This happened very recently, just this past November of 2008. I'll start off by saying I'd been restless because of the June 2008 floods. In September we learned that my mom was losing her job as a result of the floods which resulted in a stressed induced insomnia stage.
I fell into a good sleep in November for the first time in a long time. Without warning I was choked out of the peaceful sleep and woke up to find myself still paralyzed and struggling for breath. So I sat up and got a glass of water before returning to bed. At first I thought it was nothing, just my body reacting to an overload of stress. However, the real terror came when I lay back down to fall back to sleep.
I had just closed my eyes when I felt an ominous feeling; like something else had entered the room in the time span I had been gone. I tried to ignore it and fall back asleep, but I felt something tighten around my neck and I couldn't breathe. I opened my eyes to see a dark humanoid figure above me with an overbearing appearance. I couldn't see any features, just a black solid.
I was thrashing about so violently the ruckus had woken up my parents and they switched the light on demanding to know why I was being so loud. Almost immediately, the figure disappeared and the grip around my throat was released.
I tried to play it off as a dream, but the next morning I woke up with small bruises around my neck. I've never experienced such a malevolent spirit before in my life and the house I live in now has been the house I've lived in since 1995. I don't think anyone or thing has died in the house besides a few household pets. Any theories on what this may be or how it has entered my life would be greatly appreciated.