A
Anonymous
Guest
I live in Dublin, Ireland, and the following events happened roughly 1981 - 1985
When I was very young I had a nasty habit of getting out of bed in the middle of the night and crawling in between my parents. I was doing this constantly up until around the age of four, by which stage my Dad had obviously had enough. He told me that he'd let me keep the light on all night so long as I promised to stay in my own bedroom. I agreed, but lay awake most of the first night just staring at the curtains. I kept drifting in and out of sleep, my Mother coming in a couple of times to make sure that I was okay. During the times when I was awake, I kept staring at the design on the curtains, my eyes following it as I attempted to see how many times it repeated itself.
It was then that it happened.
Quite without warning a large creature suddenly appeared from behind the curtains. It was perhaps seven feet high and covered in sandy coloured fur, a lion's head and face atop two impossibly long legs. In fact, it seemed as if the legs came directly out of the head. I can't remember the thing having any kind of torso whatsoever. It stood there staring at me for a few seconds before suddenly striding towards the bed. I recoiled, but before I could react further it simply vanished. I'm fully certain that I wasn't asleep, the memory is far too distinct and clear for it to have been a dream. Strangely enough though, once it had vanished I felt no fear whatsoever. I didn't even get out of bed.
A couple of years later I was lying in bed once again, this time with the light off. Once again I was staring at the curtains, the streetlights outside illuminating the lace patterns in a dim outline of white. As I lay there I suddenly became aware of some movement by the wardrobe, my eyes focusing in on the door. And then, quite without warning, the wood suddenly seemed to split open. A large white head appeared, much like that of a hippo. It was glowing white, and when it opened it's mouth a strange squeaking sound emerged. It swung it's head back and forth for a few moments, and I could have sworn that I heard the sound of laughter from the other side of the room. Then, in a reverse action, the head disappeared back inside the wardrobe, the wood instantly fixing itself. Once again, I felt no fear.
I remember checking the wardrobe the next day but couldn't find any evidence of anything unusual. I told my parents but they insisted that I must have been dreaming. I know I wasn't though. I remember my dreams, and there's a big difference between the atmosphere of a dream and reality.
Over the next couple of years I experienced similar such visitations, the outline of an elephant appearing on the wall at one point and another occasion when some kind of ape was looking in through my bedroom door.
The final incident was somewhat different and far more frightening. It was when I was about 7, once again lying in bed alone. I was wide awake and scared, why I don't know. I just kept thinking that there was something in the room watching me. I turned over so that I was now facing the wall, and as I did so a deep growling sound came from behind me. This time I WAS scared, but remained hiding under the covers as I was far too terrified to get up and run for the door. This was the last time such an incident took place.
For years these memories have haunted me, and I can't help but wonder if anyone else has ever experienced similar bedroom visitations. Perhaps they were mere hallucinations... but why would I be hallucinating up until the age of 7 and then suddenly stop? And why was it always animals that I saw? If there was some problem with my brain then surely it would have continued on into adulthood?
One further thing. I don't know whether it's a coincidence or not, but the cessation of these incidents seemed to coincide with the removal of the old wardrobe from my room.
When I was very young I had a nasty habit of getting out of bed in the middle of the night and crawling in between my parents. I was doing this constantly up until around the age of four, by which stage my Dad had obviously had enough. He told me that he'd let me keep the light on all night so long as I promised to stay in my own bedroom. I agreed, but lay awake most of the first night just staring at the curtains. I kept drifting in and out of sleep, my Mother coming in a couple of times to make sure that I was okay. During the times when I was awake, I kept staring at the design on the curtains, my eyes following it as I attempted to see how many times it repeated itself.
It was then that it happened.
Quite without warning a large creature suddenly appeared from behind the curtains. It was perhaps seven feet high and covered in sandy coloured fur, a lion's head and face atop two impossibly long legs. In fact, it seemed as if the legs came directly out of the head. I can't remember the thing having any kind of torso whatsoever. It stood there staring at me for a few seconds before suddenly striding towards the bed. I recoiled, but before I could react further it simply vanished. I'm fully certain that I wasn't asleep, the memory is far too distinct and clear for it to have been a dream. Strangely enough though, once it had vanished I felt no fear whatsoever. I didn't even get out of bed.
A couple of years later I was lying in bed once again, this time with the light off. Once again I was staring at the curtains, the streetlights outside illuminating the lace patterns in a dim outline of white. As I lay there I suddenly became aware of some movement by the wardrobe, my eyes focusing in on the door. And then, quite without warning, the wood suddenly seemed to split open. A large white head appeared, much like that of a hippo. It was glowing white, and when it opened it's mouth a strange squeaking sound emerged. It swung it's head back and forth for a few moments, and I could have sworn that I heard the sound of laughter from the other side of the room. Then, in a reverse action, the head disappeared back inside the wardrobe, the wood instantly fixing itself. Once again, I felt no fear.
I remember checking the wardrobe the next day but couldn't find any evidence of anything unusual. I told my parents but they insisted that I must have been dreaming. I know I wasn't though. I remember my dreams, and there's a big difference between the atmosphere of a dream and reality.
Over the next couple of years I experienced similar such visitations, the outline of an elephant appearing on the wall at one point and another occasion when some kind of ape was looking in through my bedroom door.
The final incident was somewhat different and far more frightening. It was when I was about 7, once again lying in bed alone. I was wide awake and scared, why I don't know. I just kept thinking that there was something in the room watching me. I turned over so that I was now facing the wall, and as I did so a deep growling sound came from behind me. This time I WAS scared, but remained hiding under the covers as I was far too terrified to get up and run for the door. This was the last time such an incident took place.
For years these memories have haunted me, and I can't help but wonder if anyone else has ever experienced similar bedroom visitations. Perhaps they were mere hallucinations... but why would I be hallucinating up until the age of 7 and then suddenly stop? And why was it always animals that I saw? If there was some problem with my brain then surely it would have continued on into adulthood?
One further thing. I don't know whether it's a coincidence or not, but the cessation of these incidents seemed to coincide with the removal of the old wardrobe from my room.