I just wanted to fucking fly.

It's going to seem obvious now that this was a bad idea. Reading it on NoSleep especially is going to make me look like a moron for attempting it. I'm just fascinated by lucid dreaming.

For those who don't know, lucid dreaming is the phenomenon in which a person is conscious or "lucid" during a dream. Usually, this means the dreamer is capable of controlling and manipulating the dream to their will. Sounds fucking awesome, right?

Well, I'd been trying to do it unsuccessfully for almost two months--dream journal, consistent reality checks, all that jazz--when I came across a new method. It was called WILD (Wake-Induced Lucid Dreaming). Instead of waiting until you're inside the dream to activate lucidity, this method follows the following instructions:

You lay down in bed, completely still, with your eyes obviously closed. Almost as if you were going to sleep, am I right? The only difference is that when you feel an itch, or an urge to shift positions, you have to ignore it. You can't move a fucking muscle until you feel paralyzed. You're urged not to open your eyes because unsettling hallucinations typically occur.

I figured, what the hell, I'd give it a go. Nothing else had worked thus far, and a lot of people were sharing success stories about using this method. Besides, I had my girlfriend in bed next to me, so worst case scenario she would snap me out of it.

Well, I laid down on my back and followed the instructions as best I could. For some reason I severely underestimated how difficult it would be to ignore itches. After a few minutes most of my body was tense and flexed in an effort not to cave and scratch myself. Sure enough, though, I felt physical sensations start to waver and then disappear entirely.

Then I felt something brush against my leg. I might have assumed it was just my girlfriend shifting in her sleep, but it didn't feel quite the same. It was sinuous and graceful, like a cat's tail. I wanted to open my eyes, but I wanted to lucid dream more. They remained clenched shut.

Then I felt a trickling sensation all over me, starting in my fingertips and slowly spreading through my nerves. It was highly unpleasant, and I felt more of the same brushing shit that happened earlier. It must have happened, I thought. I finally fell asleep and passed into a lucid dream.

I opened my eyes, and just saw my bedroom. I tried to move, but my body was paralyzed. According to the articles I read, that was the indicator that my body was asleep. Excited, I flexed my imagination a little. Nothing happened. Then I heard some gurgling from next to me in the bed. My girlfriend was slowly churning in her sleep, with her legs thrashing around occasionally; she was choking on something. I tried to move to her aid, or even to fucking turn my head in her direction, but of course I was immobile.

Eventually she fell silent. Tears are openly falling now as I realize it's my fault because I was stupid enough to try lucid dreaming. Then she starts sliding slowly towards the foot of the bed, as if being dragged by the ankles. She continues off the edge of the bed and falls with a loud series of thumps to the floor where I can no longer see her.

I'm already borderline insane by this point, but it only gets worse. The covers start to rise up next to me, like there's someone beneath them, but even in my peripheral vision I can tell there's nothing there. Then I feel an invisible hand press against my chest.

"Welcome home," something whispers into my ear.

I woke up sobbing and shouting. My girlfriend, very much alive, managed to calm me down. I don't want sympathy or any of that shit, I just want to warn everyone NOT to try this. DO NOT DO THIS for the love of God. It's not worth it.