Original Scary Stories

Sleep Paralysis

Noah stepped onto the large sea vessel for the first time in many years, except this time was different. Every hinge and limb creaked from wind, or from any movement that was made aboard by excited seafarers. "Alll aboard!" Someone aboard shouted, welcoming for all that dared, as if it were a dirty steam engine, and they were about to speed away to distant land. However, they would be searching for the great leviathans to slaughter and defeat; the whales.
Everyone on the docks and in the town gathered to watch The Serpent set sail, and they watched, cheering, until it slowly disappeared into the blue horizon. Soon enough, their captain Victor burst through the cabin door and stood before all. "Welcome." He said, trying to be friendly, but his smile and appearance made it seem snarky and mischievous. "We are far from the whale territory now, but we will find them, and do what every man needs to do at least once in his life: hunt." Victor announced, starting to walk towards the stairs. "Man has always hunted on land where our feet and guns are most suitable." He headed slowly down the stairs, crowds watched intently and silently. "However, we cannot be satisfied when the biggest of all the monsters roams in a vast, open, free space that we hardly know about." Victor moved through the crowds to the middle. "I have pursued these leviathans for almost 20 years now. I will show you all!" He grabbed his musket and fired in the air, showing his scarred arm, and everyone cheered, even Noah.
The sea was never like this before to Noah. It was all too blue, but in a beautiful way. So high in the air, he felt the wind and mist whip his face. He felt so superior and happy. Waves danced and rocked the rickety ship and everyone in it like a baby. Four days into the voyage, the crew killed their first whale, and celebrated their victory with a small party full of music, dancing, and rum. Everyone passed out, scattered across the floor, except Noah, who watched the dark sea and starry sky from the crow's nest above. This was where he felt the most comfortable. Peace, calm, and happiness filled his heart, which was all replaced with fear as soon as Captain Victor scrambled from his cabin, shouting, and covered in sweat, "Demon! Demon!" He cried. "Everyone get up!" Noah and those most sober teared the ship apart looking for what the Captain described as a dark humanoid with a terrifying face. No words were said, but nothing was found or out of place. Some laughed it off, but others like Noah stayed silent with their own opinion to themselves.
Over the next few whale killings, the Captain continued with his routine of erratic and deranged behavior every night, searching for a nonexistent creature. Each time, nothing was found, and the Captain only became crazier. He was full of intent to find the creature, and take his rage out on slaughtering more whales. The ship couldn't hold any more whale carcass, and so much of it was left as a bloody trail to float behind them as they sailed along.
The final straw was after a storm, far from Norway, and the crew woke up to screaming once more. This time it wasn't the Captain screaming. It was Isak, the first mate. The crew found a crazed Captain thrusting his knife nonstop into the bloodied and disembodied remains of their poor first mate Isak. The Captain finally stopped, stood up, panting, and said nothing. This was no scene to be described, and it had traumatized everyone. The crew steered clear of their Captain Victor until they reached the nearest land- France, and they all departed, separated without a word.

Noah mailed a letter to his wife Sylvie about the situation, and that he was too ill and mentally unstable to come back to Norway, asking for her to come to him instead. She quickly and gladly did, jumping into his cold arms to kiss him.
The couple rented an apartment for the time being, until things sorted out, which they had trouble doing. Noah became more fearful by the day from the incident, and one day dragged in a live squirrel to take his frustration out on. Sylvie quietly cleaned up every bloody mess Noah made, understandingly. Chipmunks, birds, cats, and now even dogs. He was out of control and Sylvie couldn't take it anymore. "I promise I'll stop." He had promised, pleading for his wife to stay at least one more night. She was reluctant but gave him one last chance.
The couple laid down comfortably in bed together. Noah awoke to a quiet and dark room. All was still, except he couldn't move. He noticed a black shadow in the corner of the room, which slowly came up next to his bed where he could see it clearly. His heart beat like crazy, he felt it would pop out of his chest, as the dark humanoid creature with a terrifying face stood before him. It was almost completely skin and bone- but with such darkened skin as if it were burnt. It had a skeleton's face, a smile not dispatching even for a second, eyes tender yet white and round like the moon, almost glowing. Ribs showing and limbs so scrawny, it planted its feet on Noah's chest, boney hands reached for his neck and choked him.
Still, he couldn't move, and could only endure it, sweating profusely and screaming in his head. It ended as soon as it started. Noah gasped for breath, reaching up into the nothingness. It was gone, but he screamed, "Demon! Demon!" Sylvie worriedly comforted him, but he gave no explanation when asked. Each and every night, it tormented him, each night worse than the last, as if each night was for each animal he murdered. Noah was losing sleep. He was scared and refused to do it many times. After several nights, Sylvie left of course, and Noah needed to find a cure to his curse. He finally understood what the Captain went through, and he was no longer traumatized, for his madness now focused on the alive nightmare. Mare- that's what it was. He flipped through the Norse mythology book in his hands. It was a creature that haunted people in their sleep- the "source" of nightmares. But how could this mare follow him? And why? "Why would it attack him? How could it come to life like this?
The night he learned the truth, he was ready, he laid expectantly and patiently in his bed. As soon as he slept, he awoke, and watched the mare. This time the mare did something different, and something felt very odd. The mare rose up from the end of his bed like a big black shadow and slowly crawled forward onto the bed. The mare got right into Noah's face and whispered hoarsely, "Get out." Noah felt his finger twitch. His heart skipped a beat. Noah moved his hand freely, then his arm. He could move, and yet the mare dared to stay, staring blankly and frozen in Noah's eyes. Noah pushed the air, but the mare leaped backwards off the bed like an ape, Noah followed, jumping out of bed as well. He grasped the lamp beside him and swung it like a bat at the mare. All was hopeless as the mare dodged all too easily and the glass in the lamp shattered when it hit the wall, sharp glass shards flew about almost magically in the horror of the situation. The mare's never-ending smile taunted him, as the creature tightly gripped Noah's arm and snapped it. Noah shrieked louder than ever, snatching the blade from under his pillow, and plunged it into the mare. The mare screamed too, and the blade seemed to penetrate too easily. Noah stabbed again, and again, and again, and again, dragging the mare to the floor, stabbing more, until the screaming creature stopped.
Noah's eyes seemed to fog, and he looked down at the murdered corpse of his wife in his arms, under his own knife. "What..." his voice failed, and his eyes turned to Sylvie's brother standing stunned in the doorway, who scrambled away. Noah didn't pursue. He smiled, chuckled silently as tears fell down his cheeks. "I think I killed you..." He spoke to both the mare and his wife. He knew the curse of the sleep demon would move onto Sylvie's brother, and then on and on until it dominated all over the world.