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"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray
the Lord my soul to keep." --Child's prayer Your room is dark and peaceful. You've been sleeping, but now you find yourself alert, eyes open for some reason. Suddenly the atmosphere changes and you sense an oppressive malevolence. You try to move, but realize suddenly that this is impossible. Your entire body seems to be powerless. Then somehow despite the darkness you see what is causing a sensation of weight on your chest. A horrible visage stares deeply into your eyes. You know that your attacker is evil, terrible to look upon, and has you completely helpless. While some sleep-loss victims state that the Old Hag actually appeared to them as a demon-faced woman with long gray hair other descriptions of the same experience vary. This particular phenomenon has occurred to countless people since the recording of history in almost every culture. Some versions of the Old Hag see her intent as a desire to steal either the soul or the breath from her prey. The victims differing perceptions of the attacker has led The Old Hag to be called by many different names: demon, succubus, incubus, ghost, witch, or phantom to name a few. It's also interesting to compare the similarities of this older nocturnal visitor with the modern event known as Alien Visitation since both share the paralysis, feelings of oppression, and terror on the part of the victim. Another example of parallel experiences can be found with a comparison between old folktales of kidnappings by fairies and the newer stories concerning alien abduction. Both feature diminutive, large eyed creatures that have the ability to control the mind and bodies of human beings. Usually these events take place at night, and no one other than the individual who experienced it was aware of the visitation. |
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Night Terrors-The Old Hag Syndrome Researchers in the field of sleep disorders now believe that these experiences are in actuality a condition called sleep paralysis--also known as night terrors. Since it has been reported that hypnagogic hallucinations can cause similar states in which an individual will see or hear unusual creatures or menacing shapes this theory could explain why the details of Old Hag cases vary accounting to the culture and time period of the person experiencing it. Since this is a matter of the subject's imagination coming into play certain cultural bias such as a common belief in demons or an idea of what a ghost would look like might affect what an individual would witness during a hallucination. Just before reaching a full sleep state, or just before coming completely awake (hypnopompic state) a feeling of being unable to move or speak accompanied by a perception that a frightening presence is nearby defines a night terror. Almost everyone will have this experience at least once in his or her lifetime and because this occurs in a state that is closer to a hallucination than a dream it can seem disturbingly real. So we leave this for the reader to decided, is the Old Hag a myth, or an over-achieving bad dream? Is it merely a case of our minds playing tricks on us, or do demons come in many guises? |
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