When I was a kid, I lived in this small house with my parents and my brother. I shared the same room with my brother and my parents had a room right across from mine. I would always wake up just about every night with the door open and every time in a five minute span I would see a shadow (human shadow of course) come across my door or stop at my door and just stand there for a while and move away. My brother hated the door closed (my parents always had their door closed) and everytime I woke my brother up the shadow would move away from the open door. He would never see anything and get mad and go back to bed. I'd used to tell my parents and they would always joke around trying to be funny saying its your buddy or it was the IRS coming to collect your taxes or some other crap like that. Almost every night though, for some odd reason I'd just wake up right before I see it and everytime I see it I would freeze and act like I was asleep with my eyes barely open to stare at it. I knew it was a shadow and I knew it was there because it was what it was obviously and I freakin stared at it until I got enough balls to wake up my brother. Finally my brother couldn't take me anymore and demanded that I get my own room as well as he. When I got my own room I ALWAYS closed the door (even the closet doors) have the radio on and have the fishtank light on (fishtank helped out a lot because of the light and the running water). I slept all through the night uninterrupted and when I got my dog named Boy Clark (from the pound) he would sleep with me but some nights I remember waking up to him growling towards the door or in alert mode towards the door with his tail signaling the obvious but I never saw the shadow. Eventually we moved and the shadow incidents stopped but to this day I still close ALL the doors (even the closet doors) in the house or apartment. I am obsessively compulsive when it comes to closing the doors before going to bed because I just feel like something is watching me if I don't close it or I'll see something that I don't feel like seeing. The reason why I bring this up was because I got into an argument with a couple of my amigos about me closing the doors and how they wanted the doors open so the cold air can circulate through the apartment (plus the shadow post brought back old memories). I didn't tell them why I wanted the doors closed because they are closed minded and too maucho plus it was not my place. I didn't see anything but I was just staring all night at the open door seeing if something would come across it and finally I got so annoyed so when they were sound asleep I got up and made sure ALL the doors were closed even the closet doors and bathroom doors. I was just wondering if anyone else has to have their doors closed before going to bed in order to sleep because of a childhood experience related to mine? If not then you're lucky and its cool because you all can sleep with the doors open. Honest story and NO it wasn't just in my head and NO it was NOT a hallucination and NO I'm NOT schizophrenic. True story and NO i was NOT thinking too much to make this up! True story but just had a curiosity to see if others out there had a similar experience. Thank you for taking the time to read this and have a great day.

NOTE: I know today it's more psychological than anything else and I'm insecure when it comes to that. It's just sucks not being able to sleep because of a childhood experience that probably today 10 times out of 10 there is nothing to worry about leaving the door open but hey what can I say.....I'm a pussy when it comes to leaving the doors open before going to bed.

I'm the opposite. I can't sleep with the doors closed

Well the shadow real or not is pretty scary so close the door if it makes you sleep at night.

I used to hate leaving the closet door open, it just creeped me out even though I knew it was the cloths that made it seem like a person was in there, I still did not want it open, but today I'm over that silly phobia. As kids I think we make up stuff when we are young and as we grow older the monsters we were once afraid of no longer scare us so they go away scaring our own kids!

You are not alone, I can't sleep with any doors open, and I have to lock my bedroom door. I just feel too insecure to sleep with any door open, it freaks me out for some reason. I have an extremely overactive imagination, so I tend to see things that aren't necessarily there. I can't walk into or be in a dark room either, so lights are always on. I just can't stand to not know if there is something in my room, even though I know there is nothing.

When I was younger about 5 or 6 I always watched the tele in my bedroom at night to help me get to sleep, but this one night I saw on tele (could've been dreaming) on the news that this monster grabbed a ladies leg from under her bed and for ages after seeing that I was scared of getting out of bed in case this monster pulled me under the bed. Stupid little thing.

And now I sometimes just don't wanna sleep without the tele off or get out of bed in case someones standing out there with something (I'm 16, I've been reading too much about the paranormal and I watch a lot of horror films) I know it's stupid but I can't help it.

BTW I have to sleep with my dorr closed I have to check that it's fully closed with no gaps. Just one of those things. Could be that I had epilepsy once.

