Good evening, I'm Alabaster Catz. And it's time for another tale to tell in the dark. Welcome to the show. Approximately 8% of the general population experiences sleep paralysis. Those afflicted often describe the feeling as being awake, but unable to move, speak, or open your eyes. The feeling that someone is in your room pushing you down. As such, it's not uncommon for those who suffer from it to force themselves to stay awake. But what if in doing so, you discovered that there was in fact, someone else in your room. And that brings us to tonight's story. A series of lost recordings from a woman who stayed awake for several days in order to discover the truth behind her mysterious injuries. So join me as we trespass through the creepy and quaint and follow the journey of a woman too afraid to go to sleep. Once again, it's time to grab a drink, dim the lights and tremble through our waking hours. The show's about to begin. Seven days By Alabaster Catz. What you are about to hear are a series of audio recordings that I received in my email a couple of months ago. Now I can't verify their authenticity, nor can I provide you with any information regarding them. This is largely because all of my attempts to contact the sender had been met without a reply. Now you may be asking yourself, why did I wait until now to release them? Unfortunately, the answer is disturbingly simple. I was afraid. Since listening to the recordings, I have been unable to sleep without the lights on. I can no longer look into dark corners or gaze into a mirror for fear that something will move. Be that as it may, I've decided to release these recordings because I've come to the conclusion that this is what the sender had intended. As such, I leave it to you to determine what you believe.
Leah:Hi, my name is Leah. And I've been awake now for 24 hours. I don't even know what to say. I'm 28 I'm a flight attendant. I'm single. And oh, I live alone with my cat, Joan. Come here Joanie, say hi. I named her after Joan Jett, because she's my little rock star. Anyway, Where to start? About two months ago, I finished working a block between Kyoto and New York. A block or pattern is a schedule of flights that usually goes to and from the same place for about a month. Anyway, ever since I finished my block. I've been having trouble sleeping. Well, not exactly sleeping. More like I wake up each morning feeling tired. And with bruises on my legs. At first, I thought maybe it was just me bumping into the beverage cart. But then bruises started showing up on my arms. So then I thought well, maybe it's my diet. You know, like I needed more protein or something. But then I got this really big bruise on my lower back. I was in a lot of pain. So I went to the doctor to get it checked out. The doctor said it was some kind of contusion caused by either extreme pressure or some kind of impact. Then she asked if I had been in a car accident. I told her no and that I was just having trouble sleeping. Anyway, they ran all these tests and everything came back normal. So she recommended that I take some time off and get some rest. That was three weeks ago. Then yesterday, I noticed something strange about the bruise on my left arm. It was in the shape of a hand. What's even weirder is that it's a left hand. I told my best friend, Fel about it and she said it was something I probably did in my sleep. But if that's true, then how did I grab my left arm with my left hand? Then she made a joke about something attacking me in my sleep and that I should stay awake to see what it was. Rude, right? But then I started thinking about it and I mean, it really does look like a left hand. Anyway, I thought I'd give it a try. So here I am, 24 hours later. Oh, that's my work alarm goes off at 7am. I'm technically on vacation, but I leave it on to remind me to feed Joanie. At any rate, not much to report. I got a few more bruises on my arms, but that could have been from the other night. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
Alabaster Catz:After listening to the first recording, I immediately sympathized with Leah. I too have had personal experience staying awake for several days. Additionally, I also had issues falling asleep and waking up with mysterious wounds on my body. This could all be explained via sleep disorders. Many of them such as sleep terrors, also known as night terrors can cause someone to inadvertently harm themselves. So there was nothing in Leah's first recording that stood out as odd. Sure, there's the left handed bruise on her left arm. But given that she's not a medical expert, I didn't take her account too seriously. Unfortunately, that began to change after listening to the second recording.
Leah:Day two. It's almost 7am and I haven't slept for 48 hours. I can tell I'm tired because my eyes sting and I keep yawning. But I'm actually not as sleepy as I thought I'd be. In fact, I feel pretty energetic. Also, no new bruises. Seems like Fel was right. On a separate note, I didn't realize how long the nights can get. There's nothing going on outside and nothing to watch on TV. So it gets pretty boring. Although at the same time, it's kind of nice. Last night, I sat at the window and stared up at the sky. It's really quiet and peaceful. Nothing moves except for the clouds and I can think for long periods of time without being interrupted. Speaking of which, time to feed Joan. Joanie, pss pss pss, come here pretty girl. Time to eat. Okay, where was I? Oh, yeah. So while I was sitting in my window, I thought, hey, I'll use the time to organize my travel photos. They're all stored online, and I've been meaning to make travel books out of them. There's gonna be hundreds of pictures, so plenty of them to go through. Plus, it'll help me keep awake. I think I'll start with Japan, since that's the last place I went to.
