reality or fantasy??

has anyone ever had the kind of nightmares where your hear growls or hissing, moaning or something speaking to you and you wake up only to hear it for the first few seconds of being awake? and another thing what exactly are night terrors? same as sleep paralysis, anyways would like to know more on this topic. speaking of weirdness i did what one would call a "spiritual housecleaning" where one gets rid of anything occultic- pics, books, mags etc.. and i had a dream recently where i could feel something but could not see anything then i heard some invisible thing say "why are you.." i woke up and heard "getting rid of us?"

spooky probably just your imagination but it is possible you were hearing spirits talking this can be good or bad depending on what kind of spirits they are demonic or heavenly if I were you I would put a cross up some where in your houseyou know just to get some good spirits to come in and make the bad ones leave

vonwoolf appollonia
I have experienced something similar, though not exactly the same, to what you are describing. Sometimes when I am on the very cusp of falling asleep, I will hear strange noises which have occassionally taken the form of voices. Please note that it is not uncommon for perfectly normal people to experience auditory, visual or tactile hallucinations just prior to falling asleep or after having just woken up. The state of being 'half asleep-half awake' is known as the hypnagogic state. Hypnagogia and hypnopompia are terms used to describe the range of experiences people undergo during this state of near sleep.

30 to 40 percent of people will experience hallucinations whilst in the hypnagogic state at some point in their life. My father suufers from a condition known as narcolepsy and as a result he experiences experiences hypnagogic hallucinations far more frequently than normal. Often these hallucinations take the form of voices and sometimes visual hallucinations. He also experiences night terrors, which I shall discuss in a minute. My advice to you is that what you are experiencing is probably a very normal experience that most people undergo at some stage. The fact that you say you hear the sounds

for the first few seconds of being awake

strongly leads me to believe that you are experiencing hypnagogic hallucinations. However, if you are bothered by the experiences, you should probably consult a doctor. There are methods of controlling such experiences which your doctor can suggest. You should also be aware that hypnagogia can take the form of sleep paralysis. Again, this is not unheard of, and can be treated with advice from your doctor.

Night terrors are a sleep disorder with which I am very familiar. On the surface, night terrors take the form of extreme nightmares and an inability to be fully woken up. My father suffers from night terrors and I used to often wake to his terrible screams in the middle of the night. Efforts to wake him up would prove ineffective, and this is a common element of night terrors.

Where night terrors differ from common nightmares is in the intensity of the experience, the inability to wake the sufferer, the length of duration and specific physiological aspects. Whilst nightmares can be frightening, night terrors often evoke outright terror. My father is a very strong, very no-nonsense working class builder and he screamed with absolute terror during his night terrors. Furthermore, whereas nightmares typically last for a very short amount of time, night terrors may continue for 20 minutes or more, with frightened onlookers unable to wake the sufferer from their sleep. Also, whereas nightmares typically occur in stages of deep REM sleep, night terrors occur during the deepest stages of non-REM sleep. It is believed that night terrors may be a genetic condition, although I have not experienced it myself.

Treatment for night terrors involves a broad range of options, from medication (which is how my father deals with the problem) to more holistic treatments such as counselling and meditation. The following links are excellent sources of information on the phenomenon of night terrors:

Night Terror - Wikipedia
A brief but informative entry detailing what night terrors are, when they occur and a few treatment methods. A good place to start.

Night Terror Resource Center
An excellent site with a wealth of information regarding night terrors, sleep paralysis, medications and personal accounts from sufferers.

I think that you have little to fear from what you have related, vonwoolf. It sounds as though you are experiencing something that we all experience to different degrees. The fact that you felt the need to perform a 'spiritual housecleaning' suggests that you are extremely concerned with spiritual matters, which may serve to trigger or influence your hypnagogic hallucinations. My final advice: do not worry about it, but if it persists see a doctor before you see a psychic. I doubt there is anything wrong with you that isn't wrong with all of us.

I hope I was able to help.

thank you jeremiah 25 those websites were helpful in helping me understand a little more on this subject. very interesting. thanks