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Falling



Estimated reading time — < 1 minute

We’ve all felt it.

You’re up late. Working, studying, watching a movie, reading on the computer. Doesn’t matter what you’re doing, it’s the feeling you get. You’re tired, your eyes burn and have the gritty feeling you get after not sleeping for a while.

Ok you can’t go crawl into bed right now, but close your eyes for a couple minutes? Try to get a little moisture back into your eyes. That couldn’t hurt anything right?

Then you’re falling. Like stepping off a cliff, you’re in free fall, though your body isn’t even moving.

Then like a bungee cord snapping back, you’re jerking awake, heart thumping a little faster, blinking quickly wondering what just happened.

Doctors call it a hypnagogic jerk, a natural reaction they say, to your brain thinking you’re dying, when your breathing and heartrate slow as you fall asleep.

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What the doctors don’t know is, your brain is right. Every time you let your self nod off, every time you feel that ‘falling’ sensation… you’re not falling. You’re being pulled down.

And one day…your brain won’t be able to pull you back up.

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They will have you.

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Credited to Dru.

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Copyright Statement: Unless explicitly stated, all stories published on Creepypasta.com are the property of (and under copyright to) their respective authors, and may not be narrated or performed under any circumstance.

125 thoughts on “Falling”

  1. I gave it a 910. I thought it was really good. It was short and simple and I liked that about it. It ended with a sentence that kept me on edge. Great job!

  2. You know what’s strange? I’ve felt that sensation quite a few times, and whenever I feel it, I always get the same mental image of looking down at my feet as I’m stepping off a curb into the street. Weird, huh?

  3. I just wanted to say, for future reference, that Dru’s name for the jerk is correct. It’s generally referred to as a hypnic jerk, but can also be called a hypnagogic jerk. The overarching term for muscle spasms of that nature is myoclonus. When referring to “sleep starts,” one uses hypnic or hypnagogic.

    Great pasta, though. I think I love everything up until the last line…

  4. This one was good, although stuff like this doesn’t bother me, because I know God is by my side and I am going to heaven one day , this is extemely well written and intriguing, well done.

  5. funny thing is this happens to me all the time when i fall asleep at school and my hand hits the loudly quite scarie

    1. funny thing is this happens to me all the time when i fall asleep at school and my hand hits the desk loudly quite scarie

  6. Holy mother of fudge. Except for the “They will have you” part, this actually scared me. Because I feel this falling sensation almost every night. I’m afraid to sleep now o_O

  7. Ummm That’s creepy, because I have that all the time, but I don’t think it’s cause your brain thinks you’re dying ALL the time. When I sleep in my bed, I go throughout my dream, and in my little dreamworld sometimes I will trip on the sidewalk and start falling, and jerk awake. I have a healthy state of mind, so it’s nothing scary or psychological.

  8. Interesting, because I used to have those kind of falling dreams all the time, when I was depressed. Maybe I was more susceptible to whatever it is trying to drag me down then.

  9. Lame, could be good, well, would be good if everyone died in their sleep. But because most people don’t….

  10. who the hell is “they”? what do they want? why are they trying to steal everyone’s souls? what is their problem? curse you “they”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  11. That’s actually very interesting. Viewing death as falling asleep but without your mind being able to pull you back from it. Not too creepy, but interesting indeed.

  12. I disagree with all those that say that we humans fear the unknown. You are incorrect. Our civilisation was built on exploring the unknown. If we had feared the unknown, we would have not have discovered anything, in fact, the only communities would be native ones, every one of them ignored by the others. We would not have landed on the moon, or launched into space with probes designed to see out beyond the stars. We do not fear the unknown. We never have. What we truly fear, is what we don’t understand. Similar things, the unknown and the misunderstood, but different enough for my statement to be relevant.
    On a different note, this was a very good pasta, an ecxellent start to my day. Dru, I tip my hat. 9/10.

    Fear the Darkness

    -Nex

  13. This pasta fails because it is misleading about what causes a hypnagogic jerk. The brain does not “think you’re dying” as you stated in the story, but instead, thinks you’re falling as your muscles relax. Thinking about it that way, it makes sense and is not scary. It’s just like when you’re about to fall backwards in a chair and you jerk to keep yourself upright. You need the purposeful lie about the cause to make the story scary. Without it, it just sucks. Actually, even with it it still sucks.

  14. Uhhhh.
    That made no sense at all.
    You’re falling asleep for fucks sake. How is falling asleep equal to being “pulled down”?
    So what, if you have this jerk that means you were being pulled somewhere and if you don’t jerk than you’re just going to sleep? No.
    Shitty pasta was shitty.

  15. I liked it [:
    A little short in my opinion. Would’ve done wonders if it had been a little longer or if it had offered us a glimpse into what we were falling to.

