[crycleascentyv]

About 4 years ago I awoke during the night to hear the radio on downstairs. It was a talk show, muffled, matter-of-fact and monotonous. I got up and went to the top of the stairs and it stopped. I climbed back into bed and then the most horrid thing happened: I heard the front door open and then the sound of feet climbing the wooden stairs. I was absolutely petrified, jumped out of bed and was frozen to the spot, my heart pounding and my stomach churning. I immediately thought, rather than the obvious (a burglar), that it was an old resident of the house who still had a key and had returned because he/she had forgotten where they lived. What a strange thought! The footsteps stopped at the top of the stairs and I stood there in the bedroom for minutes, frozen to the spot, listening for any signs of breathing or movement. When I could talk I called out...no answer. I finally swung my door open and there was noone there. I made my way down the stairs and the front door was closed. No sign of entry or anything. The radio wasn't on and all was calm.

I climbed back into bed and when I awoke in the familiar daylight the next morning and had time to think rationally, I realised that I'd experienced a profound shift of consciousness the night before that appeared almost dreamlike - but I knew it wasn't.