Hag Phenomenon : Sleep Paralysis

[Rae Ven Rae]

I've had this happen to me at least five times in my life, and wanted to see if anyone else in here have ever experienced it -- read below:


The Hag Phenomenon: Sleep Paralysis

by: Kady Harrington

One problem with paranormal research is that far too few 'investigators' stop to really consider that it's very possible that such phenomenon may be explained not by a dead and wandering soul, but by the mind's own attempts to process affects on it. Reports of seeing figures, hearing sounds or other similar experiences are a fundamental experiential report in paranormal research - but seeing an apparition when you are wide awake and on your own two feet is one thing, seeing one when you are in bed dozing off is probably quiet another.

One of the more common reports is that of being held down in bed while waking up or falling asleep. Usually the report falls along the lines of someone in bed going to sleep or waking up, and suddenly feeling something holding their arms and/or legs down, sitting or pressing on their chest, and even seeing or otherwise sensing a figure standing at the bedside or nearby. The term for this phenomenon is not ghosts - it's hypnogogic/hypnopompic paralysis, or simply sleep paralysis. It is commonly referred to as the Hag Phenomenon because of old beliefs that it was caused by evil spirits, ghosts or hags sitting on the chest and attempting to hurt the sleeping person. In this article we are focusing on hypnopompic, or awakening, sleep paralysis only because this is the most common report we get and is most frequently associated with hallucinations.

Simple sleep paralysis occurs in almost every adult at some point or another in their lives. Characterized by coming alert mentally but finding an inability to move or vocalize, it's frightening but lasts literally seconds in the majority of cases. During sleep, the body goes through several stages of sleep - the deepest being the REM stage. It is this stage that you dream in. The body provides it's own 'safety' feature during this stage, essentially locking down the body by blocking certain motor signals and relaxing the muscles to prevent the physical body from acting out the dream. Otherwise every time you dreamed you were being chased by something big and hairy, you might wake up to find you'd actually fled down the street! Embarrassing at least (especially if you still sleep in Star Wars pajamas) and certainly potentially dangerous. Occasionally as the mind moves through the stages of sleep and comes back to the lightest phase of sleep there is a brief moment when the mind gets to an aware stage before the body does. Out of synch for a few moments, the now lucid mind realizes that the body can't move, resulting in panic and even struggle. Usually within seconds the body catches up and all is normal again. At times these moments of sleep paralysis can be somewhat extended and/or are accompanied by extraordinarily realistic and intense hallucinations from visual to physical.

Sleep paralysis can include one or more of the following effects:

* Unable to move legs, arms or even torso

* Unable to vocalize

* Feeling of pressure on chest, as if someone was sitting or pressing on it, even a strangling or attacked feeling

* Feeling of choking or inability to breath

* Emotional reactions such as terror, dread, panic

* Sounds become very intense

* Auditory hallucination - such as ringing, whistling, breathing, rustling, scratching, buzzing, knocking, animal noises, music, moaning, laughing and yes even footsteps. Sometimes distinct voices or phrases are reported. Some sounds are very 'natural', some are extremely loud or piercing. It is notable that they are most often reported as very clearly "external" - not "in the head".

* Visual cues become very intense

* Floating or out of body feeling, feeling of levitation or sinking.

* Seeing or sensing a presence in the room. Often it is reported to be looking down or watching the person experiencing it, is usually dark, most often human shaped but can be vague or amorphous, or even animal shaped.

* Seeing or sensing a presence actually causing the pressure on the chest

* Numbness

* Vibrations

* Occasionally pain, especially if in a panic someone becomes very forceful in trying to move a limb.

It is easy to see how this occurrence can be interpreted as an 'attack' or 'visit' by some kind of entity. Interestingly, the 'entity' that is reported is virtually always going to be in line with the individual's belief structure. Aliens, ghosts, angels, demons, human intruders... what ever a person most strongly identifies with or fears is what they are likely to perceive. In some cultures it is even perceived as an attempt at possession by another soul or evil spirit. Not all cases are reported as malignant... many times they are reported as being comforted, hugged, or otherwise safe and cared for.

A Real Case:

An incident occurred early one morning. My family was scheduled to leave very early on a trip, and my husband had awakened and got out of bed about an hour before I did. He turned on the hall light and went about his morning routine leaving me to get a little extra sleep. Shortly thereafter I awakened to see the light on, hear him moving around in his office, etc. But I could NOT move and began to panic. I clearly remember KNOWING I was awake, but still hoping it was just a bad dream I could wake up from. As the panic grew a stuffed bear on a nearby dresser suddenly turned it's head to watch me. The feeling of evil radiated from it and my panic grew. I began to cry out as hard and loud as I could for my husband, but all I could get out was the tiniest almost inaudible squeak. Almost with a noticeable jolt I was suddenly free - I could move, the bear was where it belonged, I could talk. I know I was awake and not dreaming, and that physical jolt just reinforced that. The feeling of panic and fear took a long while to dissipate though, and I had a sore throat throughout the rest of the morning.

Other things associated with or believed to trigger Sleep Paralysis are : Sleep deprivation, either through lack of sleep, frequent disruption of sleep or changes in sleep patterns (such as swing shift workers). Stress or high anxiety. Narcolepsy.

Sleep Paralysis in itself is not dangerous nor does it indicate the person experiencing this phenomenon is "crazy" or mentally unstable. It is not typically linked to physical causes such as tumors or brain disorders. You are not going to be possessed or permanently paralyzed. It is also not caused by ghosts, demons or aliens. In cases where this occurs frequently, it is possible to work with a doctor and even be prescribed medication to prevent it. However it is usually considered non-threatening to one's health.

This phenomenon is so often reported in the context of the paranormal, however it is very well documented as a sleep disorder. Be sure to be aware of this possibility the next time someone reports a ghost is holding them down.

[DeathChii]

Yeah I've had it a few times... it was creepy =\

[Emerald]

I've experienced this fairly regularly on and off since I was about 16 (I'm 34 almost 35 now). I find it is usually triggered by either medications (I used to experience an episode at least once a week when I was on Xanax), sleep deprivation or extreme stress/anxiety. My experience is always with the hallucinatory type where I "see" a black shroud like figure I have named "shroud dude" (yeah original name I know *lol*). I have also "seen" goblins and gargoyles, had the sensation of something walking across me and sitting on my chest as well as sensations of falling into an abyss, being smothered and moving rapidly through space. Shroud dude is always associated with the most horrid feeling, it's hard to describe but it's like the personification of absolute sheer terror, like just complete evil incarnate. I have never been able to breathe or relax through the experience and then go into a lucid dreaming state like some are able to because the entire experience is just so absolutely mind blowingly terrifying that unless I can pull myself out of it quickly enough I go into a total panic. Over the years I have learnt to recognise the signs of when I am going into a SP state and can usually stop myself by tapping my fingers or toes or moving my eyes, sometimes if I am already in the state I can still bring myself out of it but it takes a lot more effort.

[Velvet_Mansfield]

It's happened to me too. It usually only lasts for a few seconds, but once it lasted longer, which was really odd. Whenever it happens, there's some "reason" I need to move, like once I thought I heard someone screaming my name, but I couldn't move. The screaming wasn't real of course, but it's definitely an odd feeling.

[Rae Ven Rae]

I often feel like, dark presences or a feeling of being held down. In regards to the scientific explanation, they don't tell you why you would feel as if someone is sitting on your chest. I can understand not moving -- but...

[KontanKarite]

The mind can make anything real.

If you truly believe that there is something there, can the mind not manifest it into reality? The mind is a very powerful thing. There is the brain, but it's not the same as the mind. The mind can be almost metaphysical in nature.

Though others can't see what you see or hear what you hear doesn't mean it doesn't exist. We think, therefore we exist.

I think our minds can make the world as simple as we want it or as strange and interesting as it can possibly make it.

I love this kind of talk. What if what we all see and hear are not entirely the exact same thing?

This has happened to my sister a couple of times.

[Rae Ven Rae]

Has it ever happened to you -- I ask because I wonder if this is something that happens to creative, right brain types more often than not...?

[Emerald]

Originally Posted by Rae Ven Rae

I often feel like, dark presences or a feeling of being held down. In regards to the scientific explanation, they don't tell you why you would feel as if someone is sitting on your chest. I can understand not moving -- but...

There is a scientific explaination for it though, sensations such as pressure on the skin or body without any apparent external cause are called Formications and result from the misfiring of the nervous system and brain signals during states such as Sleep Paralysis and certain medication withdrawals.

[Lapin]

I used to get this as a child often, and believed I was going crazy, or that something bad was going to get me. It's most likely the root cause of my fear of the dark.

When I was sixteen, I found a book in the library that explained it. I cannot express how relieving it was to find out I wasn't insane or seeing/hearing things.

I'm still afraid of my closet though, and I still sleep in a Japanese-style platform bed in order to avoid potential panic attacks.

(The levitating one is very, very odd to experience.)

[Rae Ven Rae]

Yeah -- I read that this happens most often to young kids but mine happened as an adult. Formications -- interesting -- wonder if people who were supposed to be possessed were really in the throes of a waking version of this...?

[psyches_reflection]

I've suffered from this on several occasions, starting during a period of intense stress when I was 19 and suffered something of a minor breakdown. Mine normally occur when I'm about to drift off to sleep, and inevitably lead to sleepless nights. The subject matter varies - I've been *****, dissected by aliens (?!), attacked and bled upon by a zombie Virgin Mary and knifed by a tar creature.

As I understand it Rae, being able to feel something press upon you as part of the hallucination is the result of the dream state that you are still actively in when sleep paralysis occurs. Hence, it is also known as the waking dream. People who endure/enjoy very vivid dreams will often have an apparently full sensory experience of it.

KontanKarite, I have always wondered whether people experience the world in the same way - as a child, I wondered if everyone saw what I accept to be red as being red the way I see it... if we all saw colours differently, it would explain some people's horrendous tastes...

[Aaroneet]

Definitely had that...Once, I actually woke up with a headache. The ironic part was that I had a dream the night before in which I was fighting another.

[Rae Ven Rae]

Psyche (always been a favorite name of mine), I've wondered that about common perceptions myself, example, I HATE oreo and chocolate chip cookies, even as a child, but everyone seems to love them. Over the years, I have tried to eat them, but each time it's like, yep, still hate these damn things. So I ask myself, is it the way I TASTE these things that is the issue? Does the flavor I experience differ from person to person -- what tastes like crap to me can taste like ambrosia to another? Is it physiological or personal, or both?

[thedoll]

Of course they have the scientific explanation, faith seems to be so dead.

I'm not trying to discredit the explanation, but couldn't it have just been a supernatural encounter?

[Cyntrox]

I hate the arrogant tone in this article.

I've experienced this many times. Well, either it was this, or it was a false awakening. I'm not really sure.