CASE 01
Sleep App
My sleep app congratulated me for finally getting eight uninterrupted hours.
The audio recording beneath the chart is eight hours of me whispering, “Do not let it know you are awake.”
FEAR FILE · 30 CASES
Somniphobia
Fear associated with sleep.
CASE 02
The Crib
Our newborn finally stopped crying when my husband picked her up from the crib.
I reached for him in the dark and found him still asleep beside me.
CASE 03
Imaginary Friend
My daughter stopped talking to her imaginary friend after I told her he was not real.
Now she only talks to him when she thinks I am asleep, and he answers.
CASE 04
Covered Mirror
I covered the bedroom mirror because I kept waking up to my reflection standing beside the bed.
This morning the sheet was still covering the mirror, but there were footprints leading away from it.
CASE 05
Under the Bed
I held my breath when I heard slow breathing beneath the bed.
The breathing stopped too.
CASE 06
Closet
I woke up to find my closet door open, although I always lock it before sleeping.
The key was still in the lock on the inside.
CASE 07
Night Terror
My doctor assured me that the shadow standing in my doorway during sleep paralysis was only a hallucination.
Last night it covered my mouth and whispered that the doctor could see it too.
CASE 08
The Ceiling
Every night I hear my upstairs neighbor drag furniture across the floor at 2 a.m.
I live on the top floor.
CASE 09
3:17
My alarm keeps waking me at 3:17 a.m. even though I deleted every alarm from my phone.
This morning it displayed a countdown instead of a snooze button.
CASE 10
One Percent
My phone had been dead for hours when the flashlight suddenly turned on beneath my blanket.
The lock screen showed one percent battery and a new contact named DO NOT MOVE.
CASE 11
Cloud Backup
My cloud account restored twelve photographs I had never taken.
Each one shows me asleep from a little closer than the last.
CASE 12
Smartwatch
My smartwatch congratulated me for standing up while I was lying awake in bed.
The little figure on the screen was pacing back and forth beside me.
CASE 13
Night-Light
My daughter begged me not to turn off her night-light because the man in the corner only moves in darkness.
When the bulb burned out, something beside me whispered that she was right.
CASE 14
Lost Tooth
My daughter left a tooth under her pillow and woke up holding someone else’s molar.
There was blood on the carpet leading from her bed to my locked bedroom door.
CASE 15
Blanket Fort
My children built a blanket fort and said I was not allowed inside because their new friend was shy.
After bedtime I found the fort empty, but something underneath it was still breathing.
CASE 16
Backward
I woke to find HELP ME written backward across the bedroom mirror.
My reflection was still asleep.
CASE 17
Do Not Disturb
I hung the DO NOT DISTURB sign outside before going to sleep.
In the morning it was hanging from the inside knob.
CASE 18
Channel 0
The hotel television had a channel showing a live feed of my room from the ceiling.
I unplugged the set and watched myself keep sleeping on the screen.
CASE 19
Luggage Rack
My suitcase kept sliding off the luggage rack while I tried to sleep.
On the third fall, a hand pushed it back up from underneath.
CASE 20
Sleepwalking
I installed a camera to find out why I kept waking with mud on my feet.
The footage shows me standing beside the bed all night while something wearing my pajamas leaves through the window.
CASE 21
Pillow
My pillow started whispering my childhood nickname after midnight.
Only my dead mother ever called me that.
CASE 22
Same Dream
For three nights I dreamed of a locked red door at the end of my hallway.
This morning the door was there when I woke up.
CASE 23
Proof
I filmed myself sleeping to prove the figure from my sleep paralysis was not real.
The recording shows it waiting patiently until I open my eyes.
CASE 24
New Alarm
My alarm woke me with a recording of my own voice saying not to look at the ceiling.
I have never recorded myself screaming.
CASE 25
Warm Side
I woke alone and found the other side of the bed warm enough to leave a body-shaped impression.
The impression slowly sat up.
CASE 26
Dream Call
I dreamed my brother called and begged me to wake him before the fire reached his room.
When I opened my eyes, my phone was already connected to his number.
CASE 27
Under the Pillow
Something hard beneath my pillow kept digging into my cheek all night.
At dawn I found a key labeled BEDROOM 2, although my apartment has only one bedroom.
CASE 28
Night Visitor
My husband says I talk to someone beside the bed every night in my sleep.
Last night he recorded the conversation and heard himself answering from the closet.
CASE 29
The Nap
I closed my eyes for a twenty-minute nap and woke to silence outside.
Every calendar in the house says I slept for eleven years.
CASE 30
The Scar
The old surgical scar across my stomach started opening while I slept.
By morning it had teeth.