>>19039
Hi OP. Hope you're still checking this thread occasionally after this time. This really interests me, for reasons I'll explain. Anyone else reading who thinks they have any info/explanation, go ahead and post it as well.
Probably unnecessary blog posting but I have been freaking out a bit recently thinking about death. I really don't want to cease to exist. So, naturally, I'm thinking about afterlifes and ghosts and all that shit. I've always been a bit skeptical, but now I really "want to believe". Kind of sad.
Because of this, my mind was cast back to something my father told me. A few things, actually, about experiences he had growing up and continuing into adult life. I will not post about them all because they're tied to personal traumatic events for him. But there's a kind of thing he thinks has been haunting him. Much like you described, it's a shadowy, human like figure, with no real face, more an outline of something, and it has elongated fingers or talons/claws. The only difference is this thing usually appears in dreams or sleep paralysis, and is usually floating or coming down from the ceiling, pushing down on his chest, or sucking the life out of him.
The downside to afterlife and spirits and shit would be, like in life, some would be malicious, I assume. So, is something really fucking with him all these years and it's not just mental issues?
I have also had a similar dream/sleep paralysis and seen the thing. I'm not sure if it happened before he told me about it, or if it was after, and so could be explained as he influenced the dream. But that might be worth a note (family curse?)
Tl;dr What is this thing OP and I speak of?