[Dkavtbek]

Was there a dark object behind the figure?

I know one of my scariest experiences was when I was wide awake and meditating, and I opened my eyes to find a red spider running up my bedroom door and dissolving before my very eyes... It just looked so real, and I was so awake and perfectly conscious...

In the exact location where the spider appeared, there is actually a hole that was left by a nail. The hole + my trance-ish state created this spider out of thin air, most likely.

I had several similar experiences later on where spots on walls or objects turned into moving things for just a few seconds, only to startle me and disappear, sometimes moving far away from the location they appeared in.

My thought is that you experienced something similar...

As for it being black, it's not unusual for things to appear scarier than they are because they startled you. You woke up in your personal space only to find something there that was out of place -- that always triggers a somewhat violent reaction. In response to this unconscious fear, this black figure was created and you managed to control it and make it go away.

And of course, there's always an infinity of more mystical possibilities, like a deceased relative coming to see you, your projected double coming back from a nightly excursion, etc... If it is something truly mystical, anything's possible, really...