When I was younger about 5 or 6 I always watched the tele in my bedroom at night to help me get to sleep, but this one night I saw on tele (could've been dreaming) on the news that this monster grabbed a ladies leg from under her bed and for ages after seeing that I was scared of getting out of bed in case this monster pulled me under the bed. Stupid little thing.

And now I sometimes just don't wanna sleep without the tele off or get out of bed in case someones standing out there with something (I'm 16, I've been reading too much about the paranormal and I watch a lot of horror films) I know it's stupid but I can't help it.

BTW I have to sleep with my dorr closed I have to check that it's fully closed with no gaps. Just one of those things. Could be that I had epilepsy once.

I can't stand sleeping with the blinds from the windows rolled up. An ancient belief has it that when you die and your soul departs for the afterlife, it can be intercepted by an army of lost souls. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it plays in my head so i can't sleep when the blinds are up.

Well, I'm very claustrophobic so I'm just the opposite. I can not sleep if the door is shut. In fact if my hubby shuts it I start to get panicky.

Did you sense that it was evil or more neutral ? Might have been your spirit guide..?

I can't sleep with the door closed. (full story why is in my blog) When I was a child I had a problem with my bedroom door.


I also can't sleep with my closet door open. I ALWAYS close it. Sometimes I even put things in front of it. Also stems from a childhood incident. During a temper tantrum I threw a porcelian doll into a hallway furnace and shattered its face. My aunt told me that it would come back and haunt me for being such a nuaghty little girl and from that moment on I couldn't sleep with my stuffed animals and dolls in my bedroom. (and I had/have ALOT) Soooooo I put them in my closet at night...which has led to this life long silly fear of my closet.

I'm exactly the same way. When I was little I used to have to sleep with the door open, but I cant anymore. Once I woke up in the middle of the night and saw a shadow thing like Yawtza described, it was standing in my closet doorway. I keep the doors closed now. I'm not so sure of what it was when I think of it now though. It seemed real at the time, but I suppose it could've been anything.

i gotta sleep with door closed too... im not sure y i havnt seen anything i just cant have door open no matter what

I have to keep my door open or else I would'nt be able to sleep, I get a trapped feeling when its closed. On the other hand I have to make sure all three locks on my windows are securly shut, close my blinds, and make sure my closet doors are completly closed. One time I left my closet door open, I woke up in the middle of the night, i saw something starring back at me from inside my closet. When I had the guts to turn my light on and check out what it was, it just turned out to be an old halloween costume. But it still freaked me out, so now I always have to keep the closet door closed. Also I can't sleep when its dead quiet in the room, I need some kind of sound there to help me sleep. I usually keep my radio on till I get to sleep, its plugged into a timmer that shuts it off in the set time.

I have a quick question. Was there any sort of night light that would allow you to see this shadow clearly? If it was very dark in the hall then it's natural that if you focused on a certain spot you might see something moving. Your eyes would be trying to create a picture for you using any ambiant light available; hence the shadowy looking presence and illusion of motion..

Dude I have had the same thing happen to me when I was a kid and it really freaked me out, I used to wake up and be scared to go to the washroom because of a shadow I kept seeing on the hallway closet door every time I went to use the washroom, I would see this shadow of a hand on the closet door I would scream and my parents would wake up and come to my room and turn the lights on , I would tell them what I saw but they would never believe me..the shadow would be gone...

Do you see it anymore, now that you are older? JN

i'm the same too, i can't sleep with the doors open, it freaks me out, i also cannot sleep with the lights off, and i'm 25 yeah i've had bad experiences so i guess that's what has made me this way also when i am in bed i cannot have my feet sticking out, they always have to be tucked in as i've had a ghost pull my toes once, if the light ever goes off like if i am sleeping over at a friends house i completely freak out, i'm serious.

I'm mixed about the topic. I used to keep the door open, because if I did see a ghost (or get abducted) there was a non-hindered escape route, then again, I always pictured my window being the source of the problem, so the door had to be free.
THEN, after a while, I kept picturing something stand outside my door. Never actually seeing anything,but thinking "gee wouldn't it be scary if I see a tiny little man standing there?" (as well, I wasn't scared of a shadow, just a tiny creature).
So I resorted to closing my door, so I wouldn't have to picture it, and I seemed to have abandoned the thought of something coming after me via window...

