I must have been 6 or 7 years old when it started. It was the early 1980’s. I lived in San Diego, CA at that time. We lived in an average house in an average neighborhood. I was an imaginative child and I always enjoyed make-believe. It is no wonder that my family didn’t believe me when I began to tell them that there was a man who stood in my doorway at night. I remember waking up night after night, terrified as I saw him there. (Just writing this makes me sick to my stomach.) He was dressed in a hat and long coat. I never saw his face or even the color of his clothing. I could see his shape from my nightlight in the darkness. He never passed the threshold of my bedroom door, but he stood there for what felt like forever. I would just sit in my bed and stare at him, my body wracked with fear. So scared I could not scream or cry. Terrified that if I moved or turned my eyes away he would come get me. Once he left I would run to my sister’s room and crawl in bed with her. This became a nightly occurrence and went on for years.
Thirty eight years later I happened to be watching a documentary about nightmares and saw that other people have seen this same man. I could not believe it. I still can’t. Why? Why me and no one else in my home? I still shudder when I think of this. For all of the others who shared in this horror, you are not alone.