Certain esoteric subjects have keepers who reach out and touch you when your publication infringes upon their secrecy. Getting a visit from the Men in Black seems to be mostly a function of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Visits in the flesh are rare, but psychic contacts are easier and more common.

On 2022-11-08 I shared a link on Reddit detailing the location of a certain ancient site purportedly containing "paranormal" artifacts, which had previously been protected from discovery. The post received 10k views. I did not expect any retaliation, but found my dreams invaded by a phantom nightmare that same night. I rarely recall dreams, and am not prone to nightmares, so this was a remarkable coincidence.

Perhaps my Reddit post was the first exposure of the treasure location to a mainstream audience, and thus merited a response from those who wish the artifacts to remain hidden.

My understanding of "phantoms" comes from Twitter's @GangaToday1. He explains that they are deceased humans who have been recruited by demons to harvest loosh from nightmare victims, in exchange for time in an addictive dreamscape. This is a bad deal; phantoms eventually degrade to incoherence due to exposure to the hostile material plane. Ganga never met one more than 500 years old.

Oftentimes natural dreams will express subconscious fears. Sometimes dream attackers exploit emotional vulnerabilities. This phantom seemed to have no idea who I was. The dream was tailored to a treasure hunter, a hobby I find unappealing. The protected location is linked to a gold mine, however, and most explorers in the area have sought gold.

The phantom nightmare began from the point of view of a successful treasure hunter joyously examining his found gold in his living quarters. The scene was meant to fascinate with greed, but it revealed odd inconsistencies in the physics of the metal. For example, the gold melted without sufficient heat in a Salvador Dali manner, turning silver. Perhaps this was supposed to cause dismay.

In the next scene, the treasure hunter is betrayed and gunned down by his associates, one of whom empties a pistol magazine in his general direction as he falls out of view. I could not count the shots fired. I inquired inconclusively as to whether the target was still alive due to poor aim and perhaps about to return fire. Absence of a body and the paused scene broke my immersion.

I moved to a mirror to verify the illusion. In the reflection appeared a clownish black-and-white predatory shadow humanoid who aped my movements poorly, attempting mocking menace. I resisted the suggestion that the reflection was me.

[img: Like if these two had a child, then put him up for adoption because he got held back in 1st grade.]

The scene transitioned to a dark pseudo-firehouse, a non-sequitur suggesting an interest in arson. An oversized firehose in a wall receptacle did not match the scale of the interior. I flexed the walls like Neo to test my control over the illusion, and started walking towards the exit, trying to wake up.

The phantom gave up the pretense of realism and invisibly pursued me from behind, going for a haunted-house vibe, down the endless hallway. I halted and spoke "Jesus Christ". The name instantly shattered the dream, ending sleep paralysis. I have heard this works for many religious names, if one has genuine faith in them.

The phantom did not seem to understand modern firearms; maybe widespread semi-automatic pistols were before his time. I do think he was some male coward; a female would have been better at creeping me out. I also suspect it was a former human; the two reptilian visits I've gotten were much stronger. This phantom was slightly clownish and pathetic, as if faded. That would make sense; the site is 1,000 years old, which is geriatric for a phantom. Many of the dream's elements had an 1800s to 1900s vibe, as if poorly updated for modernity. Somewhat Indiana Jones I guess.

How did the phantom find me, despite my being on the other side of the world? @Gangatoday1 explains that paranormal lines of association are independent of geography and even ignore time to a certain extent. Trans-temporality is how spirits can cause synchronicities. My posting the website and making 10k more people aware of the cache linked me to the phantom guarding it, I guess. The dream seemed to be a generic well-practiced one that simply wasn't my cup of tea.

While my skepticism allowed me to quickly recognize the illusion this time, stronger psychic visitors have successfully kept me in the suspension of disbelief. I don't mean to boast about my strength in overcoming a very-faded phantom.

Rather, my purpose is to encourage others: Don't let these brainless creeps feed on your fear and chase you all night. Remember their tricks; they're bad at improv.

Every predator must conserve energy and avoid fruitless hunts, or starve. Banish them with nary a bite of your soul. I suspect a failed hunt makes them weaker against their next victim.

I wonder whether traditional monkish prohibitions against bloodshed are not merely a failure to comprehend the significance of internal injuries, but intelligently designed to prevent the feeding of psychic parasites and predators? Certainly animal and human sacrifice goes in the opposite direction, trying to feed paranormal entities.

Edit: Just realized the melted gold turned into lead with burnt gold paint on top. Didn't know melted lead looked like that.