, being unable to move, a presence, someone moving my bed, pressure on the chest. I also saw shadow people and flying Halloween pumpkins. I felt like I was about to be possessed, like a loss of energy. Then the visions stopped until I was 25. That time was very stressful for me.
I left my family's religion -- I became agnostic -- and there was a lot of drama involved in the process, lost all my friends, etc.. Then I had the most vivid hallucinations, and some of them even "extended" over the fully awake state for a few seconds. A sound woke me up
and a I saw a motherly, caring figure of white light. The other day, the same thing happened again: a sound woke me up, and I saw a polygonal man beside me moving his spherical head (I'd been using a 3D modelling software that day). These were the good ones, but I've also had frighting experiences. The difference was that I was able to control them, to "fight" them mentally.
I've been practicing some meditation. So in the middle of a bad hallucination, I will start meditating and then felt like I was leaving my body, so I had no need to "fight" physically with the threatening presence, usually a shadow man. I would fight it with my ethereal body, instead. Meditating at that time made me feel like I have super powers.
Once I felt someone forcefully grabbing my arm, and I broke it in several pieces using my ethereal body. Meditating at those times helps me to control fear, and without fear and imagination I can transform the hallucination to something good.
The last time that I've heard a threatening voice, I've just commanded it to leave me alone. Since then from time to time I have some mild experiences, but they are neutral or positive. I've also experienced again the sensation of leaving my body, flying around the neighborhood and coming back to my body, and then wake up with a very pleasurable sensation all over my body.
anon287575
I'm 14 and now and again I have hallucinations when I'm trying to get to sleep. I once hallucinated that there was a ghost hanging up washing in my room, which sounds funny, but it was actually really creepy and quite scary because I was 8 at the time. I also once hallucinated about two years ago, thinking I had an envelope so I opened it and a massive spider crawled out, over me and up my wall, then it laid loads of eggs which hatched and I spent the night covering my face with my quilt. Most of my hallucinations aren't scary though and I just imagine some of my friends in my room, but they're all laughing at
me because I'm wearing no makeup or anything which makes me feel really paranoid and quite low.
I'm not sure if this is relevant to the hallucinations, but also I always feel like there's someone or something in the room with me, watching me. I don't see them, but sometimes I see little movements, like a shadow or something or my curtain moving, so I'm not sure if that's me hallucinating or not. I only ever see the movements at night though.
Thanks for this information, it's been really helpful.
anon284233
I've been having these all my life. When I was a young child, maybe through the ages 4-11, I would be in that state of half asleep and half awake, screaming. Sometimes I'd wake up and not know if I had actually screamed or not until someone came into my room and asked me what was wrong. I didn't even know why I was screaming. I hadn't se I was simply screaming. And I was so afraid of something but I didn't know what it was.
More recently, within the last year or so (I'm 17 years old) I started hearing shrieks and screams. Sometimes I wouldn't even be at the point of sleep yet. I'd just
be lying in bed or really tired, and I'd hear it. A woman, very far away, would let out a shriek. But as soon as it had faded, I convinced myself I imagined it.
Last week, I had one that really shook me up. I was lying in bed, trying to sleep, like usual. Finally I was drifting off. Earlier that day, I saw my brother Matt, visiting with my mom downstairs. Once I had drifted off, I could hear their screams. It was absolutely horrific. I lay there, nearly frozen in terror. Just before their desperate cries for help faded away, I jumped out of my bed and went downstairs to investigate with a baseball bat.
I came to find out my brother had left hours ago, and my mom was napping on the couch. It was greatly disturbing to hear them screaming for help from some unknown thing. I've never heard a person scream like that before. It was terrifying.
I don't know if this has any meaning, but these kind of things have been happening ever since I began lucid dreaming. I had done it before as a child without really knowing what it was, but I started having auditory hallucinations after attempting to initiate a lucid dream.
