Just Plain Normal

Several years ago, I had an experience I've never really been able to explain. I woke up in the middle of the night, and became aware of an evil force in my bedroom closet. I couldn't move, and at the time it seemed that the evil in my closet had some kind of strange hold over my mind and body. After what seemed like about a minute, I sprang up in bed, able to move again, and the ghostly presence was gone.

I've always been vaguely embarrassed by this experience. I don't put any stock in the paranormal: I don't believe in ghosts, demons or vampires, and while I don't prima facie rule out psychic abilities, I've not seen any convincing evidence for it, either. So the question remained: how could I explain what happened within my rationalist paradigm?

I thank Chris Mooney for finally providing me with the answer: sleep paralysis:

Sleep paralysis occurs in 30% of the general population. In it you wake up in bed, feel paralyzed, and tend to sense a terrifying presence in your room. Sometimes you see something; sometimes you hear noises or even feel electrical shocks throughout your body.

The paralysis is the natural effect of REM sleep; the hallucinations come from not having emerged fully from the dream state. It is a rational answer to an irrational fear, and I feel better already.