Joys of Sleep Paralysis

Before I get to my post for this week, a little reminder. The Heinous Measure is due to be available soon and there will be a special post on here, Twitter and Facebook regarding its release. Keep your eyes pealed for that.

Now, Our Regularly Scheduled Post:

The old hag phenomena is something that for me personally, inspires a great deal of terror. If you are unfamiliar with this nocturnal crone I shall explain.

Numerous people have reported instances where they wake from sleep, unable to move, with a scraggly old woman perched upon their chests. This entity often laughs at them and has a most malevolent cast. Other situations sometimes have the old crone standing by the bed, or sitting on the head board or night stand. Sufferers report extreme terror during these situations.

Similar occurrences are described as incubi, succubi, unknown intruders in the bedroom, shadow people and even extra-terrestrials. The common links are the sheer terror, and the paralysis. The inability to move can last longer than an hour, according to the Wikipedia page on this subject.

I bring this up as I've regularly delt with something akin to this phenomena, ever since I was a young child. Personally, I've not experienced the complete wakefulness during such situations, but I have had countless nightmares of being attacked by paranormal entities. In these I'm usually lying on my back, usually in a hospital type bed or on a floor, with a face positioned above me or entity leaning over me. I cannot move a single muscle, and often feel a myriad of hands poking or touching me. Many of these nightmares contain taunts, mocking or other forms of oppression from the beings depicted within them.

The most frightening example of these was when I was around twenty. I had a vivid dream, in which I was laying on my back, on the floor of my bedroom, which was empty of furniture and all other possessions. Hovering over me was the head of a previously deceased family member, whose eyes were completely black. There was no body with the face, just the face itself. I clearly remember it stating in a scratchy voice that, "Nobody will know but God." When I woke from this I shook so violently from fear I could feel my mattress vibrating beneath me.

Also worthy of note, are the numerous dreams I've experienced involving alien abduction. Again in these I am positioned on my back and cannot move but instead of a spirit or demon, the entities present are little grey or green men. For months after losing my vision I believed I was suffering genuine abduction and it was a long time before I accepted the fact these were just nightmares triggered from massive change and stress during a particularly difficult period in my life, almost all of which bore metaphoric reflections of my hospital experiences.

Sleep Paralysis Causes and Benefits:

The cause of sleep paralysis, and nightmares such as mine vary greatly. Some theories suggest genuine spiritual or demonic attacks, while others suggest much more scientifically mundane things such as anxiety, panic attacks or sleep apnea. Personally, though part of me would love to believe in the supernatural view, my brain is far too analytical, and has to side with anxiety.

Naturally I hated these dreams for years and though I still do not enjoy them by any means I've learned to embrace them for two reasons. The first is that I've over the past few years adopted the belief that dreams are merely your brain's way of processing left over information, or things about which you've been recently thinking. Secondly, they are fantastic sources of material for dark stories, and I love filling my tales with stuff that scares the hell out of me, in the hopes you receive a similar effect when you read my tales.

One of my idles, H. P. Lovecraft was afflicted with similar nightmares as a child, and Many of his stories are filled with elements of his dreams. I've recently been reading a collection of his works entitled, "Dagon and Other Macabre Tales." I urge you to pick it up when you are feeling a might peckish for stories that are bizarre and creepy. Lovecraft's work is fantastic stuff.

Your Thoughts:

I'd like to hear about your experiences with nightmares and how they touch your life. Sharing such can be therapeutic and makes for interesting discussion.

You can share with me on my Facebook page: Author Jonathan Birdsall on Facebook, or on Twitter: Writer Jonathan Birdsall (@writerjbird) or in the comments below.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers until next Monday!