The first time it happened I awoke thinking it was a nightmare, but I was wrong.
My BFF and I had rented an adobe house built in 1815 decorated in an easy southwest style for a trip in New Mexico. My BFF took the large main bedroom while I chose the smaller room, that clearly had started its life as a porch, with a cozy daybed.
After a long day of driving and shopping for the week we headed to bed excited for our morning hike. I easily settled into bed and feel asleep. But the night did not go as planned. At 4 am I felt my legs being held down by strong arms, as if someone was intent on keeping me from moving. I awoke suddenly, shook my legs free from the restraints, wondering if my legs had been caught up in the sheets. However, the bedding was not tangled. I assumed that this was a nightmare and went back to sleep until sunrise.
The next night I tried the pull-out couch in the main room to see if it would be more comfortable. Even though the floor in the main room sloped fairly steeply down and I had to prop up either my head or feet, I slept great. No dreams, no nightmares.
But the next night I was too tired to set up the couch, so I headed back to the cozy daybed, a decision that led to a terrifying night. This time it was not just my legs that were being held, my entire body was in a vice-grip. Arms and legs were wrapped around me holding me tight. I struggled against the vice-grip trying to move my legs and arms, but the shackles tightened around me. The fight with the invisible manacles continued. Finally, my mouth formed a rictus, and with a snarl I opened my mouth to bite the arms that restrained me.
Suddenly I was sitting up and free of the restraining manacles, looking at a daybed wondering what had happened. Once again, I was not tangled in the bedding, and it was 4 am, the same time I had awakened the last time I slept in this room, an activity I knew I would never repeat. My shoulder felt wrenched, my legs were bruised, my jaw was sore, and one of my ears was sore. I dragged the blanket into the main room, curled up on a soft small couch, and went back to sleep.
When I awoke, I looked toward the creepy bedroom and noticed for the first time the very out-of-place Bali Devil mask hanging over the door. For the rest of the trip I slept, nightmare free, on the couch with the door to the devil room, as we called it closed.
It could have been a nightmare, but my childhood bedroom was haunted, and I know that difference between vivid dreams and encounters with a spirit. There was no activity during the day or in any other part of the house, and we had a marvelous trip. But perhaps the devil mask is there to contain the spirit in that room.
The only question I have is what kind of review do I leave on the VRBO site?