As a child I had this recurring dream, I’m in my bed, the door is open, and I can see a head slowly moving up the stairs through the banister. When I see its face panic sets in and I try screaming but nothing comes out. Its piercing red eyes that stare into my soul, are locked with mine, all the time smiling with the most terrifying grin. It turns the corner at the top of the stairs and starts moving towards my room, I try to run and hide but cannot seem to break free of my bed. Now it’s in my room reaching out for me, Luckily, I wake just before it puts its hands on me. The creepiest part of that nightmare was, that thing that haunted me for all those years was me.

That was my earliest memory and it continued happening well into my teens, then one day it suddenly stopped, for years I could still feel its presence in my room late at night. The years have passed, and my memories of that time eventually faded. I thought that part of my life was over, until a couple of months ago. I was awakened by my room door opening and when I saw what was there, my heart stopped, time seemed to slow down. It was back, still a child, smiling with that lusting grin, its hands inches from my face before I woke.

Since then, it came every night, it got so bad that I refused to sleep, which only made things worse, I began to fall asleep at work or on the bus, whenever I did it came for me, with that haunting gaze. I felt like I was going mad, and I finally went to a doctor, he prescribed a dream suppresser. Finally, I could sleep again, for a few days everything was ok, no nightmares, but then I started to see it while I was awake, usually off in the distance, then with a blink of an eye it was gone.

The more time passed the more I saw it until eventually it was everywhere, and I became afraid to be awake. I stopped taking dream suppressers in hopes it might help, but now it’s in my dream too. I don’t know what will happen if it catches me, but I know it’s only a matter of time before it does. Then again maybe it already has. I feel it eating away at me inside to the point that there is nothing there.