I'm just happy to know I'm not the only one.
anon283825
@anon283643: Nice take on the slender man meme. For those not in the know, the slender man meme was created on the Something Awful forums back in 2009.
anon283643
When I was a child, I used to see this really tall man in our garden. He wore a black suit, and I don't remember if I could see his face, or if he even had one. I just remember feeling really calm when he was around, even though he had these really freaky long arms. I stopped seeing him after my little sister ran away from home. I thought the grief of losing her shook those hallucinations from my mind, but after reading the article, I'm not sure why they went away. Because I'm older now?
anon283641
Strangely enough, all of my hypnagogic episodes came shortly after taking the painkiller Vicodin. I remember the first time it happened, I had very bizarre thoughts and hallucinations. I thought three of my fingers had turned into cheesy potato wedges, and that finding their synonyms was my homework. Another time had me talking to my then girlfriend's disembodied head about a girl we used to know and how 'these brownies taste like sick'.My very first one, though, was just my childhood brain wiring itself. I turned around to look at my doorway when I was 6, and saw a man in full Elizabethan garb. I later found out that supposedly my old hometown is the site of mass ghost sightings, but I don't buy into that supernatural bollocks. Still, makes a good story.
anon283524
This is hard to grapple with. I read through a lot of these comments and it's amazing that so many people experience similar things. Here's my story.
At age 16 (I'm now 19), I had never had reoccurring dreams, barely remembered any dreams, never had a nightmare (only experience of falling a few times), and wasn't having an out-of-the-ordinary day. I went to sleep and woke up a few hours into the night (in a lucid dream, I guess. It felt completely real.) While lying on my back, I saw my bedroom door ajar and the light outside being switched on and off irregularly. Weirded out, I tried to get up and check but realized I couldn't
move. In somewhat of a panic but thinking there was some kind of medical explanation, I tried to call out for help from my parents downstairs (three-story row house, me with the top floor to myself and the laundry room where the light was flickering) but was unable to make a sound or open my mouth. Then I felt a pressure around my neck and what felt like two hands pressing down on my throat.
Knowing this wasn't medically explainable because I was being choked and could die if this continued, I closed my eyes and prayed to God thinking that this must be a demon trying to scare/kill me (if it could). I didn't have the words to say because I was freaking out so much, so I just started praying in my head. The first words I was saying were, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." As I began to say this, a low guttural voice was saying the words what sounded like directly next to my ears, in a mocking kind of tone. The impression that I got was that the voice thought it was funny that I thought praying would save me. I then said he leads me by green pastures, he leads my by still waters.." With each slowly uttered word I breathed no more breaths because the pressure increased dramatically word by word as did the voice in volume and the voice turned from mocking to angry very vast.
Then I said the last lines of what I found out later was the first part of Psalm 23, "He restores my soul." I really believed those words, that He (God) would restore my soul and save me, and when I said the word "He" the angry voice literally screamed it at me and right at the word "restores" the pressure was relieved, and I could move and breathe. I opened my eyes eventually and saw the door still ajar but with the light off, and I feared for my life no longer for God was with me. Now I was convinced it was real, but before I went to sleep I thought, "that can't be real.."
In the morning I asked my older brother (5 years older) how his night was, and he told me he experienced a dark presence in his room while he was falling asleep, and he got on his knees and prayed quoting the very same Psalm, Psalm 23, that I was given the words to say! This rather amazing coincidence (because I hadn't experienced a dark presence before) lends itself to an idea-- that this was real. That demons are real, and that by calling on God, you can be saved from it.
I have gone to sleep a thousand times since that night, and every time I go confidently, knowing that if I'm bothered again I can just say "Leave! I belong to Jesus and he has power over you." For when I quoted the Psalm, I was praying that Jesus would intervene. Jesus was already my Lord and Savior before that night at 16, but that night confirmed that he's real.
I'm a psychology major, and I'm learning about this stuff and how it can be explained away. However with this and several other more intense experiences of deliverance by Jesus' name, I'm convinced that there is a spiritual realm and Jesus is King in it, and God allows demons sometimes to mess with us (like the temptation of Christ in the gospel of Matthew chapter 4). But if you belong to Jesus you don't have to worry. Trust in him, and you'll be delivered. I've shared this news with many friends struggling with sleep terrors and they say that it has worked for them too. Some of them have even given their lives to Jesus because of the peace they've found in Him.
Please, seek a pastor or friend who knows Jesus for more information on the sure fix. Live in Him, and He will live in you and the power that brings over fear (and sin and death) is unmistakably worth it. Everything does have an explanation. It may not always be scientific although many times they mix. Psychology and explanations are good, but sometimes when there are real demons at work the only fix is not comfort in the universal experience of these things (I met someone in a recent trip to Indonesia who had these kinds of body frozen scary dreams too), but the comfort in conquering over them.
(Check out Romans 8:37, 2 Timothy 1:7, Ephesians 6:11 if you're interested in a little biblical support. Also, ask a pastor for more information if you really want to sleep soundly every night. I've met 100-plus people with this problem who testify to these things I'm telling you. A few other posters have also mentioned it. Get Jesus and get freedom. I pray you find peace in the Prince of Peace. Philippians 4:6.)-- Rob
I've had these kinds of hallucinations for quite a few
years, but I believed everything had an explanation so I went online and found this. I believe knowing about the problem is a way to stop it.
