Shadow 'people' and 'animals'

[michellekia]

For the past three nights while I was sleeping I will wake up and realize there are shadows standing over me. The first time was of a person walking by. The person didn't frighten me. The next two times seemed like some kind of 'solid' looking shadow animal and I was afraid these last two times. I felt their presence. Does anyone know if this has happened before?

[Xanth]

Does anyone know if this has happened before?

In the history of all of humankind?   Nope, never!  Not once. 

Ok, all jokes aside... first, there's nothing you can experience which someone hasn't experienced before you. 
With that out of the way, what you're experiencing is normal.  I've personally been experiencing it my entire life (I'm 34).

It's just a bleedthrough... of your non-physical experience into this physical reality.  Frank Kepple had a good term for it... an "Overlay Experience". 
Basically, it's your non-physical experience overlaying onto your physical experience.

I've kind of just learned to live with it.

[michellekia]

That is interesting. I guess I experience seeing these 'shadows' somewhere else and I may be simply remembering them.

[Xanth]

That is interesting. I guess I experience seeing these 'shadows' somewhere else and I may be simply remembering them.

Well no...
They're a bleed through effect of whatever you were non-physically experiencing being imposed or "overlayed" onto your waking physical reality.
What you're experiencing as a "shadow" is, essentially, a left-over from whatever you were "dreaming" about.  You're still in a relatively dreamlike state upon waking... hence the overlay.

[Bluefirephoenix]

its part of your spiritual make up or body. the area closest to you contain forms like this. Theyre eminations as xanth said.

[ChampagneCharlie]

I've experienced this and had hypnotic regression, many years later, to try and find out what happened as, after seeing the figure standing over my bed, it touched me and then I had some missing time. The hypnotist ended up having a conversation with this entity - channeled through me. It said it came to observe me now and again. Nothing evil or malicious in its intentions.  It also said it was multidimensional...

[Xanth]

I've experienced this and had hypnotic regression, many years later, to try and find out what happened as, after seeing the figure standing over my bed, it touched me and then I had some missing time. The hypnotist ended up having a conversation with this entity - channeled through me. It said it came to observe me now and again. Nothing evil or malicious in its intentions.  It also said it was multidimensional...

The fact you had some "missing time" alludes to the idea that what you experienced was part of a false awakening.

I have a memory back when I was around 6 or 7 years old.  My bed faced my bedroom door at the time, so I could see down the hallway.  I had woken in the middle of the night to seeing a strange woman walking towards my door with a small child walking next to her.  I had hid under my blankets at the time, because, let's face it, blankets protect you from everything bad.    But, I don't remember anything which happened after that.  Hence, why when I think back about it, I'm certain it was a false awakening.  I really didn't wake up, I was projecting in a self-created (or otherwise, I don't know) reality which was similar to my bedroom.

That was one of the first moments I actively remember of such an event happening to me.  It's snowballed ever since... LoL