Anyway, I mentioned another, quite similar, experience, and I'll retail it to you now. It isn't much, but I hope some of you find it interesting.
Again, it concerns my sister and me, on holiday. This time in Croatia. A place called Porec. It was only the year before last, so I can remember the name of the place - The Laguna Bellevue Apartments.
Very nice indeed, I recommend them.
We had booked a twin room. My sister had packed her ear plugs, expecting a week of noisy, disruptive snoring (I have sleep apnoaea and sound like a boar being slaughtered with a chainsaw when I snore). You'll understand our surprise and delight upon finding - and heaven knows why - that upon arrival we had, not only a large living room, kitchen and bathroom that, somehow, we also had separate bedrooms, both en-suite. So, three bathrooms and a bedroom each divided by the communal areas. Ridiculous for two people on a budget holiday, and very much appreciated. I'm making a point of explaining this vastness so as to make it clear we were not really very close together, as in the Tunisian story, which - to me - makes what happened odder.
One night, I forget which, but in the first few days, I awoke 'knowing' something was wrong. I can't give it words, it was just a sense of the room feeling somehow different. My bed had its head against a wall with the door directly opposite. The window and balcony were to my left, the bathroom to my right.
This feeling of wrongness became a feeling of intrusion, and the fear I suddenly (why is it always 'suddenly'?) felt something to my left, by the windows. I can't tell how long it lasted, but I felt fear before the internal dialogue of "Stop being a pranny, there's nothing there" abated enough for me to turn and look.
Sure enough, there was something there. The same tall dark man that is common in all these stories. I won't deny I was scared. My breath came in short bursts and I desperately needed a wee. It was the wee that sorted it out. I managed to tell myself there couldn't possibly be anyone there. I can't remember now if I still believed there to be someone / thing in the room, or if I'd convinced myself I was imagining things, but I do remember crawling out of bed, aware of my nakedness, and walking backward to the loo.
I was still frit after I'd done my business, but as I left the bathroom the fear left me a tad. I got into bed and, fairly soon, I was asleep.
Sitting on the main balcony next morning, drinking coffee and smoking fags - shamefully the only breakfast I ever have - we were planning our day. I recall being pissed off that we couldn't go to the aquarium, but we could go shopping...Anyway, my dream - which is what I'd decided it was - came back to me. I began to talk about it, and my sister interrupted by saying something like "Oh yes, there was somebody in my room last night. He stood by the window, watching me. I just ignored him, same as in Tunisia. He went eventually". She was so blasé about it, and that helped. Later, of course, she showed more fear, but it was gone and we were fine, so... even so, it was scary. That night I was almost hoping it happened again, but it didn't.
We've been away together many times, only these two times have had this happen. There's no link between them, Tunisia is a world away from Croatia. The accomodation wasn't similar, and our states of mind completely different, I think. The part of it which I find remarkable is our both being in separate rooms, with acres of space between us. Burglar? Nothing was missing. Sex pest? Well, no, we were both very much as intact as we'd arrived.
So, there it is. I know it's daft and has a prosaic and grey explanation, but it was scary at the time, and still gives the chillspines when I think of it. That said, I want it to happen again. We're going to Corfu next month...
