Childhood and Fear of the Dark

When I was little, I had a hard time stopping the habit of sleeping with my mother because I was afraid of the dark. When she had to resume working night shifts, I had to stay alone in my room. That situation, although difficult, was the opportunity that allowed me to gradually overcome my fear.

 

Strange Events

There were a couple of events during those nights that now, when I recall them, give me chills, although at the time they didn't scare me at all.

One of the first nights, my mother, aware of my fear, would usually leave my bedroom door open with the hallway light on. I remember very little of that night, but what I do remember is as clear as if it happened yesterday. I was looking at the reflection of the TV, which was turned off, in my room; behind me was the lit hallway. What I saw reflected on the TV was a little girl, similar to me, with a stuffed animal hanging from her hand, standing in the middle of the hallway. Surprisingly, at that moment, I didn't feel any fear. On the contrary, I felt strangely safe turning my back on her and looking at her only through the reflection. I don't know how long I stayed like that, but I remember eventually feeling sleepy and falling asleep as if nothing had happened.

In the following nights, my mother stopped leaving the hallway light on and instead left a small lamp on my bedside table. The lamp had a small doll hugging it. When I tried to turn off the light to sleep, I saw how the doll seemed to walk around my table. Again, instead of feeling scared, I found it amusing and was able to fall asleep.

Many nights, I also saw mice playing on top of my wardrobe, which I remember as something fun. This type of experience continued for some time.

 

An Isolated Incident in Adolescence

When I reached adolescence, I never experienced anything similar again. In fact, it was then that I began to remember all these events and started to feel real fear.

Although nothing strange happened to me again, there was one isolated incident that left me in shock for several days. This happened when I was about 14 years old, during a summer afternoon. After a heated argument with my mother, she went out to run some errands. An hour after she left, a paper airplane fell from my wardrobe, flying until it landed right in front of my face. On one of the wings, it said, "Hi!! Guess who I am. I love you so much" along with a heart. I'm not kidding, I was paralyzed with the airplane in my hands for 10 minutes. There was no one at home, no drafts, no fans on.

What surprised me the most was not knowing who had put that paper airplane there. A week later, while telling a friend what had happened, she told me she had left the airplane there a few months earlier, hoping I would find it while cleaning and be surprised.

Maybe it was just a coincidence and has nothing to do with the previous events, but despite the chills these memories give me, I don't feel threatened. Whatever it is that may be here, it has protected me since I was a child.

 

The Story of the House

Now that I'm an adult, my parents told me that our house was bought from a man who lost his wife when she was pregnant with their daughter. The man offered the house to my parents at a lower price, as he was desperate to leave the city due to the sadness it caused him.

Remembering all this now intensifies my fear, but interestingly, when I was little, I never felt any fear. On the contrary, I experienced these things as something normal. Even my mother was surprised when I told her these details, as I never mentioned anything about it as a child, except for a brief comment about the lamp, which my mother didn't give much importance to.

 

Opinions and Reflections

When I tell people about this, some don't believe what I say, while others do, although they think it's not something paranormal but rather that my imagination created all this to make me feel secure. I always enjoy hearing people’s opinions on this because even I can’t be sure what really happened, especially since so much time has passed. However, what’s certain is that these experiences helped me overcome my fear of being alone in the dark because, in some way, I felt accompanied and safe.