  16. Omg i get this feeling all the time :O like sometimes i will be asleep then all of a suden BAM OMGG IM FALLING HELPZZ!! Oh wait my brain saft me from THEM!! Oh godjesus

  17. I have that feeling several times a month!
    I’m about to fall asleep, then BOOM! I think I’m falling.
    Great, now I’m scared of sleep.

  18. cayla is in your house

    wow i love thsi apsata feel like that every night >>probably cause im so freaky and scary >:) i also like the falling sensation but i always end up like grippingthe bed or twitching hard and it ends 0_0

  19. I actually like the falling sensation and try to lay in bed in whatever way lets me feel it.

    I wonder if I’ll stop trying that.

  20. Wow, this was by far one of the better pastas. It has detail and common frequences with a hint of warning and fear. Well written.

  21. This is especially creepy to me because I get that falling sensation every night almost. :/ Why would they want me? I’m… gross! XD But seriously, awesome pasta. :3

  22. Nice and short, though I prefer the longer ones. A good pasta, though, again, the “them” is unnecessary. You could at least give this “them” more depth by saying the demons of hell, though too much detail would seem out of place in such a short story.

    As for that sudden jerk to awakening… that happens to me all the time in class.

  23. Hypnagogia is the transition from awake to asleep. The jerk is called a hypnic jerk, a form of a myoclonic muscle spasm.

  24. Lol, sounds like what happens to me in history class… I wont be falling asleep in there again (it’s the most boring god damn class I’ve ever taken)!

  25. I’m sorry, but this didn’t do it for me.
    I find it to be almost like a joke, as if the author randomly threw in “THEY WILL HAVE YOU” as a last resort to a scare.

    It’s a silly little story.
    “This is what the doctors tell you, BUT THIS IS HOW IT REALLY IS – THEY ARE TRYING TO KILL YOU HAHAHA”.

    I facepalmed as soon as I read the first couple of comments.

    P4INKillers last blog post..X-Ray Dog – Zombie Hunter

  26. This scared the crap out of me. O_O ever since i was a little kid, i always jerked like that….and now i know the truth xD

  27. @34

    Go play DEAD SPACE. You’ll be satisfied :D

    As for this… yeah, the whole “they” thing kinda killed it… I already had the idea that if you nod off, something in you dies or something like that ._.

  28. Jack declares this story was especially creepy. It was a delicious pasta, but gave Jack a queasy after-feeling. This story scared Jack especially since he gets this feeling often.

  29. this was really good=)

    but now if i EVER dream about falling i’ll wake up screaming me head off…

    && i agree with however many other people said this; that the last sentence sucked.
    if it ended with “And one day…your brain won’t be able to pull you back up.”
    it would be a lot better

    but, oh well.
    still creepy=)

    even with “they”
    which, actually, isnt always bad to use they, if you use some kind of description.

  30. @34

    Not describing the monster in horrifying detail and, instead, leaving it up to “the reader’s imagination” by using words such as ‘they,’ and ‘them’ is a cop-out. Plain and simple.

  31. OHH OHH I just saw something about the pasta that reinforces my idea. You know how they introduce the idea of death and then cut to the “they” referance? The idea of death would’ve been a better way to end it because it answers the question of what (death) and how (the falling feeling) while leaving you to question why.

  32. @ 37

    I agree that “The unknown” is certainly scary, but have you seen The Thing? That movie shows every aspect of the monster, and I found it to be very effective.

    Also, good pasta.

  33. @37 I see where you’re going with that, and the example of cloverfield was a REALLY great movie. But I guess what I was getting at is that there can’t be too much “vagueness” to the pasta (or in my example, movie monster). I’ll use Final Destination to explain further. You had 7 kids that survived a fatal accident where everyone (but them) died an extremely horrible death. This is one scary thought. The scariest part of the movie however is the fact that, even though the kids were able to predict and understand how the happening occured, they died in the end (with the exception of one or two to provide a sequal). All of the kids knew that the monster was “the grim reaper” of some sorts, and esencially knew right where it was (somewhere near the next teen up to die). The Happening is another great one. The concept of “Plants killing humans” was introduced no later than half an hour into the movie, which only added to the excitement. Whenever the episodes happened, they knew exactly what was happening, what was doing it, and where that what was, and yet all but the protagonists killed themselves in horrible ways that disturbed the veiwers. And besides, if you’re going to use the example cloverfield, I should bring up the presence of the little “pygmy aliens” that blew you up. Whenever they attacked, you where where they were because you physically saw them on the subway ceiling. There needs to be a little misunderstanding, like why it’s here or how to stop it, but a total absence of who, where, why, and how doesn’t cut it as scary. The whole “Them/they” concept doesn’t answer where, why or how while only vaguely answering the who. TO make this pasta better: explain why they want us dead or tell us where they are taking us.

