The Succubus Reconsidered: Sexuality in Sleep Paralysis

This piece about sexual spirit encounters and ghost rape is adapted from chapter 6 of my ebook Sleep paralysis: a dreamer’s guide.

The historic fears of succubi and incubi must be reconsidered in light of contemporary psychology.  As the medical community disregarded the narratives of sleep paralysis until David Hufford’s ground-breaking work in the 1970s, we would be making the same mistake if we chalk up the old tales of sexual demons to “merely legend.”

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Consciousness, Mediumship, and Psychic Detectives

I”ve been spending a lot of time recently listening to the podcast interviews from Skeptiko. Run by Alex Tsakiris, this site is a breath of fresh air for anomalous psychology and psi research.

Neither a believer nor a materialist skeptic himself, Tsakiris walks a fine line as he interviews his guests about their research. More than anything, Tsakiris seems concerned that the research in question follows good scientific methods, even if (and especially when) the findings challenge the accepted paradigm of Western knowledge.

Lately, Trakiris has been on a tear about the so-called “psychic detectives.” Highly recommended listening, especially since shows like Ghost Hunters have made the paranormal momentarily stylish (but not exactly credible) again.

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