Ghost:Namure.
Leah:Oh, my god, that scared me. Joanie, what a mess. Anyway, so far, so good. Let's see what happens tomorrow.
Alabaster Catz:At this point, I think it's worth mentioning that you are listening to the recordings exactly as I had received them. I have not tampered with them in any way. Now, that's not to say that the audio couldn't have been altered prior to being sent. But I say this to you, so you understand that at first, I was skeptical upon hearing that second voice. Therefore, I replayed it several times more and listened with an analytical ear. The language of the second voice is Japanese. And while I don't speak it fluently, I was able to recognize the word "Nemure", which means "sleep". Also, it would seem that from the tonal quality of the voice, I am supposed to believe that this is some type of apparition. So given this information, I Googled it. Specifically, three words: Japanese, sleep, ghost. This is what I found as the top result Kanashibari, a Japanese term for sleep paralysis. In short, it's a term that describes the inability to move during a period of REM, in which you are technically awake, but unable to discern dreams from reality. Now upon reading this, I was still convinced that Leah's wounds were self inflicted. But then I read the last paragraph on the page. And it states that Kanashibari can be caused by ghosts. More specifically, a ghost that grabs you so tightly, you're unable to move and after doing so, it will attempt to drag you to a place of danger, such as into a river, over a cliff, or out a window. Furthermore, should you break free from its grasp, you would then see the ghost of a middle aged woman floating up through the ceiling. Now one could say that this is all nonsense. A story I concocted simply for your amusement. Therefore, to prove my sincerity, I encourage you to Google the terms yourself: Japanese, sleep, ghost. But fair warning, you may not like what you find.
Leah:Day three. It's a little after seven and I've been awake for 72 hours. My eyes are really sensitive to light now, so I have all the shades drawn and I wear sunglasses to look at my laptop. Also, my body temperature is really hot. I don't have a fever, but it still feels like I'm burning up. It's really hard for me to focus too. Last night I tried sorting my pictures from Japan, but I couldn't get past the brain fog. All I could do is stare at a photo of an old house. It's funny though. I don't remember taking that one. Anyways, I have it up on my laptop right now because there's something odd about it. There's a silhouette of a woman standing behind a curtain in one of the windows. But last night, I could have sworn that the windows were empty. Then again, I haven't slept in three days and can't even remember what I had for dinner. Still, this photo. It's like... It's like she's watching me. Oh my god. What the hell was that? Okay, all right. I think I'm starting to hallucinate. Yep. Okay, I'm, I'm done with this experiment now. I'm done. Come on, Joanie. We're going to bed.
Alabaster Catz:It was at this moment that things started to shift for me. It would be one thing to overlay a voice on top of a recording, but it's entirely something else when the person in the recording reacts to the same voice. Again, it's possible that someone manufactured this prior to sending it. But I can't help but feel that the fear and Leah's voice is real.
Leah:Day four. I tried going to sleep last night. But as soon as I began to doze off, I could feel a pair of cold hands pinning down my elbows. I'm so tired, but I... I'm too scared to go to sleep. It's like, the longer I stay awake, the more I can see... I don't know. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore. My mind is just racing. I can hear all of my thoughts as if I'm saying them out loud. But they're moving so fast that I can't remember any of them. I also haven't turned on the lights in two days. Now because it'll hurt my eyes but... but because I'm afraid it might see her. I haven't gone to the bathroom either. Last night, I saw...I thought I saw my... I thought I saw my reflection move in the mirror. I mean, I wasn't looking right at it but I saw it move in the corner my eye. There's also the sound. It's hard to describe but it's like someone's breathing with their mouth open and laughing at the same time. There! There it is. Listen. What is that? Go... Go to sleep. Oh my god. She wants me to go to sleep.
