They say if you wake up gasping every night at 3:33 AM,
eyes wide, chest frozen, drenched in sweat—
you've been marked by It.
It doesn't have a name people can say aloud,
but survivors call it:
> The Dream Eater.
---
It doesn't haunt your house.
It haunts your sleep.
And once it tastes you… it comes back. Every. Night.
---
At first, it's just a nightmare.
Your teeth fall out.
You're drowning.
Everyone you love is screaming your name, mouths stitched shut.
But that's just bait.
The Dream Eater watches from the dark corners of your subconscious,
studying you—
learning your fears, your guilt, your shame.
And then…
it feeds.
---
Stage One: Sleep Paralysis.
You wake, but you can't move.
You feel the weight on your chest.
Not pressure—presence.
A silhouette stands at the foot of your bed.
It watches. It waits.
Then it leans in close, and whispers:
> "This is not your dream anymore."
---
Stage Two: Bleed-Through.
Nightmares start slipping into the waking world.
You see shadows that follow your reflection.
Your phone rings and only screams.
You find things rearranged—objects you never owned appear in your room.
A photograph of you asleep.
But from above.
---
Stage Three: The Hollowing.
Sleep becomes impossible.
You start losing time.
Nosebleeds. Paranoia.
Whispers from drains and sockets.
Until one night, you wake up with your mouth open—
and someone else breathing through it.
---
The Dream Eater doesn't kill you.
It hollows you out.
Then it lives inside the husk you leave behind.
A smiling face.
Empty eyes.
Sleeps perfectly through the night.
Because now…
> You are the nightmare.