White shadows.

   Terrorized, you wake up in the middle of the night only to find that you're completely paralyzed, unable even to scream or cry. Sometimes, you also have to helplessly watch as indistinguishable or utterly monstrous shapes menacingly circle around your bed. Until it all of a sudden ends and you actually wake up. Sleep paralysis. I've had those for a while now. I found out I wasn't the only one.
    No one seems to know for sure what it is, though. Some say it's the brain waking up and simply forgetting to tell the rest of the body about it, hallucinating all along. The mystical type believe it's the launching phase to an astral projection. Free from the body, the soul would then be able to roam the ether, or something. I've decided to believe that it was just a dream. A very specific, widespread kind of nightmare like falling or ending up in your underwear on the first day at school. Only much more terrifying. Now, whenever this happens I try to remember this and soothe myself until the end of the ordeal.
    I can spend whole months without having one of those dreams as well as have two in a row over the course of one night. I never now what to expect. I've tried alcohol, weed, sex, sleeping pills, exercising in the morning and before going to bed, baths. I've bought a massaging chair. I've quit smoking, drinking coffee, tea or any other stimulants. Nothing helps. I've reached a point where I am terrified of going to sleep.
    Last night, I've had the most vivid and terrifying of those dreams. I woke up paralyzed. A white shadow was standing at the end of the bed near my feet. It looked somewhat human, but as if designed by someone with only vague notions of what a human being was. A grey mess of lines and curves was flickering on my left. A distorted beeping noise was coming from somewhere in the room.-BEEP-
    The white shadow started walking towards my head, in slow motion. -BEEP- I tried to scream but I couldn't. The grey thing on my left seemed to settle into a shape of some kind. A shape vaguely familiar. The white shadow was coming closer. -BEEP- Like a mantra, I kept thinking that this was all just a dream. -BEEP- The shape mumbled something I didn't quite understand then. For some reason, it reminded me of my mother. -BEEP- Slowly, the white shadow leaned over and reached for something behind my head.-BEEP-
    I woke up. I was dripping in sweat. My breath was short. It took me a while to finally settle down. I've spent the whole day thinking about that dream. What was this all about? What is wrong with me? The worst part is that I finally understood what the shape that looked like my mother was saying. She said: "Please, my darling, wake up."

Arachnophilia.

     Some say the world is a ball of mud floating in space around a giant ball of fire. Other think it's the opposite and everything revolves around earth. The most sensible ones think it's flat and that it rests on an infinite pile of giant turtles. Fools! All of them. I know the truth, for sure. Its maddening, but I've seen it.
    The world, and by that I mean life itself, is held together by the thin silky thread of tiny clockwork spiders.
    Oh, I used to be just like you. I didn't know the truth. That was before...that was a long time ago. Until one night, as I had fallen asleep watching TV, I saw a spider in a corner next to me. It was...different. It looked just like any other common spider, as it was mostly black, but it had an unusual, almost copper hue. And as I was watching it, I noticed a faint clicking sound coming from it. Nevertheless, I swatted the spider with the TV guide. But instead of the smear of blood and other organic products I expected, there were many tiny gearings and cogs which spilled all over the room. I've kept everything I could find in a matchbox. I'll show you, if you want.
    Since then, I've spent hours and hours watching them thread their endless web and I've never hurt any other spider. Next time you're about to clean some cobwebs, you should think about it twice. Who knows what might happen. Now do come in, my friend. It's cold outside and there's a nice cup of tea waiting for you. And don't be afraid of the clockwork spiders. They usually don't bite.