My Own Paranormal Experience

I will be honest and admit this may have only been a vivid dream.  In the moment, I felt like I was awake but also as if something wasn't quite right with reality.

It actually happened while we were at Beaver camp.  We were in a cabin with bunk beds for a dozen people, but only me, my father and my boys were in it.  I was having a lot of trouble falling asleep and even more trouble staying asleep once I was out.

At one point, I opened my eyes and looked at the bunk across from me and saw a little boy sitting on it.  At first, my sleepy mind dismissed it as one of my boys but then I remembered they were in the beds behind me.  Also, as I looked closer, I could see this little boy had dark hair and was wearing grey pajamas. (Both my boys are blonde.)

Again, I sleepily assumed someone had arrived late and this was an extra Beaver who had been assigned to the cabin.  I smiled at him and he smiled back at me and then lay down on the bed.  I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

Sometime later, I woke up again and this time my brain was functioning on all cylinders.  No one would put a child into a room with strangers without his parent.  Even if they had, we had bells on the door (in case Alex went wandering) so I would have heard them come in.  And even assuming I slept through it, that bunk had all of our backpacks and gear on it.  I looked over at the bunk again and the gear was all there.  No child.  And nothing I could get to resolve to look like a child by squinting my eyes or moving my head.

I wasn't weirded out or frightened when I saw him.  It was no more remarkable than seeing any other person.

I could believe I half-awoke and saw a piece of gear which my mind translated into a figure.  Humans are very good at finding patterns and the ones we see the most are faces and human figures.  It's a common flaw with most apparition sightings.

However, I distinctly saw the child smile and lie down.  He seemed pleased I had noticed him and comfortable in the room.  Maybe it was a dream but I could have sworn I was awake.

It's not the first time I've seen or heard something which seemed real but couldn't have been.  Most of the time I can dismiss them as dreams or misperceptions.  But part of me wonders, could I have experienced something beyond the normal world?  It would be pretty cool if I had but also a little frightening.  This didn't frighten me and I'll probably eventually decide it was a dream, but for now, it's still an interesting experience.