I Can Do That In My Sleep: Man In The House

Growing up, my sister, Whitney, got a front row seat to all that is sleepwalking.  Her and I each had bedrooms in the upstairs of our old farmhouse, and with the isolation of the countryside, nightfall was especially creepy for a young girl.  But to make matters worse, I'd often stand outside of her bedroom door and talk to people who weren't really there.

And then this happened.

Bless her soul...

M A N  I N  T H E  H O U S E

To set the scene a bit, we had experienced some unusual things at that house over the years.  A man once came onto our property in the middle of the night, drunk, and banging on our front door.  He made a great ruckus and wouldn't leave.  Another night, a mountain lion showed up wanting to feed our dogs to her cubs.  This was the first and only time I've heard the eerie screams they can make.  Then another time, we found that someone had been sleeping in our barn... a place that I often slept.  Blankets had been left behind and we wondered if they'd ever return.  And then probably worst of all, we arrived home once to find our back door kicked in and our German Shepherd, Bear, out in the front yard.  He had escaped from his enclosure and let's just say this...

Nothing Had Been Stolen From The House!

That's him

With all that in mind, one night, Whitney and I had decided to sleep on the couch downstairs.  We had one of those L-shaped sofas and it fit us comfortably.  This was our living room and that's the couch...

And not to get all Inception on you, but here's a quick story within a story.  Do you see the stairs in that picture?  Well, these are the stairs that led to our bedrooms.  And since time was of the essence, I'd often skip a stair with each step when I'd take them.  Our parents bedroom closet was beneath the stairs and as creaky as they were, it was difficult to use them without making a lot of noise.

This was their bedroom, the closet, and two of Bear's offspring, Wyatt & Lexy!

Well, one night, as my parents slept, they heard something fly down the stairs.  My father went out to see what was going on.  He found me in the middle of the room, just standing there, and told me to go back to bed.  I did as he said.  But this is crazy because it's likely that I had actually skipped a stair with each step and ran down them... in my sleep... possibly making me the world's first sleep-runner!  But either way, I had successfully used the stairs while sleeping, which is still quite impressive!

And speaking of these stairs, and the window there in the picture, I recently wrote about one of my fondest memories from this house, which they helped create.

You can find it here.

So Back To The Main Event!

Whitney and I were now fast asleep on the L-shaped couch downstairs.  The moon was high and the critters were out.  It was late into the night when she awoke to a strange figure hovering over her.  Without hesitation, she went on the attack and slapped the figure in the face...

... twice!

I would know as it was I who stood over her and whose face now stung with pain.  So there we both were, terror-stricken in the moonlight.  Whitney was screaming and I was crying.  It didn't take long for my father to emerge like a warrior, ready to slaughter whoever it was that was causing us trouble!  However, he didn't exactly think twice about what he was - or wasn't - wearing.

And for good reason!

(I'm not sure what his excuse was here, though...)

Upon realizing that no one was in the house, he turned back for some clothing as my mother came to comfort us.  Soon after, my father reemerged in a rob and took a look around the house in case someone had, in fact, broke in.  But he would find no one as it was I and only I who had instigated all the chaos.

And that was that.

Now I know what you must be thinking... My Poor Sister!  And yes, she's been through a lot.  But while she's endured bits and pieces of my sleepwalking, I'm not sure that her troubles quite compare to mine.

But who's counting?

<Sleepwalking Adventure #2   

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Mystery Post!

Note: A "Mystery Post" is a post selected totally at random.  There's a lot to explore on this blog & this is a fun way to do it!  Enjoy!