The first time I saw him, it was just a tall shadow behind the door. The second time, the shadow peaked around the door. I could see that it was a man with a hat standing in the hallway. I screamed my way out of the nightmare before anything else could happen.
Several nights went on like this. Him peaking in from the hallway and standing in the doorway. Next it was in the corner of the bedroom, just staring at me. I became terrified of sleeping. Then it was at the foot of my bed. That’s when I felt immense weight on my abdomen. I thought, “maybe my dog is lying on me.” But at this point, I became a pro at recognizing sleep paralysis. If I didn’t see my dog on me, he wasn’t there. It was something else. Each night I screamed myself awake, covered in sweat and unable to sleep the rest of the night.
The last time I remember it visiting me, it was crouching down next to my side of the bed. It had a huge smile. I think there was an abnormal amount of sharp teeth.
During this time, I was going through a traumatic time in the military and attempted suicide multiple times.
Today I spend a lot of time taking care of my mental health and I haven’t experienced anything like the Hat Man ever again.