Afraid of the Dark (2)

When I was ten, my family and I moved to the small coastal town of Queenscliffe, Victoria, Australia. We lived in one of the original houses of the town, an old sandstone building just across the from the Army Fort. I don't remember ever encountering spirits before this although I have on numerous occasions since.

During my time here I never actually saw a "ghost". I simply put my experiences down to childish paranoia. I don't think it this any more.

While we lived in that house I used to hate going to the toilet at night. My bedroom was at the very front of the house - the toilet was at the very opposite end of the house. If I had to get up and go during the night I would lie in bed for what seemed like hours listening to make sure it was safe. I then turned on almost every light on in the house on my way down there: my bedside lamp, my bedroom light, the hallway light, the light in the alcove leading to the attic stairs, the dining room light, the kitchen light, the laundry light, the family room light, the TV room light then, finally, the toilet light. I would then sit in the toilet for near on half an hour nearly paralysed with fear, listening and listening to make sure there was no one waiting for me when I got out. I would then creep around trying to get all the lights off and back to bed before "it" could get me.

I always felt afraid in that house at night. It drove my parents mad. I changed the furniture around in my room at least once a week, and they would often find me asleep in the top shelves of my built-ins.

Just before we moved to Queenscliffe I had seen the movie "Halloween 5". I had always blamed my fears on that, as they disappeared as I grew older. It wasn't until I stayed at a friends house in Sydney and these feelings returned that I related them to paranormal activity.

My friend rented a house in Potts Point near Sydney. The house has 7 bedrooms. During my time there I found I could only sleep in one of these rooms. Here I found that again I had started turning all the lights on to go to the bathroom during the night. Only now I had occasional nights of lying awake curled up in the foetal position, sobbing "Please don't hurt me, Please just leave me alone". On these nights I felt something standing by the bed, but I was too terrified to move, let alone look.

I told my friend what I felt after one such sleepless night, she said "I don't know how you can sleep in that room at all. No one else has ever been able too". Still, every time I tried to sleep in any other room during the night I tossed and turned all night.

On two occasions when I feel asleep in the first bedroom, while watching television during the day, I woke up unable to breathe. I know I was awake, I can clearly recall conversations and other things that were going on around me at the time. But I couldn't breathe. It felt like something was constricting my lungs or squashing me. I remember trying to call out for help but nothing came out.
The first time this happened the experience ended when one of my friends, Sue, dropped some linen on the bed to start folding it. A few months later when this happened the second time, this same friend and I were watching a video. When I woke up feeling the same constriction, I started trying to cry, anything, to get Sue's attention. Luckily she heard me breathing oddly, nudged me and realised I was hardly breathing at all. This time she had to roll me over to break me free.

I don't know what it was that did these things. I know there were ghosts in this house, I used to see one man all the time. He used to just sit there and watch us do whatever it was we were doing. He was nice - just lonely. No one knows his connection with the house. Other times we would smell the pipe tobacco that the previous owner used to smoke before he died drifting through certain areas of the house.

I know that the experiences related here are strictly to do with ghosts. All I know is that I have a strong reaction to what many call evil. I call it bad energies - and that is exactly what I felt.