Between sleep and awake

[Madrigal]

When I'm falling asleep, and my dream characters begin to take shape, I'm often startled back to consciousness by the clarity and strength of the character's voices. I often wake up feeling unnerved, with their voice still ringing in my ears, as if something had been said to me from outside my mind instead of inside it. Sometimes it's a voice I haven't heard in a long time, like from someone that passed away. And sometimes it's the voice of someone I regularly speak to. The strange thing is that they wake me up. That the voice is too loud.

Something else I get while falling asleep are amazing images. They appear as a single snapshot, sometimes it's so impressive or disturbing that I wake up. I always think that it's a shame I'm not a painter, because I would base my entire life's work on reproducing these strange images.

What is it like when you're falling asleep?

[LordLatch]

^ Are they all clowns? hahahahahahhaha

[jigglypuff]

When I'm falling asleep, and my dream characters begin to take shape, I'm often startled back to consciousness by the clarity and strength of the character's voices. I often wake up feeling unnerved, with their voice still ringing in my ears, as if something had been said to me from outside my mind instead of inside it. Sometimes it's a voice I haven't heard in a long time, like from someone that passed away. And sometimes it's the voice of someone I regularly speak to. The strange thing is that they wake me up. That the voice is too loud.

...i only get weird between-sleep-and-awake stuff when i'm severely sleep deprived. like sometimes i'll go to sleep and dream about waking up for the day but i'm actually still sleeping and the day's events happen and something fucks up but that wakes me up and i'm back in bed again with a second chance. generally, though, i remember nothing about falling asleep. i just kinda die.

[last_caress]

falling asleep nothing other than a motor twitch dodging some hypnogogic threat. waking from a nap is where I get the strongest vibes.

[Madrigal]

I forgot about that clip, tele. xD

Honestly tonight really freaked me out. They keep waking me up, and now I'm reluctant to go back to sleep.

Edit: I'm not crazy.

Edit 2: This only happens when I sleep alone.

[gator]

...there is a taco stand called nothing.
Can I take your order?

[ACow]

Its (presumably) in the middle of the night that the vivid and fantastical arrive. They've also made me really wish I could paint.

And at the other end (waking) I get the most confused. My false awakenings can really knock me around. They can have quite the emotional/jarring effect.

[Anon]

I've experienced similar stuff, although not so much voices as a random loud sound. Very vivid though. It's known as hypnagogia.

[kuranes]

I ge the strange audio if I am experiencing a state between lucid and regular. I am just on the cusp of being aware that I am dreaming, but ...not quite there.

[OrionzRevenge]

I have experienced the auditory startle described in the OP, but for me, the overwhelming vividness comes typically in a visual form. Most often a parade of unknown faces in the greatest of detail. Sometimes they'll transform in some grotesque way that interrupts my passage to la la Land.

This phenomenon is most probable to occur while I'm manic and attempting to force myself to sleep.