Sleep Paralysis ~ What Is It?
Have you ever woken up to find yourself so paralyzed that you could only move your eyes?
Just what is Sleep Paralysis? Is it caused by a normal medically/scientifically explained bodily function? Or is it a paranormal phenomenon caused by something more sinister?
The purpose of this lens is to present just some basic information about Sleep Paralysis and then to provide links to other resources where you can learn more about it.
Below you will see a couple different polls. What do you think causes Sleep Paralysis? have you ever experienced it?
Just what is Sleep Paralysis? Is it caused by a normal medically/scientifically explained bodily function? Or is it a paranormal phenomenon caused by something more sinister?
The purpose of this lens is to present just some basic information about Sleep Paralysis and then to provide links to other resources where you can learn more about it.
Below you will see a couple different polls. What do you think causes Sleep Paralysis? have you ever experienced it?
Sleep Paralysis And The Old Hag
Legend says that the Old Hag sometimes visits us in our sleep. The Old Hag sits upon a sleeping person, usually to draw out their life force. Here we have an artist's representation of what the Old hag might look like.
The phenomenon of Sleep Paralysis has been known to mankind for a very long time. All through history there have been reports of people who have awakened to feel a sense of weight upon them and an inability to move their limbs to escape this pressure. People who experience this phenomena almost unanimously describe a feeling of panic and fear at their experience which can last long after the paralysis of their bodies has faded and they can move again. Legends have arisen in every culture as a means of explaining this sensation, now called sleep paralysis.
READ MORE ABOUT Sleep Paralysis ~ Scientific Explanations And The Old Hag Legends
True Life Sleep Paralysis Experiences
Here are some actual experiences with sleep paralysis as told by the people who went through them.
Sleep Paralysis Experience 1
Anonymous
One night I went to sleep and in the middle of the night I woke up and I tried to get out of bed. I was shocked, even terrified when I found that I was unable to move anything except for my eyes. I could see everything around me very clearly. I tried to scream but I couldn't make a sound! I struggled to move my body, to raise up.Suddenly I felt a very heavy pressure pushing me down into the bed. I somehow sensed, or knew, that it was an evil entity. Perhaps it was the devil or a demon or some other evil thing, I did not know what it was but I felt that it was very evil.
At the time I experienced this I had never heard of "Sleep Paralysis". It was only after I began researching online trying to find an explanation for what I went through that I came across this term and found out what I had experienced that night. It has never happened to me again and I pray that it never does.
Sent in by Anonymous, Copyright 2009
Sleep Paralysis Experience 2
Suman Shrestha
I woke up and looked at the clock facing my bed on the wall. It was 2 am and I was wide awake. I wanted to go use the restroom so I tried to get up from my bed. As I was getting up I felt something cold, almost like a hand, grab my two arms by the wrist. I also felt something sit on top of my chest. Let me remind you I am wide awake and in disbelief of what was happening. I am a very strong martial artist. I was struggling to fight whatever this thing was. Then all of a sudden I felt something grab me by the ankle and pull me down the bed. Now that scared the crap out of me. And so as I was struggling all of a sudden it let me go. Funny thing was when I finally could get up I realized I had been dragged to the edge of the bed with my legs dangling.This event really disturbed me so I asked around of any other paranormal activities around the apartments. It turns out a guy had shot himself in the same apartment as I was living two years earlier. And when I saw his picture there was a strange familiarity. It was as if we had met before, perhaps that night.
Written by Suman Shrestha, Copyright 2009
Sleep Paralysis Experience 3
Angela S.
About three years ago I was asleep in the middle of the day on my couch. I was taking a nap because I had not slept well the night before. I experienced what I guess was sleep paralysis. I opened my eyes but could not move my head. I was facing my television, which was turned off, and I could see my reflection lying on the couch.
I felt afraid because I couldn't move and then I noticed that standing right beside the couch, where my head was, was a child dressed in a yellow raincoat and hat. That sounds ridiculous I know, but I swear this didn't feel at all like a dream. All I could do was watch it's reflection in my TV screen and it never moved. It just stood there looking at me lying on the couch. When I could finally move, it was gone.
Written by Angela S., Copyright 2009
I felt afraid because I couldn't move and then I noticed that standing right beside the couch, where my head was, was a child dressed in a yellow raincoat and hat. That sounds ridiculous I know, but I swear this didn't feel at all like a dream. All I could do was watch it's reflection in my TV screen and it never moved. It just stood there looking at me lying on the couch. When I could finally move, it was gone.
