It’s called hypnopompic hallucination.
Unlike with sleep paralysis, you can move and talk while still seeing it and it will last a few seconds up to a minute which can seem like an eternity.
It usually fades as soon as you turn on the light, but for some very few people it does not and persists even after turning on the light.
Here’s an example of someone who often experiences these and has started recording themselves: https://youtu.be/bEMGZNvETMQ
Why YSK: because it’s very scary and unsettling when it happens and since you can move you don’t believe it’s sleep paralysis and can’t explain it. This might explain many of the “monster or spirit at the foot of my bed” sightings that we often hear mentioned in horror podcasts.
When I was going through my divorce I was in almost constant sleep paralysis at night.
I got my daughter a hamster that turned out to be pregnant. It gave birth and they ate each other.
The first major sleep paralysis I had during that time, I was laying on my bed watching Star Trek (comfort food, TOS). Suddenly the cage appeared on my stomach. The hamsters started crawling out and eating the tips of my fingers off. All I could do was tap my left pinky and try to scream and pray she’d hear me and shock me awake.
The next time my ex (sleeping beside me) was sitting at the foot of our bed, her hair a mess, sticking up all over the place, scars all over her face, he eyes glowing. She was rocking back and forth rapidly, hissing at me. There were shadows moving around on the walls. I could see her there asleep beside me, again, I could only move my pinky and try to scream. I was literally smothered in fear each time it happened.
I come from a very religious family and I’d heard stories about demons shaking the bed and things like that. I’m an atheist. I always look for a logical and reasonable perspective.
When I got control of it a little bit, I was in bed listening to Sigur Ros, (). I had just caught her cheating again and she was trying to convince me I was crazy. I was laying there begging the universe to make her see reason, to save my family.
Suddenly the music became very metallic, it was clear that sleep paralysis was beginning, I began sinking through the mattress.
I said to myself, “You know what this is. Don’t fight it, just ride it out. You’ll wake up completely when you wake up.”
It was a lot like an acid trip, only with an element of horror. I just kept telling myself, “It’s all in your head. It will pass.”
If it were to happen tonight it would take me by surprise and horrify me. It’s crazy that I went through a time where it was frequent enough that I could do that.
I wouldn’t wish divorce on my worst enemy.