Snap Studios. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you

are with me. Your rod and your staff they comfort me

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies you

Annoyed my head with oil

My cup runeth over.

Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. You're listening to Spooked.

Stay tuned. From KQED and PRX, you've crossed over to Spoot. The When I was a kid, sometimes, something would pull me awake in the dead of night.

Something I could feel sitting on the edge of my bed,

someone who refused to turn their face toward me.

My entire being frozen, I'm able to do more than blink my eyes at the terror.

Never seen the face that held me prisoner, my limbs immobile.

Fresh tears streaming down paralyzed cheeks condemned to wait through this night of cold silence

until finally released by the morning. I asked my mother then about the monster at the foot of my

bed what should I do when I'm unable even to scream.

She bends down on her knees together.

We pray.

We pray the Lord will save me from the shadow and bless me with the grace to beat back that power.

Later, when I'm older, no longer a child, I learn about sleep paralysis, how millions of

people find themselves frozen, jolted away from slumber in the night time, that it is in

fact a medical condition.

I tell this to my mother one sunny afternoon over eggs and fresh toast she smiles

glances back over at me.

...