Have you ever had a nightmare? Not just any nightmare though, the kind that shakes you to the core, you break out in cold sweats and you feel frozen? Scary stories aren't my thing, but this isn't just a story, it's a reality for many people, myself included.

It started around the age of  8 or 9, I’d be lying in bed asleep and all of a sudden, THUMP. My eyes open, but I am frozen, cannot move, cannot speak, frozen. That’s when they come, the tall silhouetted figures tormenting me with earsplitting sounds, touching me, whispering inaudible phrases to each other. I fear sleeping, I fear the paralysis, I fear those men, silhouette and all. My mother thought I must’ve been insane, and probably still would be if I wouldn’t have met with a medium at the age of 17.
After years and years of this constant torment and abuse, on top of lack of sleep, I reached out to a medium in Louisiana. Her name’s Ms. Mallory Manfield, a very thin, yet busty woman with dark brown hair, that matched her tanned cajun skin, she lived in the boondocks, and by boondocks I mean BOONDOCKS. Swamp all the way around her, I had to take the ferry halfway there, and she met us in a small tin boat with a trolling motor. The round trip from my house in Houston, Texas to her small trailer in the swamp of Louisiana took roughly 7 hours. As we entered her home, to me it appeared that this woman was just some crazy redneck obsessed with voodoo. Boyyyy was I wrong, I’ve never been intimidated by such a short, little old woman. She had elixirs brewing, and it quite reminded me of something out of Harry Potter, but a witch she was NOT! Oh no not at all, but a voodoo master and she already knew what I had contacted her for, and she already knew what had to be done. “You’ve had this happening for a long time haven’t you my dear?” Ms. Mallory asked me. “Yes ma’am I have, since I was about 8 or 9.” She continued to spout off about why these things happen, and what has been going on. She told me that I’m experiencing Sleep Paralysis, and during the paralysis trapped souls visited me, traveling between heaven and hell, forced to walk along between worlds, unwelcomed in each one, trying to get a new body. I just about s*** myself when she told me that. Spirits were trying to get into MY body! How does a person even cope with hearing that? My heart dropped to my stomach, and I felt my throat tighten. That alone was enough to send me into shock, but I had came all this way for answers, and that’s exactly what I got. Ms. Mallory saw the concern on my face, yet proceeded to explain that I could potentially save people with this power of mine, it meant that with practice I could speak to the monsters that haunted my childhood and most of my teenage life. On the way out of her home, she pulled me aside and handed me a beautiful mauve amulet. She promised that if paralysis came, if the souls returned, they couldn’t touch me. My heart raced and the biggest smile appeared on my face; I felt the warm tears running down my face, and I gave Ms. Mallory a HUGE hug. Words couldn’t describe how thankful I felt. “Be careful with the amulet girly, it sometimes has stronger powers than what you think, and beware of The Veil of Shadows, it’s a dark place where no mortal soul would ever want to be, just be careful.” “The Veil of Shadows? What’s it like?” “That is the realm where the trapped souls are, looks exactly like our world, only dark and cold. You’ll be okay child, the amulet will help you.”  When my mother and I arrived home, were dead exhausted. I went directly upstairs and passed out, amulet around my neck, “Let’s hope this works” I said and right after, I fell asleep. BOOM, it’s happening. I saw the tall black silhouetted man creep around my door, and look at me dead in the face. I’m not frozen, the amulet!! I clutch to the amulet around my neck, it’s glowing and steadily getting brighter. All of a sudden the light flashed so bright, blinding me, and then it was dark, but I wasn’t in my bed anymore. It felt like my bed, but darker, colder, and scarier. The Veil Of Shadows.  It’s my city, my house, my neighborhood, only dark and cold, and lonely. I have my phone and the amulet and I start looking for a way back to MY dimension. I’ve never been more terrified in my life. The dull flashlight from my cellphone barely helps the light situation. Shivering and feeling lightheaded, making my way around town, trying to find the door. All I can hope is that my mom is okay, and she won’t worry too much about me. A huge gust of frigid air hits, sending shivers down my spine, then I see him. The silhouette man, standing there watching my every move. SNAP! Sticks snapped behind me as if someone had just stepped on them, but there’s nobody there. That’s when I feel it, the breath on the back of my neck, the hairs on my arms stand straight up, and goosebumps cover my whole body instantaneously. Then I feel it, the cold long nailed hand wrapped around my head, covering my mouth, while the other arm wrapped around my body. Helplessly attempting to scream, nobody can hear me, and the silhouette man had me. Am I ever going to make it back home? Is my mom going to be okay? I hear an intense ear splitting ringing, and that’s all I remember before it all went dark.