The worst parts are when I see bad times from the past replay in an exaggerated way, like the room would be filled with people I know, maybe even people I like screaming at me, scolding me and hitting me.
The better times are when I have visions of the best times with some people I could never be with again, but it would hurt like hell and leave me horribly confused when I wake up.
Sometimes I just see random people sitting
by my bed. The better ones are nice and they mumble random things that make me feel safe and accepted.
The more terrifying ones are people who look half human and half animal or just weird. It freaks me out just to think of it. They wait by my bed and scratch at my skin tearing it away, or they stand near my bed, beside my fan or on my desk and stare hungrily at me like I'm their target.
anon281225
When I was younger, like 5, 6 and 7, I would always see these curly strands of color just sitting in my doorway or colorful, big spots and colorful bugs all over the bed. It really, really, confused me. Now, at 11, I always feel like I am falling and I have to jerk myself awake before I hit the ground. It's nice to know these problems are completely normal.I didn't actually mind them, though. The colors were very pretty and the falling thing felt so cool.
anon279651
I've had these hallucinations for as long as I can remember. It's so comforting knowing that other people have them, too.
Usually I will see some type of insect in my room, either a spider, wasp, or large bug. Sometimes there are frogs, aliens, or people. There have been frightening and disgusting ones. It is quite annoying, especially when you "wake up" and run out of your room because you see and hear a large wasp in your room.
I wonder what the meaning is. I read a lot of people have similar hallucinations: a figure in your room or some type of insect. It is very interesting but frustrating at the same time, because I try to explain it
to people and they think I'm crazy.
Recently there was a man in my room, dressed like he was painting something. He was staring up at my ceiling fan. I was staring at him for a while, waiting for him to turn around or something. But he just floated up into the sky. It was weird. I definitely prefer little frogs instead of men in my room.
I wonder if anything will ever be discovered about this. It's surprising to see how many people have the same problem. Maybe one day someone will know why and help us. Best of luck to everyone. Stay safe
anon278658
I woke up one morning, and as I was gaining consciousness, I could see some kind of bug and it seemed to be totally aware of me and seemed to be totally aware that I could see it. It crawled away and tried to hide. It was in my room and totally freaked me out. As I awakened, it disappeared. However,
over the weeks to come, it appeared again and again and I became aware of more of them. And they became aware of me, and over the weeks to come, we seemed to develop a kind of relationship. It was freaky because I couldn't see them until they got really close, but they would jump all over me and
on a subconscious level, I could hear them speaking to me. They seemed to all be acting according to the instructions given to them by a single source which was located in the corner of the room. They weren't threatening me unless threatened. It was a really freaky experience at first.
I have come to deal with the fact that they are there, even though at first, I thought it was some sort of hallucination. I have actually felt their touch. They have bitten me, spat on me and even tried to feed me and I could taste what they put in my mouth. It still kind of freaks me out, but they are there. They are not meat, they cannot be seen by normal human eyes and they freak out when you do see them. They look a little like lobsters.
And since then, more bug like things have appeared, including spiders, which like to wrap things up in their webs, snakes and lizards that camouflage themselves but are still visible to me. I think it's funny but though at first, I thought it was just awakening from the end state of a dream. But it has turned into an actual, conscious reality in a visual spectrum that was previously unavailable to me. They are not threatening, but totally react to my subconscious thoughts as if they can hear me. Weird or what?
anon278651
When I was young, I would awake to a pressure on my chest. I was paralyzed and couldn't move. I could see a figure on the ceiling and it appeared to be coming through the ceiling, but it wasn't human. I always thought it was just a nightmare. But recently I've discovered I wasn't the only one having these experiences. I wonder what is really going on.
anon278650
When I close my eyes, I see a giant bug straddling the earth. I've had symptoms like many others of you. Spiders in my room look like lobsterssometimes crawling on me and I hear voices from themlike something from somewhere else talking, not necessarily to me, but they are there. It freaks me out to think that this is real and something is really happening. I don't want to know it, but it seems it wants to know me.
anon277525
In the past year, I am also having hallucinations upon waking up. I am wondering if it's power lines. Do any of you have heavy power lines outside your windows? The reason is, at night I hear almost thundering. Almost heartbeats. And since I am into electronics, an old glass monitor I gave away was waving wildly. And this is probably because there are strong wave patterns in the power lines outside. I adjust the frequency of the monitor, trying to change the pattern, but to no avail. It lessened it, but did not eliminate it. I am presuming these wave patterns affect the mind if one is nearby them.
For me, I am seeing patterns on the walls come
out, like wallpaper patterns. They're patterns of plants. So the plants look like they're coming out at me and in 3-D, moving. It is very bizarre. And I am very conscious sometimes. I am not scared of them. And I sit and stare and study. They eventually go away after 15 minutes, or if I decide to wake up and get out of bed. A few other times, I have seen bubbles on the walls. And almost as if I had not been in the room I woke up in. As if I were in another room. The bubbles were moving. They kind of look like bubble wrap, giant bubble wrap. All the walls and ceiling were covered with them.
My name is Neal. So if anyone can help me with these hallucinations or know something about electronics and can help find out if it's these power lines and 60 cycle hums causing these things, let me know. Maybe it's these heavy power lines causing hallucinations.
anon274772
I've had this problem for as long as I can remember. I remember it had started off as just normal childhood fears (such as the boogeyman opening the closet or shaking your bed underneath). But the older I got the worse it got.
At about age 13, I would see hundreds of demonic faces flying at me from the dark. When I would open my eyes, they would be connected to bodily figures as they continued to fly at me. Only this time they would be joined by shrill, spine-tingling laughter. I could feel them smacking through me with warm thuds of air.
For a couple years I dealt with it, scared to fall asleep, until I decided it was
time for me to sleep with a light and music of some sort. It calmed down until I reached 19 when I was living with my fiance.
We were sleeping in his room (at the time it was in a basement at his grandparents' house). I rolled over to cuddle into his chest as he held me and kissed him on the cheek and the minute I did I could feel him start to shake. At first I thought he was having some sort of seizure, but when I looked at his face his entire head was shaking violently as if being possessed in some sort of horror movie. When he finally stopped he was staring at me with a sort of zombified stare. And right then his face seemed to disfigure into this decaying skull. I was up against the wall trying to scream, but I was like a mute. I finally came out of it when I felt the decaying man slap me with his cold, hard hands.
I didn't realize I had woken my fiance up practically beating him. He had gotten bruises from me kicking and punching him. Trying to explain that experience to him only made me feel like more of a freak. I felt like I was psychotic, or worse, schizo. I still get them every now and again, but I haven't had anything as bad as I did that night, and I'm definitely not missing it.
I'm glad I found this article because it's nice to know that other people have hallucinations like this as they go to sleep.
anon274076
I've had them for years. I've seen loads of different things. They started with spiders, wasps, flies, that sort of thing. It was getting a bit worse when I started seeing people. I was waking up with them standing over me whispering or running out of the room. The strange thing is it was always close friends. Sometimes I wake up to hear music blasting, only to sit up and it's silent again. It's getting worrying now though as I'm getting them and can't differentiate between them and reality. I nearly badly hurt my girlfriend after hitting her repeatedly during one. Just hoping I can do something about them all.
anon271736
The moment I woke up I had to do a little research and I came across this website. This morning, I felt like something slapped me in the face. That of course woke me up and made me look around. There was a blurred spot in front of my eyes but there wasn't a blurred spot any where else in the room regardless of the distance. When I went to the bathroom, I saw a slap mark on my face. If this was a vivid dream, my dreams must be coming to life because I think something really hit me. If science can explain this, that would be great. If not, I'll chuck it up to the ghost of someone or something.
anon268618
When I was very young, I remember having one of the young Grinch from the movie start walking slowly to my bedside. I pulled the covers over my head I was so scared. I also remember seeing to baby-like angels like what you might see together embracing each other and spinning while flying right over the wall the backboard of my bed. On both accounts I pulled the covers of my bed over my head.
anon265800
I saw a giant dragonfly flapping around my room not so long ago.
I jumped out of bed and ran to the door, scrambling with the knob trying to open it. I had even turned the light on and it was still there. I finally got out and ran to a different room and shut the door. It was so vivid and realistic, I believed that maybe there has been an invasion of these giant dragonflies, and humans were being killed and taken over by them or something. I could find no evidence of this though, and slept on the floor in this other room.
The next day, I had to get a friend to check my room to see
if this dragonfly was still there because I still wasn't sure if it was real or not. It wasn't, of course.
I've had various other hypnagonic hallucinations for years, but that was the most unusual one recently. I've seen plenty of figures around me, and people calling my name and t