Every night for years, I had a dream where I was falling. I would turn round and round as I fell farther down the hole. It was dark and menacing, but before I fell, something would chase me that sounded a lot like a little girl.

The thing is the way she sounded, scared me to no end. I remember one night. I had just closed my eyes and then I heard it, a gentle scraping noise coming from the end of the bed.

Convincing myself that it was just something in my head, I keep my eyes ...