![]() ![]() Hufford (1982) examined a widespread form of sleep paralysis called the ‘Old Hag’, which refers both to the terrifying experience and to the entity which allegedly attacks the victim. Sleep paralysis is often accompanied by dreamlike mentation and hypnagogic imagery, which is often frightening or threatening. In the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD) sleep paralysis is defined as “a period of inability to perform voluntary movements either at sleep onset (hypnagogic or predormital form) or upon awakening either during the night or in the morning (hypnopompic or postdormital form)” (Thorpy, 1990). Believers in the paranormal who had not personally experienced SP were more likely to interpret a description of the experience as reflecting a paranormal event and less likely to accept sceptical interpretations. Believers in the paranormal who had experienced SP reported more ostensibly paranormal features (and more features overall) during the episode than non-believers. The four were: ‘Visionary’ Experience, involving lots of ostensible ESP-type perceptions coupled with some kind of ‘revelation’ (either finding a solution to a problem or receiving guidance), seeing a tunnel of light was also associated with this component as were unexpected sexual feelings Levitation Dream, which appears to be a false awakening involving the sensation that you are floating accompanied by buzzing noises in the head, bodily shaking, pain and migraine-like symptoms and seeing strange lights Spiritual Assault (Old Hag) involved the presence of a hostile entity (commonly attributed to being a ghost or spirit), pressure on the chest, intense fear and tactile hallucinations all over the body the final component has been labelled Panic Attack as the combination of the feeling you might be about to die, accompanied by the feeling that you cannot breathe, appears similar to the symptoms of a panic attack. Four components are identified and interpretive labels are suggested for each. Along with the incidence for a number of experiential features, a principal components analysis was carried out to identify types of SP within the sample. This questionnaire was given to a mixed sample of 379 respondents. From the categories developed for the case collections, items for a questionnaire were created. A total of 196 cases of SP were collected and coded into a database of features associated with the experience. ![]() While sleep paralysis is one of the symptoms of narcolepsy it also occurs in normal individuals (incidence estimates vary between 5% and 58%). Sleep paralysis (SP) is a benign sleep disorder which involves the frightening experience of being unable to move at sleep onset or upon awakening, often accompanied by hypnagogic or hypnopompic hallucinations. Paper presented at the Parapsychological Association Annual Convention Paranormal Belief and Interpretations of Sleep Paralysis ![]()
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