Alabaster Catz:As I mentioned previously, I have firsthand experience going several days without sleep. And I can confirm that at some point, you begin to hallucinate. However, the things I saw and heard were more so planted into my psyche, rather than suddenly appearing. For example, if I saw a can of bug spray, I would later feel ants crawling on my legs. Or if I heard a child's voice in a crowd, I would hear it again when no one else was around. Figments of things that had already happened, warped and played back to me once again. But what Leah is experiencing feels very different to me. Hallucinations are for the most part benign. This however, feels more sinister.
Leah:Day five. I can't sleep. If I go to sleep, she'll get me. I can see her now. The woman in the photo. She's in my apartment. I grabbed my phone and Joanie and locked myself in my bedroom. I don't think she can get in. I'm so scared. But I can't. I can't think straight. I can't remember things. I just know that I can't go to sleep. It's like I can see and hear her now, but only if I stay awake. Make it stop. Hello?
Fel:Leah?
Leah:Oh my god, she's here. She's in my apartment.
Fel:Leah, what's going on, Sweetie? Are you okay?
Leah:You were right. She's taking me in my sleep. I can see her now.
Fel:Have you been awake all week?
Leah:Yes, I can see her now. She's in my apartment.
Fel:Leah, Leah, the Listen to me. You need to get some sleep.
Leah:I can't. She'll get me if I do. Oh my god, she's right outside the door. Joanie, come
Fel:Leah, You need to- here girl. C'mere. Who are you? Leah is someone there?
Leah:Shh it's ok girl, be quiet.
Fel:Leah! Okay, that's it. I'm coming over.
Leah:No, Fel! Don't hang up.
Alabaster Catz:During my experience without sleep, by the fifth day, I couldn't remember anything of what happened in the days before. In truth, I often couldn't remember the last sentence I spoke during casual conversation. At this point, your mind no longer functions in a way that you're used to. The best way to describe it is that your brain gets confused. It begins to flood your thoughts with every piece of information it receives, even the stuff your brain regularly omits. For example, before saying anything, you didn't feel the clothes on your body. Your brain omitted that. But when you've been awake for five days, you constantly feel the coarseness of your clothes, the heat from your body, even the tickle of sound on your skin. As a result of this barrage of information, your brain begins to omit other things instead. Things it's not supposed to. And in some cases, things it doesn't want you to remember.
Leah:I think this is day six. I need to record this otherwise I won't remember. Get out of the apartment. Get out, get out right now. You need to leave. Go to Fel's place and just stay there. The woman in the picture(unintelligable).
Alabaster Catz:This will be my last entry. Since listening to the recordings. I've recently begun waking up feeling unrested and with bruises on my legs. I fear I've stumbled upon something that is beyond my control. Something that can't be ignored, bargained or reasoned with. It cannot be trapped. It cannot be killed and it cannot be stopped. I don't know what became of Leah or the sender of these recordings. But what I have come to learn is that whatever this is, it can be passed on to someone else. Like a cold or a curse. That said, I leave you with a simple warning. Should you wake up tomorrow feeling restless or find unexplained bruises on your body, please, play this for someone else.
Leah:Day seven. I was finally able to fall asleep. I woke up today around four in the afternoon and have new bruises on my neck My body aches and it hurts to swallow. I can't seem to remember much from the past week. I get bits and pieces but that's it. Thankfully, I recorded everything so I can go back and listen. I have like, 10 voicemails from Fel from a couple of days ago. I don't remember her calling, but she sounded really worried about me. Something must have happened because it sounded like she was calling from my front door. I'll give her a call back after I listen to yesterday's recording. Maybe that'll tell me what happened. All right, here it is. Day six. I think this is day six. I need to record this otherwise I won't remember. Get out of the apartment. Get out. Get out right now. She's in the room with you.
Fel:Don't go to sleep. You need to leave. Go to Fel's place and just stay there. The woman in the picture, she's in the room with you. Leah there's no Joanie! You don't have a cat!
Leah:Joanie, is that you?
Alabaster Catz:That concludes our show for the evening. Thank you for listening to the Alabaster Catz podcast, and I hope you enjoyed my presence in the room. Next time, we'll explore the sad and the strange as a huntsman tries to save two young children from a coven of five witches. If you liked what you heard tonight, leave a review and be sure to invite a friend for the next evening's visitation. Once again, thank you for joining us. I'm Alabaster Catz. And remember, the best stories are the ones we tell in the dark. Special thanks to tonight's voice talent, Sammy Price for her roles as Leah and Fel and Yurika Ohno for her role as the ghost.