Do you ever see things in your peripheral vision?

Sometimes when I’m very tired I see brief flashes of dark, menacing figures out of the corner of my eye, or imagine that they’re right over my shoulder or in the mirror. It’s a creepy feeling, but it also makes me feel a little silly- like being afraid of a monster under my bed as an adult.

Wikipedia has a page about it, and mentions that a mental state between dreaming and wakefulness is one explanation.

“Hypnagogia, also known as “waking-sleep”, a physiological condition in which a person is part-way between sleeping and waking, can also account for such perceptions.[11] During hypnagogia, a person can be conscious and aware of their environment, but also in a dream-like state where they can perceive images from their subconscious. People experiencing waking-sleep commonly report the sensation of lights or shadows moving around them, as well as other visual hallucinations. A feeling of dread is also a sensation that occurs when experiencing hypnagogia. Hypnagogia is sometimes known as ‘the faces in the dark phenomenon’ because those who experience this state commonly report seeing faces while experiencing waking-sleep.[12] Similar hypotheses have been put forward linking this condition to a number of other apparent paranormal experiences, including alien abductions, paranormal nocturnal visitations, and religious experiences such as contact with angels or demons.”

I don’t believe in the paranormal, but I do believe that our brains can deceive us. The logical explanation that it’s some sort of hallucination brought on by tiredness makes sense, but isn’t exactly comforting, because you’re still seeing the things and feeling the dread. On the other hand, there is something undeniably cool about seeing something so out of the ordinary.

Have you ever experienced this, and if so, what’s your take on it?