Written by Angela S., Copyright 2009
Sleep Paralysis Experience 4
Cam
This has happened to me several times. I don't believe it was anything paranormal, and I didn't see anything in my room, I simply woke up and couldn't move. The first time it happened I was slightly scared, mostly because I couldn't move. The later times, I simply went back to sleep. Sometimes, I would wake up and couldn't move one part of my body, like an arm or a leg. Either way, I find it kind of relaxing. It helps you sleep after you wake up ion the middle of the night. I find the best method is not to fight it.
Anyone who has seen anything after waking up like this has probably been in a sort of dream state where they haven't fully awakened. It may feel like your wide awake, but we've all had dreams that feel like we're awake, haven't we?
Written by Cam, Copyright 2009
Anyone who has seen anything after waking up like this has probably been in a sort of dream state where they haven't fully awakened. It may feel like your wide awake, but we've all had dreams that feel like we're awake, haven't we?
Written by Cam, Copyright 2009
Sleep Paralysis Experience 5
Miriam Martinez
I too have experienced sleep paralysis and never knew there was a name for such things. I have suffered from it all of my life.The last sleep paralysis I had was a few months ago while I was babysitting my grandsons. I was laying on my right side with my youngest grandson laying right next to me while my oldest grandson, who is eight years old, was sleeping at the bottom of the bed on his back.
I was facing this door mirror just about to fall asleep when I saw my oldest grandson rise out of his body and come towards me and bite me on my neck and then he went back to his body. I could not move or even scream out but the most frightening thing was when I got up the next morning there was this big scratch on my neck in the same exact place where he had bitten me.
Written by Miriam Martinez, Copyright 2009
More Sleep Paralysis Experiences
Read more about Sleep Paralysis and the old hag legends.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand bySleep Paralysis is a Frightening Experience
"Sleep paralysis is a frightening experience for those who are tormented by it. Some describe the experience as being worse than going through the scariest haunted house at Halloween. Thankfully, most people don't have to endure the experience. The scariest thing most people deal with is when we dress up in our favorite Halloween costume and go trick or treating!"
The Paranormal Survey
Participate In Our Paranormal Survey
What do you believe, or not believe, about the world of the paranormal? Check out our Paranormal Survey to see what others have already expressed and cast your votes as well.-
The Paranormal Survey
-
Welcome to the TrueGhostTales Paranormal Survey. We want to know what people think and believe about the supernatural world. Do ghosts really exist? If they do then what are they? Where do ghosts come from? Do you believe in an afterlife? Questions l...
Halloween Costumes
Sleep paralysis can be frighten especially during Halloween. Many of the popular scary costumes for adults worn at Halloween are scary too.Pure Costumes is the place to find all your scary costumes this Halloween!
How Many People Have Experienced Sleep Paralysis?
Loading poll. Please Wait...
Information And Resources About Sleep Paralysis
- Sleep Paralysis Discussions atTalk Paranormal Forum
- Discuss sleep paralysis with others. Read what our members say about sleep paralysis.
- Sleep Paralysis | True Ghost Tales Paranormal Blog
- Reader submitted sleep paralysis experiences and comments
- Sleep Paralysis Scientific Explanation Or The Old Hag
- Have you ever woke up to find yourself completely paralyzed, unable even to scream? This strange phenomenon does happen to a lot of people. Since history...
- Sleep paralysis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Jul 26, 2008 ... The Nightmare, by Henry Fuseli (1781) is thought to be one of the classic depictions of sleep paralysis perceived as a demonic visitation. ...
- Sleep paralysis definition - Medical Dictionary definitions of ...
- Sleep paralysis: A frightening form of paralysis that occurs when a person ... Sleep paralysis strikes as a person is moving into or out of REM (rapid eye ...
- Sleep Paralysis
- WebMD explores the realm of sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis occurs when a person's mind is conscious and aware but the body is unable to move.
- The Skeptic's Dictionary - Skepdic.com
- Feb 23, 2009 ... Sleep paralysis is a condition that occurs in the state just before "The ... Abduction by Aliens or Sleep Paralysis? Susan Blackmore ...
