It sounds like night terrors. My son (8) has had them off and on since he was a toddler. I have been told it's related to sleep walking and I believe it's genetic - my mom says I had them too. The child may appear to be awake, but really isn't, and typically doesn't remember anything about it the next day. We've mostly just made sure he's safe and let him ride it out, I don't think there's much else you can do. My husband will sometimes climb into bed with him, and the closeness of another person seems to help him relax, but my feeling is that it's only temporary, and that on the nights he's having them, unless you stay in his bed all night, he will continue to have them off and on. I prefer to let him ride it out, I think he actually does better, and gets through them more quickly if he's left alone, but maybe that's just because I'm a heavier sleeper than my husband and don't hear him all night. If it's keeping you up, I would maybe just ask your doctor if they have any recommendations to deal with it. If it is night terrors though, don't worry, they're really pretty common, I know many people who's children have gone through this and it doesn't seem to have any repercussions other than loss of sleep for the parents.