“During college I would often come back to my dorm room after early class, and take a nap. Right before falling asleep, my body would go completely numb all over and I’d have this feeling like I was slowly falling through my bed. The feeling was accompanied by an intense high-pitched sound ringing in my ears. After ‘falling through the bed’ for a few seconds, I’d realize I was awake and I’d try to move. It usually took about ten seconds before I could get myself together.

“My most terrifying experience of SP was in freshman year. I had actually fallen asleep and dreamed that my roommate and I had walked into the bathroom. This dream seemed very real. We stood side-by-side and looked into the long mirror that stood about four feet off the ground. I don’t know why we were there but suddenly the door slammed shut and the bathroom lights went out. Suddenly a figure appeared in the mirror…in the form of smoke…and it had a reddish tinge. Whatever this was, it reached out and grabbed me. And as soon as it touched me I got that same feeling of paralysis and heard that same high-pitched sound as before. I was pulled into the mirror and had the sensation of falling. My heart started to pound and I was struggling to breathe. Suddenly I woke up and I was trembling all over. My roommate told me I had been asleep for several minutes.”

~Ian

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My friend
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“I had moved in with my mom and her boyfriend into a very old farmhouse. I had noticed shortly after moving in that I could hear voices, male voices mainly about the same time every night. At first I attributed these to my Mom or her boyfriend leaving on a TV or radio, but after speaking with them and doing some investigation on my own, one night I determined that I was wrong.

“Then I started waking up in the middle of the night, not being able to move or speak. This went on for a few months off and on, but it began to happen more frequently as time went by. I was often able to move after saying the Lords prayer or one of the psalms, now I am not a deeply religious person but I believed this helped me. Things really got bad near the end; I was waking up in this condition almost every night. One night, as it was happening, my mother walked into the room, I saw and heard her walk in, but I could do nothing until I said the prayer, she said that she could hear me saying something but couldn’t make out what it was and that the closer she got to me the colder the air felt. I told her what was going on and she said she had experienced the same thing a few times since moving in there.

“Well the next night I awoke to the same thing happening, I was asleep on my side and I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder which immediately woke me up, once again I was unable to move or to speak, like what ever it was didn’t want me to see it. I willed myself to roll over and confront what ever it was holding me down and to my surprise, in front of my face was the face of an old woman, no body, nothing, just her face and she screamed at me: ‘What do I do now?’ Well, being as mad as I was, I told her to leave me the (blank) alone and go into the light. When I did this she gave me a puzzled look and disappeared.

“After that I never had another incident. I did some investigating of the home and wasn’t able to find out if anyone had died there or not. Now that I think back on it I guess I could have been a little more polite to this spirit, but, hey, after several months of interrupted sleep, who can blame me.”
~Anonymous

Recently I asked if you have ever been in the process of falling asleep or waking up and been unable to move or cry out. Here is one reply:
“Yup, I’ve been suffering from sleep paralysis for years – very scary stuff! It is very hard to believe that what is happening isn’t real.
“Sleep paralysis is bizarre, I have done some research and I am trying a technique to try to control my thoughts during the paralysis, especially the scary ones. I’ll let you know if I make any progress.”
~Barb

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My friend
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Daintree River in Northern Australia

A few weeks ago in the far northeastern tip of Australia, seven-year-old Ryan saw his five-year-old brother, Jeremy, run after the family dog and disappear into the recently flood-ravaged tributary of the mangrove swamp behind the family home.

Both boys had been playing with a boogie board while their father—owner (since Jeremy was a baby) of the Daintree Forest Rivertrain tour business—repaired a broken mangrove boardwalk nearby.

While thousands of species of birds and other wildlife inhabit the one hundred and thirty-five million year old rainforest that is divided from the rest of the world by the Daintree River, it is the crocodiles that were of interest on that particular day—in fact, one fourteen-foot long male croc to be exact.

Known to attack boats that have ventured too close to nests during mating season at Christmas time, crocs can be ferocious. So it is never safe to step close to the riverbank…and it is absolutely a no-no to go swimming in the river…and it is certainly perilous to venture into the swamp on foot. And although by this time in February it was the end of the breeding season, hundreds of aggressive and hungry crocs were now on the move. So despite a familiarity from growing up on the banks of the Daintree, both boys needed to be wary of crocs.

When Ryan saw his younger brother take off after the dog and moments later saw the croc nearby, he just knew there was a problem. But by the time his screams summoned their father for help, it was too late…Jeremy had disappeared.

Last week, that particular four-meter (plus a bit) long croc was caught; it’s stomach contents were removed, by a non-lethal procedure, and analyzed. Tests confirmed the contents contained the remains of Jeremy.

And although his parents, Steve and Sharon, were grief stricken, they asked that the croc be sold to a park or zoo (not released back into the wild)…that it be given the opportunity to live anonymously…and that crocs not be culled from the area.

Now as a parent, how would you react to that situation?

Would you call for immediate death to the croc for killing your child?

Would you want crocs culled for the safety of future tourists…or would you simply warn people to use extreme caution…and share your experience as an example?

My heart goes out to this family in their time of sorrow.

A Daintree River croc

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My friend
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After my recent series of Blog posts about ghosts/spirits, visitations with deceased loved ones and whether you think sleep paralysis could be an explanation for some accounts of paranormal or supernatural phenomena (and other experiences), I received a lot of emails.