  34. The Person Formerley Known as 'Noneya'

    PWNT! Great pasta with just the right amount of eerieness.
    (Especially since I was dozing a bit when I started reading it!)

  35. Hee, thanks for all the comments everyone. Pretty surprised most are positive, as it seems everything posted on the main site normally gets flamed pretty wildly. This was my first creepypasta, inspired by my own experiences while tired off my ass.

  36. @ 20
    I agree with the general consensus that “they” ruined the pasta. Get rid of that and just make a reference to death, and this pasta will be incredible.

  37. @34 > one fears mostly what one cannot understand. in (good) horror movies it translates to : what you can’t see, or hardly catch a glimpse (i.e Cloverfield), how much you suck at anticipating your nemesis’ moves. picture yourself running through dark hallways, your mind racing through the limitless possibilites in which ‘it’ can hurt you.

    That’s why any Lovecraftian-like movie keen on big visual FX and 3D creatures is bound to fail, in my opinion.

  38. I loved this pasta..
    Except for the last sentence.
    (Which, I know, has already been said, but I just have to say it too.)

    It would have been a ton more creepy to just end it with…

    “And one day…your brain won’t be able to pull you back up…”

    Otherwise, GREAT pasta!

    El Fin. :)

  39. Ok, I’m going to say this as calmly as I can. ANY REFERANCE TO A “THEM” OR “THEY” IS NOT CREEPY. All I’m going to think when this happens to me is “Oh no, some unknown, faceless, mystery being just tryed to kill me…wait…they’re trying to kill me but they won’t even make their existance clear? What cowards.” I never could understand how the aspect of “not showing the monster” was “scary”. To be honest, the fact that the monster is standing there, tangible, as in “able to be touched” is way more threatening that a monster who is “somewhere in that direction”. You know why? Because a monster who is tangible and able to be touched is able to hurt you while a monster that is “somewhere in that direction” cannot hurt you untill they come from that direction to the area you are in. You have no idea how many scary movies are ruined for me when the movie ends in an “I don’t know what that just was, but I’m glad it’s over” moment. It leaves me sitting there yelling “YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT WAS! IT COULD’VE BEEN A BUNNY ON STERIODS! AM I RIGHT? NOBODY KNOWS BECAUSE WE NEVER SAW THE FREAKEN MONSTER” at the screen…ok, rant over.

  40. Jesus Tapdancing Christ

    Anything that misconstrues parts of the sleep cycle, I generally don’t like. I’m not saying it’s not well written or it’s bad pasta – there’s nothing really that wrong with it, just…ick.

    It’s like when people call sleep paralysis a witch sitting on you. It’s really, really not.

  41. Haven’t there been multiple creepypastas on this same topic?

    From what I can remember, this one’s the creepiest though.

  42. This is 100 times better than the version that says that it means that an “alternate you” in an “alternate universe” just died.

  43. shortys roc my sox

    i think the feeling is cool now you know what it’s like jumping with a bugee cord and you didn’t even have to pay anything a whole ride for free awesome

  44. This one I like. Not sure what it is, but the creepypastas that take a real feeling or sensation that everyone can relate to and add a little creepy twist to it like this one did, it adds a little more creepy or eeriness to it.

  45. Heh, it was a nice one. I for one like the long stories. The Antiguan Giant story we got, was very enjoyable. Because the problem I see with small one’s is that they don’t try to buld up on anything, just skip to the end with a reference to a “they” or “them”. That isn’t to say it was bad, I thought Guardian Angel was great, but it didn’t reference a “they”.

  46. This is what pasta’s supposec to be! Short and spooky. Not outrageously long and boring. Thank you, Dru. You’ve made my day.

  47. I liked it, just the last sentence kinda ruined it for me.

    Not sure why. I just think that it’s implied that something is pulling you down and it’s a little unnecessary.

    Overall I liked it though.

  48. It’s always “they” or “them”. Who’s this “them”? What the fuck is their problem? I’m trying to sleep here, just fuck off and stop trying to steal my soul, goddamn.

    1. Kofferabzüglichzeichenerklärung

      Hello, and no… The name for it is quit different, but honest to god I can’t recall it. But I do must say it’s not quite “simulated falling” as it is. A form of pseudo-stimulus, caused usually by any cerebral motorized movement. I.e heart pump, breathing, in any case its really just a misdirected electrical impulse thats In directed by different amounts of synapse. Iv studied the brain for a very long time. But in any case it is a, somewhat good pasta.

      1. I think I felt something like what you’re describing. It was a couple of nights ago, I could sort of will myself to feel it. It felt as if something were being pulled out of me and it was weird but not a bad feeling. I wasn’t drunk or anything, but I try to feel the sensation and I can only get on the verge of it, like trying to burp but you can’t. Anyway, it seems interesting.

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