Adsagsona Paranormal Society Articles

Sleep Paralysis: The Old Hag Syndrome
By Ladyecto

Sleep Paralysis, also known as the “Old Hag” phenomena, is quite frightening if one ever experiences it. The first time the “Old Hag” came to visit me was this past October (2003) on a ghost hunting trip to Jonesborough, Tennessee. We had stayed up the entire night before gathering data in a haunted hotel where we were staying. I think I only caught two hours of sleep that morning before heading off to breakfast with my friends. That next night, I stayed up extremely late again. Around 2 am, I decided to surrender to sleep. I remember I was watching the celebrity version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”. Sometime while Kevin Bacon was being quizzed by Regis, I must have dozed off. In my dream, I kept seeing myself standing in the Old Jonesborough Cemetery watching a mournful motherly spirit bowing down at the grave of her young child who had passed during the Jonesborough Cholera outbreak back in the 1800’s. While watching this specter, I strange vibration began surging through my head and moving down to my torso and finally to my feet until I was completely enveloped in this sensation. In my dream, I became so disturbed by this image, combined by the simultaneous buzzing feeling, that I jolted my body awake.

I remember waking to this vibrating sensation pulsating through me, along with a weight pressing against my back. I was lying on my side in the bed. Through this heavy feeling, it felt as though thousands of fingers were sending electrical shocks into my back. I thought a sinister spirit was assaulting me. That only made sense since I was staying in a haunted hotel, right? I tried to turn around to see what had a hold of me, yet I was unable to do this. I tried to get up, however, neither my arms nor my legs or feet could follow my brain’s simple command.

My thoughts then turned to seeking help by yelling for my friends in the next room. To my extreme frustration and fear, my mouth would not open. Only smothered grunts emerged from my throat. In the midst of all this madness, I still remember hearing and seeing Regis talking to the next contestant on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”. My eyes worked. It felt as if they were the only things in my entire body that were able to move. I tried with all my being to fight this by trying to move a finger or a toe… something. Finally, I’m not sure what happened, but I was freed. I was able to slowly regain movement. As soon as I was able to get up off my bed, I bolted out of my bedroom and ran over to the next room. I woke Donna and told her of my horrible experience. She assured me that I was not being attacked by a malevolent spirit or any kind of spirit for that matter; but was having “Sleep Paralysis”. Even though comforted, I slept on the floor in their room that night, just in case. That next morning, I shared my terrifying episode with Karen and she jokingly said, “The Old Hag had you last night”.

Sleep paralysis is the inability to perform voluntary movements either at sleep onset (called hypnogogic or predormital form) or upon awakening (called hypnopompic or postdormtal form). Sleep paralysis (SP) can come in many forms.

Symptoms:
• Inability to move the trunk or limbs at sleep onset or upon awakening
• Brief episodes of partial or complete muscular paralysis
• Possible presence of hypnagogic hallucinations

SP is most associated with narcolepsy, a neurological condition in which the person has uncontrollable naps. There are still many people who have SP without having narcolepsy. It can be genetic (run in families). There is really no known reason why some people experience SP. It isn’t harmful, although, most people report feeling very afraid because they do not know what is happening to them during the SP episode. Individuals are gradually or abruptly are able to move again in just a few minutes. A person can be brought out of SP by a sound or a touch on the body.

Some SP sufferers have hallucinations, which cause them to believe that something, usually evil, is in the room with them or even sitting on their chest. This feeling can make the person think that they are suffocating or being assaulted. Centuries ago, when people were more superstitious than they are now, it was thought that the “Old Hag” or “Witch” came into their room at night while they were sleeping and sat upon the chest of the person it wished to bring harm. Some people even think aliens are abducting them.

Causes:
People with disrupted sleep patterns (like me) or reoccurring disturbances during sleep can experience SP. Some people who suffer from SP also suffer from panic attacks. SP can be prevented by getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, keeping a regular sleep schedule, and managing stress better.

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