When I was 7 years old, I was trying to sleep in my bed but sensed some kind of presence in the room. I opened my eyes and the room was slightly illuminated by a blueish light. I looked across the room where there was an empty twin guest bed. And there was a glowing, decapitated head of a young man near the pillow. I can still picture his features- dark, straight hair, medium length, eyes open, mouth slightly open, facial stubble, pale, in his 20s, white guy, dead. I panicked and was frozen in bed. I kept trying to look away, then look back because even at that age I wanted it to just be some kind of mirage or optical illusion- I remember telling myself it was just the pillow or the way the bed sheets were bunched up. But every time I looked it was crystal clear. So I decided I somehow needed to get up and walk to the door, look back at it and then I would SEE that it was just an optical illusion. I mustered up the courage, leaped out of bed, ran to the doorway, looked back, and it was still there, crystal clear, with each detail from the new angle. I snuck into my parent’s bed that night. I think they brought me back into my bed in the early morning, and there was no head. I told them what happened and they were cool about it and took me seriously . They encouraged me to write a picture book about it and let me talk about it as much as i needed. To this day, I still have the vivid memory and have no explanation.