Night Terrors | dream studies portal

Night Terrors: Sometimes They Come Back

Posted by Ryan Hurd on November 5, 2010 | 5 Comments

Here’s how I remember it: I dreamed that a rat got under the covers of my bed and I jumped up to get away from it. As I jumped away I heard my wife scream and then the sound of the scream became louder and louder until it shattered time and space. My initial fear [...]

Filed Under: Nightmares & Dream Terrors

Sleep Paralysis and Spirits

Posted by Ryan Hurd on November 25, 2008 | 18 Comments

Are spirits real, or are they just irrational stories meant to explain things that science now explains better? This is the way the question of spirits is framed by many. According to many recent polls, belief in ghosts in the West hovers around 60%, and one British poll found that more people believe in [...]

Filed Under: Nightmares & Dream Terrors, Visitation Dreams

Can Science Learn from Religion about Dreams?

Posted by Ryan Hurd on November 7, 2008 | No Comments

Dream scholar Kelly Bulkeley was recently interviewed by the Boston Globe on the subject of dream studies and its implications for science and religion studies.
Bulkeley is an unique scholar who is trained in religion studies but often integrates modern neuroscientific findings and anthropological evidence to anchor his findings. Bulkeley’s interviewer is Jonah Lehrer, the author [...]

Filed Under: Dream & Sleep Research

Nightmares and Sleep Paralysis

Posted by Ryan Hurd on October 22, 2007 | 33 Comments

Gyrus from Dreamflesh made this connection between false awakenings and sleep paralysis: in both of these altered states, we feel like we are “awake” and aware of our surroundings. In a false awakening, this certainty of “awakeness” turns out to be a lucid dream about where we are actually sleeping. In sleep paralysis, [...]

Filed Under: Nightmares & Dream Terrors, Visitation Dreams