Hi, I am wondering if this is normal. I have been afraid of the dark since I was a kid. Basically most of my life except when I used to take medication. Sometimes I think that watching horror movies as a kid must’ve messed me up. I hate that genre now.

I don’t like to be in the dark, and especially alone in the dark. I sometimes feel like there is someone else with me, when there isn’t any lights on. And shapes of things in my room looks like someone is there. Sometimes it looks like someone is standing there in my room. Or I also worry someone might grab me next to my bed. Sometimes it looks like someone is hiding besides my bed, if it’s dark.

I also often can see what looks like someone sitting in a chair. I think it looks like a man sleeping, or drugged out, or just being very still and it makes me nervous to walk next to it when I need to walk to my kitchen or living room. It does remind me of someone I used to know, now that I think about it.

Also, I don’t take drugs only a low dose of anxiety medication and I’m in therapy but it’s not related to this stuff.

I guess I am just wondering what this could be. Like if this is me seeing things, or just imagining things. I am very jumpy in the darkness and have always had a small dim lamp on throughout the night. I would just rather not be in the total darkness, and if there’s light coming from outside it’s enough to make shapes look like people hiding in my room with me.

It really does look like people to me in the dark, and it is very scary for me. I don’t like looking directly into a dark area either so I like doors to be shut closed. I definitely feel like someone will come out of that dark room, when I am looking into a dark area of my home.

I don’t talk about this with people they just think I’m scared of the dark.