Slumber

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(INDISTINCT)

[LIAM] I wonder if she'll come

back again.

[LIAM] I wonder if she comes

again.

[LIAM] I wonder if she'll

come back again.

[LIAM]

I wonder if she comes again.

[LIAM] I wonder if she'll come

back again.

[LIAM] I wonder if she comes

again. I wonder...

(CONTINUES INDISTINCT)

I wonder if she comes tonight.

I wonder what games we'll play.

If she comes again tonight,

I wonder what games we'll play.

(FLOOR CREAKING)

(DEMON BREATHING)

Okay, that sounds fun.

Her name's Alice. She's six.

(HUMS)

[LIAM]

Ready or not, here I come.

[YOUNG ALICE]

Liam?

Where are you?

Liam, you're sleep walking

again.

(GIGGLES)

There you are, next to my

sister.

This isn't funny!

I'm gonna tell Mom!

(DEMON BREATHING)

Liam, you're scaring me.

Get away from me!

Liam, stop it!

(SCREAMS)

Alice! Help me! Alice!

ALICE (ON TAPE):

So why don't you tell me...

a little bit about your

nightmare?

MALE PATIENT (ON TAPE):

I first saw it as a child...

standing in the shadows at the

end of my bed.

It's hard to describe

what it looks like.

This figure in the darkness.

It didn't have a face.

FEMALE PATIENT (ON TAPE):

I wake up. I can't move.

Like I'm paralyzed.

MALE #2 (ON TAPE): The room gets

darker and darker.

That's when I know it's coming.

FEMALE #2 (ON TAPE):

It happens to me every night.

I don't wanna sleep any more.

MALE #3 (ON TAPE): And there's this pressure on my

chest...

this huge force.

It's like something's holding

you down.

I feel terrified.

FEMALE #3:

I knew it was there.

I could feel it in the darkness

just... watching me.

MAN #4:

I feel trapped.

I wasn't able to move any part

of my body.

I could only move my eyes

back and forth.

FEMALE #4:

And then I saw this figure...

coming towards me and I...

I couldn't make it out,

because it was black.

MAN #5:
You'd be surprised how

many people are affected.

I think some people don't even

like to talk about it.

FEMALE #5:

Every fiber of your body...

is telling you it's something

evil.

MALE #6:
It looks like this old

woman, a haggard old woman...

with these cold, dark eyes.

It's not like a nightmare,

it's... it's something else.

FEMALE #6:
It had such power.

I felt completely helpless.

You don't know what it's like.

It's like a curse.

MALE #7:
You wanna run,

you wanna scream...

but it won't let you.

The thing was well

over six foot.

FEMALE #7:

I think it was seven feet tall.

MALE #8:
It was like this

moving darkness.

FEMALE #8:
It was the greatest terror

I've ever experienced.

MALE #9:

The shadow man is violent.

FEMALE #9:

The hag, she takes hold of me...

and I think I'm gonna die.

MALE #10:
Well, you know

it's coming back.

It is always coming back

for you.

BOY'S VOICE (V.O.):

Alice!

(DOOR OPENS)

[NIAMH]

Were your dreams sweet, Mummy?

Not as sweet as you.

Good morning.

Good morning.

One, two, three.

Always, always, always.

(LAUGHING)

(EERIE MUSIC PLAYING)

[NIAMH] Dream dream dream

Dream dream dream

(HUMS)

Has Henry had his breakfast yet?

He had six peanuts!

Six.

Oh, six.

You ready for your test?

Yeah.

Ah, excuse me.

Yes!

Who's this?

Erm, it's you. You're flying.

Oh, super mom!

It's very nice.

Where am I flying to?

I don't know. Nowhere, I guess.

Do you like it?

I love it.

One, two, three.

Oh, my gosh, every time.

Loser!

You can't kiss the artist!

Yes, I can!

Okay, artist, time to go!

MICHELLE (ON TAPE):

And I kept trying to breathe...

and I couldn't breathe...

and I was telling myself, like,

Michelle, wake-up.

Wake-up. Breathe. Get out

of bed. Move.

Like, do something, you're

okay, but I couldn't.

[ALICE] So, in turn, her brain

is not allowing her...

to go into REM-deep sleep.

This is what's causing her

parasomnia episodes...

sleep talking, scary night

terrors.

Seeing things that aren't

really there, yeah.

You know, it's a lot more common

condition than you might think.

Even my own daughter, she goes

through this sometimes.

And because of what we know now,

it's easily treatable.

Hm, today's dream drawing:

who is it?

It's meant to be me, flying.

Hm, floating more like.

If I drew my dreams,

I'd get arrested.

That's because you're a

sociopath, Malcolm.

Shh, they'll hear.

What about you?

What about me?

What creepy things have you got

lurking in your dreams?

Dr. Arnolds, the Morgans

have arrived.

I thought they weren't coming

until 3:
00?

I told them they were early, but

they seemed a little... on edge.

Okay.

Why don't you tell me a little

bit about what's been going on?

Erm, about two months ago our

baby boy, he...

He passed away... in his sleep.

- Let it go.

- Stop it!

Charlie... please.

I'm so sorry.

Um, around the same time,

we started to find Daniel, um...

sleepwalking and... and sleep

talking...

sometimes even screaming.

He's had episodes like this

before.

But then we started to find him

asleep, we think...

but with his eyes open,

chest heaving, trying to talk...

but his whole body's paralyzed.

Daniel, you've been experiencing

sleep paralysis.

That's when you think

you're awake...

but your brain is still

dreaming.

You can open your eyes

and look around the room...

but your body can't move,

because you're still asleep.

You feel trapped.

Your mind tells you that there's

something else in the room.

Something bad, something

pressing down on your chest.

It's all up here, honey.

It's all in our imagination.

I know it can be scary, but

there are no ghosts or goblins.

See, honey, what did

I tell you? Huh?

Why don't both of you come

and get one of these? Mm.

- What do you say?

- Here, sweetie.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

You're welcome.

Losing a loved one, as you

both know...

can take a very heavy

psychological toll...

especially on children.

So I wouldn't be surprised

if this tragedy...

acted as a trigger for Daniel's

nocturnal behavior.

But, you know, we will run some

tests while he's here and...

you know, I wouldn't worry.

I haven't run into a single

person...

who's issues haven't been

resolvable.

But it's not just him.

We've all started having these

terrible dreams.

Sleepwalking and sleep talking.

I'm sorry, I'm confused...

which one of you is staying

with us tomorrow night?

All of us.

Okay.

Thank you, my dear.

You're welcome. Goodnight.

Goodnight, Mr. Futterman.

(EKG BEEPING)

And when Gretel opened her

apron, the pearls...

and precious stones were

scattered all over the room...

and Hansel took one handful

after another out of his pocket.

Then was all care at an end and

they lived happily ever after.

When the witch died, did she

go to heaven?

Not everybody gets into heaven.

Only the good people, like your

baby brother.

Time for bed, Daniel.

I don't wanna go to sleep.

Then why don't you do your

multiplication tables...

like the nice doctor said.

So you won't think about

the bad things.

I don't want it to come again.

Oh, sweetie, that's just

a nightmare...

but this is a good, strong

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