I have to sleep with the door closed and closet light on but closed. Jus started doin that cause the
house we live in is jus creepy at night. There some sort of weird feeling I get when alone in the house as tho there is someone there watching or jus being aroun. Not a creepy feeling. And besides our house is huge. Think I need to get a big dog to sleep in my room. or a mean house cat.

I'm 32 years old and have had many similar experiences. Just recently, I awoke one morning around 3:30AM because I had to pee really bad. My bedroom is right next to the bathroom and the doorway to both is directly across from my living room. The bathroom is to the left when exiting my room and the living room is to my right. When I looked to the left I saw the shadow of a man sitting at my computer in the living room. The figure turned in my chair to face me. I instantly got upset because I thought my Uncle (who rents our back house) had snuck in to use my computer, which, by the way, is password protected. I yelled, "When I come out of the bathroom your azz better be away from computer or else." When I came out the bathroom the figure was still there looking at me. I said, "Get up!" The figure turned some more in the chair and sat back in a comfortable position. This really made me mad because I stil thought it was my uncle. So I went to the light switch on a far wall by our kitchen and turned on the living room light. Just I turned the lights on the figure stood up to walk towards me. When the light came on, I was alone and the computer chair was in the middle of the living room away from my computer desk. The air was like ice by my PC but only for a few seconds. Then was nothing. When I realized what had just hapened I was scared because of how clearly solid the figure was that I saw and how it responded to my voice. It's gestures. How it sat back in the chair as if to say, "Come and make me move." I always get a feeling of dread when I think what would have happened if I had touched the figure. I've had several past experiences with figures and it completely drains you when you're touched. You catch a glimpse of various thoughts and images and feelings. But, back to the point.........I sleep with my doors closed now too. I also have bouts of insomnia. I can sleep through almost any noise but awake at the slightest touch or movement.
*
I know how you feel because people always like to joke and say you're crazy or on drugs and seeing things. But I know from experience that these occurrences are very real. I'm a very spirtual person. Good morals, no drugs, strong faith in God.
*
I really can relate.
*
If you ever have anymore experiences. Stay strong and face your fears but remember to keep faith and pray. God will always protect you. Even when you witness things.

Chilling story Chocolate! Thanks for telling it.

I can't sleep with the doors closed because my kids are out there. I just can't bring myself to close that bedroom door when I sleep (there are times when it gets closed mind you, but not while I'm sleeping )
I don't hear, but I do wake up if anyone crosses the threshold of the doorway, I'm guessing it's a change in the pressure or density of the room? I don't know, but it wakes me up.

I've never had a bad experience, but for some reason I need the curtains pulled. It's weird because I even want it done for the windows that no one can possibly reach from the outside without a ladder. I think when I was younger I always thought someone was watching me from the outside. And the scariest thought would be seeing someones head pop up suddenly.

man, that's scary, once i had a ghost push my computer tower (you know where the hard drive is and dvd rom drive e.t.c) my computer tower was located on a chair and i could see where something was sitting next to it or leaning next to it, when it got up the chair liked moved up like someone got up and thats how the pc tower moved, that freaked me out, i've also have my playstation 2 controller float in mid air after i came back in the room it just dropped on the floor from where it was floating yeah i think i have a ghost who likes video games XD

I'm quite surprised that more here can't sleep with the door open.

I've always had to have the door open just a bit or I feel trapped and I while I don't mind the pitch dark while awake, I can't sleep in it.

Because of a few experiences when I was younger, I can't sleep with my door closed. I also can't sleep in my room at home without the tv on, I'm fine everywhere else, but in my bed room at home, I need the tv on with at least a bit of volume, it can't be totally dark or quiet. And the windows need to be closed with the blinds shut (again, only at home), and I can't sleep in ANY room with a mirror, the mirror has to go, or be covered, even in hotels haha.

The other thing is that during the night, I can't go to the washroom (which is literally one step from my bedroom door) without the lights on. If the lights are turned off, I have to keep my eyes closed until I can get to the light switch, because of the attic door right above the washroom entrance, and the linen closet across from it. But again, everywhere else I'm good!