18 scariest things that could happen in your sleep
Sleep is really important for a healthy life, but sometimes we hear stories so frightening it makes getting some shut-eye difficult.
We've found 18 things that go bump in the night that has us keeping our nightlights on:
1. Snakes could crawl into your bed
When we heard about the Tennessee woman who awoke to find a three-foot long eastern rat snake in her bed recently, it sent us squirming and triple checking our sheets before turning down for the night.
2. Getting up close with creepy crawlies
While Scientific American has debunked the claim most humans swallow eight spiders a year, we are still disturbed by the story of the man who had cockroaches pulled from his ears.
Perhaps we should get a little exposure therapy like reporter Foti Kallergis did, because the idea of sharing our bed with these little buggers really freaks us out.
If you charge your phone on your bed, you need to think twice before going to sleep. We were stunned to hear about an Alabama man who was electrocuted in his sleep when his charger cord and dog tag met with shocking results.
4. Intruders appearing in your bedroom
These stories have left so many with a shattered sense of security. We've told you about people who claimed to find strangers staring them down in their beds, or even more frightening, watching their children sleep.
In one case out of Florida, a burglary suspect was caught on surveillance camera just feet away from two sleeping children. Fortunately, nothing happened to them, but you can imagine the horror of any parent seeing a video like that.
5. Waking to a fire in your bedroom
Late last year, Terrence Henry told Eyewitness News he was only trying to keep the cold out with a space heater when his home caught fire. He said he woke up and found 4-foot flames inching ever so close to his bed.
This frightening incident is a good reminder for why you need working smoke alarms in the home.
6. Raccoons could invade your house
Here's something you don't hear about every day: Trisha Wilhelm, of Houston, says her family woke up one early morning to dogs barking. When she and her husband went to investigate, they found a raccoon lying on the bathroom sink.
Now that's what we call a close encounter with nature!
7. You could 'sleep drive' into some gas pumps
We've all heard of the dangers of driving while drowsy. Here's why: Washington police say a sleepy driver closed his eyes while on the road and plowed right into a gas pump, causing a fiery explosion.
8. Going on a trip while sleepwalking
Even scarier than 'sleep driving' might be waking up in a place you don't even know. Police in Colorado searched for two hours to find a missing teenager who wandered away from home in her sleep. Her family claimed she is a habitual sleepwalker, and became frightened when they couldn't find her.
Investigators said the 19-year-old teen went to a 7-Eleven and may have rode the bus all while she was asleep.
9. Your partner could (allegedly) turn on you
We recently told you about a 30-year-old woman who was accused of setting a bed on fire while her boyfriend was sleeping in it. Court documents say Ashley Brock waited for him to fall asleep after an argument, doused the mattress with some accelerant, and lit the bed on fire.
Her boyfriend's socks were burnt. No word on whether they're still together.
10. Hackers could be spying on your bedroom
A Houston mother made a terrifying discovery after she learned that someone had hacked into a webcam in her daughters' bedroom and had been streaming everything online.
What's worse, they had no clue until someone who lives 2,000 miles away told them about it.
11. You could suffocate on chewing gum
While this one was indirectly caused by sleep, it's something that happens a lot with kids: chewing gum in bed. In one heartbreaking story, a medical examiner found a western Pennsylvania university student and basketball player who was found dead in her dorm room likely inhaled chewing gum into her lungs while she was sleeping.
12. The house could collapse on top of you
With all the storms that roll through Houston, this is a possibility for some people. A local mom described the scary close call she and her family had when a ceiling caved in over an autistic girl's bed.
Fortunately, no one was hurt.
13. A stranger could try to kiss you
This is only cute when your name is 'Snow White' or 'Sleeping Beauty.' All other times, it's creepy.
An Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Oregon, to Anchorage was diverted recently after a man allegedly attempted to kiss a sleeping teenage girl, according to officials.
14. You could be kidnapped during a cat nap
Meantime, another teen girl found herself in a freaky predicament when the car she was taking a nap inside of was stolen in northwest Houston.
Houston police found the car on Highway 290 and Mangum Street in a parking lot. The teen was not injured, but the suspects ended up running away.
15. Might wake up locked in a bus or business
A 12-year-old girl in Alvin ISD says she was locked on a school bus and left alone after falling asleep on the way home from school. The school district admitted fault after the girl panicked, yelling and banging on the door for help.
Meantime, we also told you about an Oregon man who fell asleep in the middle of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" and ended up getting locked inside the movie theater after it closed.
In both instances, it left us shaken to even try to snooze anywhere other than our own bedrooms.
16. Car could crash into your bed
Eyewitness News has seen its share of cars smashing through people's homes over the year, but imagine the horror of finding a vehicle on top of your bed.
In California, police said an 8-year-old boy smashed into his neighbor's house, landing a car on top of his neighbor's bed. One person was injured, but fortunately no one was in the bed when it happened.
17. You could form an addiction
Sometimes its not what happens in your sleep but how you get to sleep that is scary. Insomnia suffers who take over-the-counter meds claiming to be non-habit forming could actually get addicted, according to the Sleep Disorders Center at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center and UTHealth.
If you suffer from sleep apnea, chances are you are waking up dozens if not hundreds of times each night because of breathing troubles. While you might wake up feeling drowsy, that's not the only danger. In fact, you could begin to see adverse health problems if you do not seek treatment.
RELATED: Snoring remedies that you need to know about
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