Comments on: Sleep Paralysis and Spirits

By: Ashley

Ashley — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:29:07 +0000

hello my name is Ashley. I am 22 years old. I have been having these nightmares these dreams of not being able to move, or like something is holding me down and i cannot scream or do anything, I have had these since I was probably In the 8th grade. Sometimes they get so Clear and It feels like something very evil Is trying to keep me down sometimes there are other people in the dreams but they never seem to help me. I Have learned to try and stay calm, but last night it happened again which was the first time in a few months, and it sparked my curiosity to look them up and see if I can get some answers on How to maybe control them better, Because I tend to wake up in a cold sweat in which seems like a nightmare that last forever, and every time it feels like its not a very good presence I never feel happy or calm I try to keep myself as calm as possible because I know that it may just be a bad nightmare, I have have other experiences, weird dreams of falling from high distances in the sky and landing perfectly fine on the ground, or my dream ends right when I hit, I even get the actual adrenaline from falling I can feel everything until I hit then I feel nothing. If any one has any thoughts on this please give me a shout I would like to try and calm these down or learn to deal with them in a better way. Thank you -Ashley

By: Dimitri

Dimitri — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 09:49:32 +0000

Hi I just had a dream literally 30 minutes ago. And by far it has been the scariest dream. I’ve never really told anyone this but when I was younger, I’d say 8 or 9 I had a vision. Before I had this vision I was watching this show on some channel that a woman had been mauled and killed by a mountain lion in a forest somewhere during the winter. I was scared. For a second the only thing I could see was the girl being mauled. It was almost like I was the animal. Ever since then I have repressed deja vu moments. However, I’m 16 now and they’re starting to comeback. The deja vu has become so bad that sometimes I get them confused with memories. But now I have another problem the dreams. I’m having the problem where I begin to hear voices and I cannot wake up. I remember one dream where I saw numbers and shapes. But now the dreams seem to be getting more intense. For instance a couple of weeks ago I had a dream where everything was pitch black and I could hear someone laughing and then the laughing seemed to get louder and more people were laughing. I woke up from the dream luckily. But tonight no more than 40 minutes ago I had a horrible dream. I dreampt …….nothing I was asleep and I couldn’t wake up and then I saw rats then everything went black again. Then for some reason I was praying and I said “God I have overcome you.” And I heard-…..I heard the scariest noise I have ever heard in my life. It was like a hissing noise saying “yayayyayayyayayay” over and over again. Then my body started to shake…. I then woke up from the dream and grabbed my bible and prayed to god and said that I was sorry abd repented for what I said. I was scared.. I turned on the light and decided that I wasn’t going back to sleep. Then I went online to see what this was. Dream paralysis? The….the old hag?…..I’m scared and I don’t know what to do…please someone give me an answer.

By: Anu

Anu — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 03:24:58 +0000

Yea, i had similar experience, but it does not happen only in midnight, but also when i take a nap. My Thinking is active but my muscles are not. I might understand that i am moving my feet, but really i cannot.even i cannot cry out. when i think harder(that my soul is out of my body,ghosts came,etc etc)then it gets more dangerous and my heart beats very fast. when i calm down…..slowly and slowly…..i can feel something is connecting from brain to my rest of the body…then i can move my hands feet and then wake up….afraid,thrilled and shocked by the trauma of the Experience.

By: Brook

Brook — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 04:47:17 +0000

I too have had interesting experiences dating at least back to age 12 or so. The worst of them was when I woke to my blankets shaking violently and Satan speaking gibberish in my right ear. I could hear the sound of people screaming and grinding their teeth. I knew I was being visited by Satan and hearing the sounds of hell. I was terrified but paralyzed and unable to move at all. This persisted for a torturing seeming eternity then began to fade. Eventually I could wiggle my toes and fingers but couldn’t call out to my mom. Finally I was able to move my body and went to my mother’s room. The only time I ever went to her room to sleep. I sat up the entire night terrified. In the morning she inquired and I shared my experience. She said she had similar experiences with being levitated and rotated above her bed while she slept a few years earlier as an adult. She told me a religious excuse for the experiences; Satan tries to get to those whom God loves to try to win them over. That made no sense to me then or now. She had only been Christian for 2 years at that point so the stressing of religion (being ‘on fire’) was still quite strong in our household.