- Old Hag Syndrome aka Sleep Paralysis - Castle of Spirits.com
- Sleep Paralysis (SP) is a common medical condition and usually tagged nowdays as a Sleeping Disorder. The symptoms can sometimes include complete to partial ...
Personal And Scientific Account Of Sleep Paralysis
"Wrestling With Ghosts" summarizes and updates a growing literature that includes traditional cultural accounts, scientific research, and subjective reports about the uncanny sleep disorder referred to as sleep paralysis (SP). The book serves as an important tool to normalize the sleep paralysis experience by attempting to remove its often-publicized mystical and supernatural aura. Specifically, the book is a serious contribution to the psychological and social scientific literature as an example of behavioral/social methodology in clarifying psychological phenomena that can be misinterpreted individually or by culture as "paranormal." However, the book does not refute the very real phenomenology of the experience and is intended as a practical guide for recognizing and managing the disorder in creative and self-enhancing ways. Moreover, this work reiterates the aesthetic and creative power of uncanny dreaming regardless of its origin.
Wrestling With Ghosts: A Personal And Scientific Account Of Sleep Paralysis
Amazon Price: (as of 12/09/2009)
List Price: $31.99
This aesthetic dimension of sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming is part of mythical, shamanic, creative, personal and scientific multidisciplinary approach to studying and describing dream phenomenology.
More Books Related To Sleep Paralysis
SLEEP-PARALYSIS
Amazon Price: $19.95 (as of 12/09/2009)
List Price: $19.95
Used Price:
Usually ships in 24 hours
Coping with Parasomnias: Overcoming Sleep Terrors, Sleep Paralysis, Sleep Eating, Sleep Walking, Sleep Sex, and Other Sleep Disorders
Amazon Price: (as of 12/09/2009)
List Price: $15.95
Used Price:
The Terror That Comes in the Night: An Experience-Centered Study of Supernatural Assault Traditions (Publications of the American Folklore Society)
Amazon Price: $22.45 (as of 12/09/2009)
List Price: $24.95
Used Price: $14.01
Usually ships in 24 hours
![Rates of isolated sleep paralysis in outpatients with anxiety disorders [An article from: Journal of Anxiety Disorders]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515mRoeXVWL._SL75_.jpg)
Rates of isolated sleep paralysis in outpatients with anxiety disorders [An article from: Journal of Anxiety Disorders]
Amazon Price: $5.95 (as of 12/09/2009)
List Price: $5.95
Used Price:
Available for download now
About The Lensmaster
If you enjoy reading about the paranormal world check out the TrueGhostTales Lensography to see a listing of all our spooky Squidoo lenses.
Lensmaster TrueGhostTales has been a member since September 4 2008, has rated 87 lenses, favorited 26, and has created 12 lenses from scratch. This member's top-ranked page is "Freakiest Ouija Board Stories Ever". See all my lenses
Say Hello!
submit
-
Reply
- Annoymous Annoymous Dec 3, 2009 @ 2:39 pm
- My sleep paralysis started when i was about 14 15 and it scares me sometimes because i never think i am going to wake up. My body always fights it of in the end but my worstest fear is what happens if i stay in the same place and just cannot move. I went to sleep one night and then i woke up to my legs not being able to move and my arms NOTHING my eyes were open and i could only see a blurry part of my room , i find it hard to breathe the way i get out of it is to hold my breathe aslong as i can very tight then let go and try to get up and then i just end up waking up sometimes it takes two times to do it depends how hard the force is. Its horrible i just want it 2 stop and i want to know how to stop it from happening or is there something wrong with me that means i need to see the doctor or something because one time i though i was actually going to die and that was the worsest experience ever because it was one of the experiences that lastest the longest and i struggled the most in.
-
Reply
- Sonya Klapko Sonya Klapko Nov 21, 2009 @ 6:51 pm
- My sleep paralysis I started15 years ago during a time when I was working long hours and in the middle of a bad relationship. I noticed that as my life changed for the happier the sleep paralysis started to happen less often and now has not happened for 8 years. I would wake up always laying on my back and could not move and would here a high frequency humming coming from the wall behind me and a voice wispering in my ear but could never understand what they were saying. To my right out of my vision I felt the presence of a dark evil man like the devil dressed in black. I never saw it though my eyes only ever looked straight ahead. I would always start praying to god and would say in my mind In the name of the father etc. over and over until I could move again. I am not overly religious but read in similar experiences that this was quite common to start praying to a god to make the presence go away. Once I could move again I would roll over and just go back to sleep. After this had happened quite a few times I researched on the web and once I realised what it was, I was not so scared and knew once it started that I just had to relax and it would go away. There was two different types of sleep paralysis I would experience the other one was when I would go to sleep at say 10pm then wake up 2 minutes later feeling paralysed and would see my sister walking up to me as I lay in bed and whisper in my ear but I could not understand what she was saying. I would then be able to move again and would look at the clock and see it was 10:02pm. The vision of her walking up to me was so clear and real. I remember the lights in my bedroom where still on so I could see the whole room. Actually that experience did bother me because when it happened we lived states away from each other so during my dream state I am thinking how is she here in my bedroom am I seeing a ghost.
-
Reply
- clay clay Nov 7, 2009 @ 9:18 pm
- I use to experience sleep paralysis more commonly as a teenager. Occassionally I still do. Usually it's after I've been awakened from a deep sleep and then go back to sleep. It seems as though I'm concious, but the real and the surreal tend to mix. I then feel like I can't breath or move, and like I feel an urgency to correct it lest I move deeper into the state. I can control it better when it happens now, but my first experiences with it resulted in what I will swear to this day were legitimate out-of-body experiences (not fun). These experiences have often felt like paranormal "attacks" by a sinister presence, but I really don't know what to think about that. In those instances, I would pray in my paralized state. Sometimes that would help. Sometimes not. Very strange condition to be sure...
-
Reply
- k k Nov 7, 2009 @ 7:59 am
- This has happend a few times to me.. The first time it happend it felt as if i was slowly drifting to sleep but my eyes never closed.. its almost like a daydream at first because i start to hear loads of voices at once then you start to make out conversations its that wierd that iv nearly talked back without noticing.Then it felt like i couldnt move at all only my eyes and i really panicked.Its happend tome about 4 times one time it scared me so much as soon as i could move i went and slept in my sisters room.Untill the last time it happend it has never happend to me while iv fell asleep with someone.. I began to fall asleep with my hand over the edge of my bed.. All of a sudden i felt like i couldnt move at all ,i could see a shadow of a hand grabbing my hand at the edge of the bed i could actually feel it.I tried screaming for help but it jus felt like i was screaming under my breath. Its really hard to explain but i managed to wrap my leg round my girlfriends and she woke me up.
-
Reply
- matthew lee matthew lee Nov 5, 2009 @ 5:08 pm
- i've experinced sleep paralysis and when this happened i flet something moving in my bed i looked at tv screen and i could see a shadow moving on my bed and then it tried moving up the bed so i could see it but i muttered jesus help me and when i said that it stopped so spirits do exist because when i mentioned the word jesus it stopped
- Load More
Sleep Paralysis Index
- Sleep Paralysis And The Old Hag
- True Life Sleep Paralysis Experiences
- Sleep Paralysis Experience 1
- Sleep Paralysis Experience 2
- Sleep Paralysis Experience 3
- Sleep Paralysis Experience 4
- Sleep Paralysis Experience 5
- More Sleep Paralysis Experiences
- The Paranormal Survey
- Halloween Costumes
- How Many People Have Experienced Sleep Paralysis?
- Information And Resources About Sleep Paralysis
- Personal And Scientific Account Of Sleep Paralysis
- More Books Related To Sleep Paralysis
- About The Lensmaster
- Say Hello!
by TrueGhostTales
See all our lenses ~ check out the TrueGhostTales Lensography!
True Ghost Tales ~ Over 1,000 ghost stories and articles with new paranormal stuff a...
Explore related pages
Paranormal Experiences: Are Ghosts Real?- You've probably heard your share of ghost stories and maybe even had paranormal...
How To have a Lucid Dream- If you are searching for a way to have a lucid dream instantly, you have come to...
Sleep Paralysis - Do You Sleep At Night- Is this a story about sleeping beauty - oh no. This is a story about sleep para...
Bloody Mary- "Bloody Mary" the legend is actually based on two historic personages. Mary I, Q...
Freakiest Ouija Board Stories Ever- Parker brothers doesn't care if a demon possesses you, or if you come under some...
Famous Ghost Pictures- Is it possible to capture the image of a ghost in a photograph? Here are just a...