So this is my first Blog posting about your sleep paralysis experiences…

“I suddenly awoke in the middle of the night and I got this intense buzzing/static sound in my head. At the same time, I couldn’t move. I felt a presence behind me (I was sleeping on my side) and then I felt a pressure on my lower back, moving itself up to my head. It felt like either somebody was crawling on my bed or like they were pushing my back. Anyway, the more this feeling traveled from my lower back to my head, the more intense the buzzing sound got. I was terrified. I wished it away and I tried to move. I was frozen. I kept wishing it away and it eventually subsided.”
~Laura

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My friend
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The Complaint

“The Sea was much better,” the traveler complained. “Whenever I got tired it at least had its currents to push me forward on my journey but you,” he looked at the vast desert surrounding him, “you are of no help.”

He went down on his knees, dead tired. When his breaths restored back to normalcy, a while later, he heard the desert’s voice. “I agree. I am of no help like the sea and thus I often depress people. But do you really think people will remember you for crossing the sea? Never! For the sea doesn’t allow you to leave any mark. I, on the contrary, do. Thus, if you cross me, I swear, you will in turn immortalize yourself with the imprints you leave over me!”

The traveler got the essence and got up to walk on.

“It’s always about the imprints,” his heart echoed.

~ Copyright © 2008 Novoneel Chakraborty

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My friend
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Your smile is implanted on my mind forever and I will hear your laughter for eternity.

Thanks for sharing this quote, Marji.

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My friend
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50 people died last Thursday when a plane crashed into a home near Buffalo, New York, USA.

And among the compelling branches to this story is one about a 49-year-old man named David, whose connecting flight (because of a bad weather delay from New Orleans) did not arrive in time for him to be aboard that downed flight 3407.

It was as he sat camped out on a seat at the airport terminal that David learned of the disaster…learned how close he had come to having his life snatched away from him. And with great emotion and disbelief, and while still clutching his unused ticket, David Becony phoned home to his wife outside Buffalo.

She was equally shocked and amazed by the news. And although both were happy for David, they were extremely sad for everybody else who had perished.

The following day, a nervous and shaky David returned home on another plane by the same airline…a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft like the one that had gone down.

It hadn’t been David’s time to die but it left him feeling somewhat confused and wondering, “Why me? …That could have been me who died!”

It is normal for anyone who survives a situation when others die, to ask themselves, “Why was I so lucky?”

Is it fate? Or maybe there isn’t a reason? –Maybe it just is what it is.

In any case, it makes you pause…and think how your life has taken an unexpected turn. Your life was spared and you have no idea what to do…how to cope with this “luck” –How to cope with this guilt.

However, one thing is certain—you are among the living. And isn’t it worth experiencing the rest of your life with your eyes wide open? —Living with purpose…and not from the sidelines!

May the dead rest in peace. 

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My friend
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If your valentine or loved one has died, Valentine’s Day can be a painful and lonely day—you may be left wondering how to get through it.

But it doesn’t have to be a day completely overshadowed with despair and sadness. You can make it a day of remembering, celebrating and honoring your beloved and the relationship you had.

As I mentioned in a Blog post around Christmas time, you can set a place at the table for your deceased (or have on the table a special object affiliated with your beloved) and cook your loved one’s favorite recipe in their honor. On Facebook I recently posted how I used one of Cindy’s recipes (although I don’t know that it was her favorite) and for a moment she was back in our hearts. It was really neat!

Or you might find some peace in talking with other people who can share your loss, feelings and pain—reach out to family or friends.

And as you can do during many holidays that are difficult to endure, look through old photo/memory/scrapbook albums and feel the love and companionship of your memories.

I like doing something good for other people—you could volunteer at a hospice, or wherever you feel compelled to go.

And one of my favorite rituals…light a candle in honor of your deceased beloved.

And one last thing…don’t forget to show gratitude and love to those people who are still in your life, whether they are near or far.

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My friend
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Have you ever been in that fuzzy state of awakening from sleep or dropping off to sleep…and not been able to move, or speak or cry out?
Was it fun (did you experience flying sensations), or was it scary!

Either way, you are not alone—Sleep paralysis is a common condition. And it is now believed that half of all people experience it sometime during their life.

It is characterized by brief (lasting anywhere from a few seconds to minutes) partial or total paralysis of skeletal muscles and reflexes—in other words, a disconnection between the brain and the body.

A touch or a sound may bring the episode to an end—suddenly you feel released from the paralysis, but you can be left with a lingering sense of dread.

This brief paralyzing condition can occur in normal people and can also be associated with narcolepsy (an involuntary sleep attack), cataplexy (sudden loss of muscle tone during excitement or arousal), and hypnagogic hallucinations.

Sleep paralysis is now being studied as an explanation for terrors in the night. Did you know night ‘mare’ has been derived from the word incubus (half man, half beast) that is sometimes referred to as “the old hag” (in Newfoundland) or “that terror in the night”? And it means “one who leaps on, oppresses or crushes.”

Some researches believe sleep paralysis is an hallucination created by physical things occurring in the body as a result of a dysfunction of the normal REM (rapid eye movement) state of sleep (the deepest part of sleep) brought on by life stressors or sleep deprivation (like jet lag).

And if you’ve experienced sleep paralysis you may already know you can have hallucinations involving the sensation of images, smells, noises/speaking or levitation during the paralysis. Some people have reported that they think someone is standing beside them or sense a presence just out of sight and they hear strange sounds or feel a floating sensation or out-of-body experience. These may be dreamlike, possibly causing the person to think that they are still dreaming. Often it is reported as feeling a weight on one’s chest, as if being underneath a person or heavy object.

This is incredibly real—You can have a really “awake-nightmare experience” that leaves you with a long-lasting memory of the terrifying sensations felt during sleep paralysis.

Do you think this sleep paralysis could be an explanation for similar descriptions given by alien abductees, or accounts of ghost sightings and other paranormal or supernatural experiences, out-of-body experiences, or symptoms of someone attacking or suffocating you in your sleep and other frightening experiences?

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My friend
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