Don’t Read This Before Bed
A scary true story about Shadow People
“Oh. Hi.”
Those were the only words I could muster when I sat up in bed. In front of me, in the open bedroom door, stood a shadowy figure. It stood there, motionless, silent.
I continued staring. It remained standing in the open doorway. No features. It appeared to be human. Was it Mom? Dad? I couldn’t speak. I was too scared. It couldn’t be my parents. Why would they just stand there? Why did I wake up? Why was I sitting up in bed staring back?
The fear welled up inside me, but I didn’t move. I wanted to drift back and pull the covers over my head, but I was frozen in fear. Just then, the door began to close slowly. No hand was used. The figure didn’t move. As the door was closing, the figure disappeared. I looked around the room. Nothing was there. I slowly laid down again, this time pulling the covers over my head in total fear. I fell asleep.
I’m one of six children. I was about ten years old when this happened. In my house at the time were my five brothers and sisters, my mom and dad, as well as my grandfather. With eight others in that house, who, or what was this figure in the doorway?
The next morning I told my parents. They laughed and said I was dreaming. “What an imagination you have,” my mom said. My grandpa wouldn’t stand there. He was such a wonderful man who would never play a prank like that. My brothers and sisters said no also, but I figured it must have been one of them until I realized they weren’t that tall. Oh boy.
The days after this settled into a normal routine. I went about my days as any 10-year old would. That is until the night that truly frightened me to my core.
I went to bed as normal. I don’t recall anything out of the ordinary, and I fell asleep. I remember waking up. I honestly can’t remember why, but I wanted to get out of bed. Probably just to go to the bathroom. All I remember is that I wanted to get up. I don’t even know what time it was, although the room was very dark.
I sat up, and as I swung my legs over the side of the bed, a dark shadow of a hand covered my mouth and pushed me back into the bed. I trembled with fear! I couldn’t see anything at all in the room. But I saw the hand. I felt the hand…then nothing. I remember thinking that I’m NOT getting up anymore tonight! And I didn’t. I laid awake the rest of the night, entirely in fear.
The next day, I once again told my parents. The dream thing came up. I went to bed night after night in complete fear. Eventually, sleep would come. Ultimately, these events would slip away from my thoughts. And I returned to normal. I never experienced them again. But I have had other experiences that I can’t explain. One, in particular, stands out.
My grandpa, whom I was very close with, was taken to the hospital. I was 15 years old. He was 86. I would go with my parents to visit him every day. After one pleasant visit, they said everything looked good, and he would be coming home. I remember us getting ready to leave to go home. We kissed him goodbye and told him we would be back in the morning. We left the room.
My mom walked ahead of me down the hospital corridor. We were probably halfway to the elevator when I told my mom to wait. She was annoyed with me. She asked why? I said I’ll be right back. I ran back to grandpa’s room. I opened the door and went in. He looked up and smiled. I said, “I love you, grandpa.” He said, “I love you, Guisep.” (That was his pet name for me. He was Guiseppe, and he called me Guisep)
The next morning, as my mom and dad were getting ready to pick him up, the hospital called. He passed away overnight. We all cried so much. Through my tears, I thought how blessed I was. I was the last person in my family to see him; to tell him I loved him; and for him to tell me that he loved me.
Was I sensitive to something outside of the material world that compelled me to rush back to see him one more time? Was it just a reflex? A desire to see him just one more time? Something pulled me back to that room. I can’t explain it. But I am forever grateful I went back.
Recently, I watched a YouTube video on Shadow People. Shadow People? I didn’t know anyone else saw this! Well, guess what? There IS such a thing…sort of. Evidently, these have been seen by people since time immemorial. Supposedly, half of the population has experienced this phenomenon. So I was not alone. But what did it mean?
I can’t answer that question, but I will say this. Although I never saw a shadow person again, I do believe that minimally, I am sensitive to things outside this material plane.
So what does all this mean for you? Only you can answer that. I will tell you this. You have probably experienced seeing a shadow person, or had a strong warning, or even seen a ghost. There’s more to this world than what we can see, hear, smell, or taste.
So, before you go to sleep, look under the bed and lock your door…
If you liked this story, you may like this one. Although not scary, it is a true story about my family and a 100-year-old secret:
