Nightmares In Connecticut

My name is Vanessa and I'll start by saying that this is the first time I've posted anything on this sight, although I've been reading this sight adamantly for a while now. I've also had a few unexplainable paranormal experiences in my life which I have spent many years trying to understand by studying the paranormal.

The one that stands out the most was my first real notable experience with the paranormal. It was when my parents had just moved us into a new house, which was a big deal at the time since we never had much money growing up since my parents had the three of us young and didn't finish school or anything. Because of that we lived with my grandmother, which was definitely not big enough for all of us.

However, when we moved in our family started changing. We were always a close family, especially since we all practically shared a room at the old house. So it was definitely weird. My dad started drinking a lot and because of it my parents fought constantly, and my brother who was always the closest to me started being a jerk and really more hostile. He was 5 years older than me, at the time I was 10 and he was 15 but up until now it didn't matter, where now anything I said was "childish" and really just annoyed him.

Not long after we moved in, I started having nightmares, extremely vivid and real. It was never exactly the same but was always me in the dream, in the same clothes that I went to bed in hiding in my house or running in my new house from some man who looked to be in his late 60's I would say. He was tallish and really slim. He had a hat on most of the time like an Abe Lincoln hat and don't ask why I know he was evil but he was.

In my dream I never knew why I was trying to stay away from this man but I was. Luckily though, I always woke up before he caught me. When I would wake up I always jumped up like most people do when they have a nightmare, only I would be sweating disgustingly and my heart racing and would lay there until I could finally fall back to sleep.

About three months after the nightmares started, my brother started praying every night before he would go to sleep, which he never did before. I didn't ask him why though, I didn't want to look stupid. Also I never told my parents even though I know they believe in the paranormal and probably would of believed me but there was so much tension now and I wasn't used to it so I would just avoid being home or talking to them and always be out riding bikes with the kids in the neighborhood.

Anyways, I again had the dream where I was running from whoever this man is again. Only it was different though because usually I didn't see him much in the dream it was just mainly me running from him. This night he had a knife and he wouldn't catch up with me but every time I turned to look he was right there, just staring at me.

I jumped awake at some point during it and was more scared than usual. I was laying on my side and was frozen there for like 3-5 minutes and I remember I felt silly because I was ten and shouldn't be so scared and I jokingly thought to myself that at least he never catches up with me... And as I thought this to myself I rolled to lay on my back, so I would be facing the ceiling rather than the wall and when I did the man from my dream was standing on the other side of my tiny little twin bed leaning over the bed like waiting for me to lay back. He looked exactly like he always did, and wearing the Abe Lincoln hat, and had a black old looking trench coat on (which I never saw the trench coat in my dreams before). I was terrified and had that heart dropping feeling like someone knocked the wind out of me.

I screamed as soon as I actually realized what I saw, and as I did he was just gone. My brother woke up because we shared a room and he jumped up and asked what was wrong. I felt stupid so I said nothing and usually he would pry for an answer. This time he just said it's okay ness (my nickname) and told me it's just a dream and go back to sleep. I know this wasn't a dream though, there's just no way. I also know what sleep paralysis is and it wasn't that either. What I saw that night was a demon and judging by my brother's reaction, he had seen him too or at least had experienced the same nightmares, because I never said it was a dream or that I saw the horrible man.

We never talked about anything in the morning or at all really, and I've never told anyone this experience until now. Also I should share that the strange part of this is that I didn't really have anything else happen there to myself at least. Little things would happen like the feeling that you're not alone or being watched and stupid little things would move by themselves. Like my pens would go from my bed to my sock drawer or when I left the room for a second my drink would have been moved to the other end of the table and I know nobody would bother to do that or when I was alone there.

Also I would occasionally hear footsteps or the sound of muffled whispers of a man and a younger girl, a toddler it sounded like, always from the other end of the house when I was home alone after school. But what's strange is that was the first and only time he showed himself to me like that.

We moved out shortly after into a house that was the same price and bigger so my parents took it. I don't know if anybody else had any experiences, but like I said I think my brother had the same nightmare as me.