Weird
She could feel her heart start to beat faster as she did her nightly routine. She brushed her teeth, put on her PJs, and put her kids to bed before putting the lights off.
The next morning she couldn't believe what was on the footage she was watching. She didn't understand how easily she slept through what was going on.
Melanie Darnell
Melanie Darnell had over 100,000 followers as a blogger and fitness fanatic. She somehow managed to keep herself fit and healthy as well as look after her kids.
But behind the scenes, there were many more things going on. And evidence would be needed for people to believe her. Sooner or later, she would get it.
Paul
Melanie was married to a man named Paul. They married right out of college at 18 and couldn't have been more in love.
After seven years of happy marriage, they had three children and a pet dog. She felt good that her life was turning out so well, but soon things would get tipped on their head.
Always Busy
Melanie juggles her fitness blog and raising her three children while her husband Paul was out of the house filming somewhere as a stuntdouble. He would sometimes be out of the house for days on end.
Even though both of them were so busy they were extremely happy. But there was one thing that bothered Melanie, she would often be home alone.
Sleepy
On the outside, it didn't seem like Melanie had any problems. When in actuality, she was very sleep deprived.
She hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in 10 months when strange noises started to occur in her house. She first brushed it off as the wind or the old wood creaking. But soon she realized it wasn't the case.
Noises
It happened every night nowadays. For 10 months, she'd wake up terribly exhausted with no remembrance of her sleep the night before.
The noises had started off subtle, but after a few months, they had gotten much more blatant. She needed to know where the noises were coming from. But the reason would have her shocked.
Plan Failed
She tucked in her kids like every other night, but she swore off sleep for the night. She wanted to figure out where the noises were coming from. But it was harder than she thought.
After 2 hours of trying to stay awake, sleepness soon took over her body. She had to come up with another plan.
Needing Help
She knew that this noise would bother her husband too, if only he was actually home to experience it.
She told Paul about her concerns and worries. She tried to be nonchalant about it hoping he would reassure her with an explanation. But what he would say would actually put her more on edge than ever before.
Advice From Paul
Paul told her to set up a camera that could record any events that happened inside the house. If it wasn't sleepwalking, it could have been something much weirder.
Melanie thought of all the horror movies she'd watched when she was younger. Would a classic slasher be lurking in her house? She had to figure out what the real reason for the noise was.
Searching For Answers
Melanie hung up the phone with her husband and searched for the symptoms of sleepwalking. Was she sleepwalking? If she was, that would certainly explain her exhaustion.
Melanie read the symptoms and realized she identified with many of them. Her heart raced as she realized she might need help. But first, she needed to be certain. So she did exactly what her husband said. But what she’d find was like nothing she suspected.
Scared
That night, after Melanie put her kids to bed, she slept on the couch. She was too afraid to sleep in her room alone and scared she’d sleepwalk down the stairs. She prepared herself for a better night’s sleep and decided to go to the store tomorrow to get a night cam.
She wondered if she’d sleep better tonight not that she was away from the noise, but it went from bad to worse.
Creepy Memory
Melanie woke up the next morning with the exact same unsettled feeling as all the nights before. Only this time a vague memory of the night sent a shiver down her spine.
She had to understand what was happening to her. She lay on the couch trying to focus on the image that was threatening to leave the edge of her sleepy memory. Her eyes widened.
Getting The Camera
She remembered waking up briefly to the feeling of a breath on her face. As a heavy sleeper, she awoke and turned, falling back into a deep slumber. But now, she realized the significance of that moment.
She got the kids up and raced to the nearest camera store. The unimaginable truth was just around the corner.
Last Night
Her heart pounded as she got herself and the kids ready for bed that night. She set the camera up on the ceiling at the foot of her bedroom and turned the lights off.
She braced herself for another horrible night of sleep before eventually drifting off into another restless slumber, completely unaware of what was about to happen right under her nose.
The Truth
She got the video camera ready the next morning and nervously made coffee. She was now ready to find out what was happening at night.
Her hand was a little shaky as she pressed play. The footage rolled and she saw herself leaving her room to put her kids to bed, then there was nothing but silence.
Replay
Melanie watched herself lay in bed, shuffling quietly until she finally fell asleep. At first, everything seemed peaceful. She pressed the fast forward button desperately hoping that she didn’t have a sleepwalking problem and that no one appeared that shouldn’t have been there but that’s exactly what happened.
Melanie jumped and hit pause. In shock, she hit the rewind button and played it again.
Three Little Shadows
Her eyes popped as she took in the image of a small figure push open her door and crawl up on her bed. She watched herself sleep in complete ignorance.
Then from the corner of her eye, two more shadows appeared through the door and peered over her. One got so close to her face that her jaw dropped wondering how she possibly slept through this. What happened?
Night Time Chaos
The footage showed Melanie heavily asleep as her bed slowly but surely started to turn into a party! After putting her kids to bed a couple of times at 9 pm and 10 pm, they reappeared at two in the morning!
Melanie was too tired to wake up with the commotion but still became disturbed and drowsily tossed and turned with the noise. Then Melanie saw something that explained the breath.
Dog Breath
Between the chaos of her children entering her room, her dog followed. He jumped up on the bed, licked, and smelled her face as he hovered over her.
The most remarkable thing about this was Melanie’s reaction. Although she seemed to be asleep and couldn’t remember anything, she was displaying actions of consciousness.
Posting Online
She would cuddle her toddler and move her hair away whenever he tried to pull on it. She seemed to be half awake and half sleeping. It explained everything!
She was so taken aback by the footage that she decided to share it on her platform. “Parenting doesn’t end when the sun goes down,” she shared.
Parenting Post
“During these moments, let’s think of all of the other parents that are up with their babies at the very same middle-of-the-night moment and take comfort in the thought of each of us cradling our babies in the dark of our homes, together in shared experience.” she said.
From one mom to another mom, the post gathered up hits.
Reality Of Motherhood
Melanie hoped to spread the message that motherhood is hard and it never stops. She also wanted everyone to see the aspects of motherhood that hardly ever get talked about.
It’s not easy and moms often get criticized heavily yet no one knows what they deal with in their daily life! Even Melanie has had her fair share of criticism.
Online Pressure
As a young mom who shares her life and family online, Melanie often leaves herself vulnerable to receive intense criticism online.
Her busy lifestyle with her career and her decision to share so much of her family and kids online often gets questioned by her critics. But at the end of the day, Melanie does everything for the benefit of her family and kids.