As an adult during my pregnancies I have insomnia with extreme anxiety, like surges of electricity rushing through my body. The closer to sleep I get I can feel the sensation of something trying to enter me (through the chest area – non sexual).

Once during a moment of rest while getting my baby to sleep I felt a cat jump onto the foot of the bed. I realized there was no cat in the house and when I looked it was an enormous spider about a foot tall walking towards me and my infant son. I instantly flipped the blankets over it and screamed for my mom and aunt who were in the living room. When they came and I pulled back the blankets there was nothing there.

I had for many years associated these experiences with religion and spirituality yet as I learn more about the psyche and physiological processes of sleep especially when related to hormones and stress, science tends, for me, to win the argument.

Thankfully the sexual aspect of sleep paralysis had never been an issue for me. The sleep paralysis remains nonsexual and the powerful sexual dreams I have are with real people and, for me, are highly rewarding!

By: Ryan Hurd

Ryan Hurd — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:16:36 +0000

Rich – thanks for your account and I apologize for not replying in a timely manner — your comment came just as I moved across the country. I would definitely like to hear your thoughts about the neurological side of SP.

By: Rich

Rich — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:39:26 +0000

In 1997 I began to experience these “entity” visitations when I would sleep. I was tormented nightly. My fear made it difficult to sleep. Eventually the sensations persisted into daytime hours. The sensation of a malevolent entity sitting through me or next to me was almost constant. It would often move erratically in order to startle me. It seemed to grow stronger with fear.

These events came at a point of spiritual transition for me. In 2004 I discussed it with a doctor. He told me I was nuts and prescribed me an anti psychotic. I took the medication for 3 days, during which time the effects went away. I quit the medication and the feeling came back, but this time I was able to cope with it psychologically. I am now able to turn it off and on at will. I have a good theory on how this all happens neurologically.

By: Ryan Hurd

Ryan Hurd — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 07:02:28 +0000

Lee – that’s a fascinating idea — I don’t know much about Egyptian cosmology — but the next step would be to find symbolic evidence of being held down, paralyzed/wrapped up etc in the mythology of this underworld confrontation. I know some one who reads ancient egyptian, so maybe he can join our crack team. extreme sleep paralysis!

By: Ryan Hurd

Ryan Hurd — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 06:47:08 +0000

Tiffany, now I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t what your dream means! But it’s clear that something is trying to get your attention. Tap tap tap. So, can you tell me where the spirit/ghost –as you say– hit you in the dream? This is an important clue — it’s OK if you don’t respond to this comment, but start there and see what you uncover. A good follow up question is — when in waking life are my energies drawn to this spot? (assuming it’s the same, it may not be)

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 06:40:37 +0000

Hey, Ryan!
I’ve been having this question in my head,because this 1 dream i’ve been having for 3 days straight,i dont know what it is,but,i’ve been having a some kind of dream of this one spirit/ghost,& it had hit me,& it felt so realistic,& i could feel it!Im in plan shock mood,& i can hardly go 2 sleep,because,i always have the same dream!!& im only 13 years old!Its really freaky,& i’m curious of what it is!! So,can you help me?!

By: Lee Adams

Lee Adams — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 22:14:47 +0000

Ryan,

After reading through your post I remembered I had read this a while ago and though of how great the information was. At the time I was starting to get into sleep research since I was experiencing sleep paralysis myself I found a video on some of the teachings of the Egyptian book of the dead. In the video they talked about how the Egyptians believed that the devil Apapi, would have to be defeated every night and also is something that must be challenged before entering the underworld. I am not an expert on the subject of Egyptian history, but I believe that the Egyptians were very interested in lucid dreaming and maybe they somehow interpenetrated the stranger effect as this devil.

Just an idea