Night waking and bedtime battles

I used to sleep like a charm, 12 hours straight without a peep, but recently I've been waking up in the middle of the night screaming, "Save me!!". My parents come see me and I grasp their hand and don't want them to leave until I fall back asleep. I started asking them if Bad Man was coming, and they have to reassure me I'm safe. I told them I didn't like the room dark, so they put a night light in my room. I never want to go to sleep either. I try to do everything in my power to stall bedtime; and I'd rather have quiet time than take a nap. My parents wonder if I am losing the nap, but then I often wind up passing out in the late afternoon if I don't, so they concluded that I'd rather fight sleep than miss all the fun. Or, all this toilet learning is putting my sleep out of wack.