Did You Know That Folklore Gave Sleep Paralysis Many Names?

Researchers Have Recorded Those Names In Several Countries

A Night Spirit Is Assumed To Belong To A Single Place

Similar Attackers Are Described In Very Different Cultures

Some Describe A Witch And Others A Spirit Or A Demon

Researchers Have Asked Whether Those Beliefs Shape The Experience

Some Of Those Beliefs Are Thousands Of Years Old

One Of The Oldest Names Comes From Ancient Greece

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OKAY BACK FROM THE OLD RECORDS 🕯️

The First Known Description Comes From Hippocrates Around 400 BC

Greeks Named The Experience Ephialtes

The Name Roughly Translates As To Pounce Upon Someone

A Second Century Dream Book Linked Ephialtes With The God Pan

Its Title Translates As The Interpretation Of Dreams

A Visit From Pan Was Read As A Promise Of Future Income

The Latin Name Incubus Began As A Translation Of Ephialtes

An Incubus Was A Male Demon

The Succubus Was A Female Demon Who Visited Men In Sleep

Its Name Means To Lie Under

Ancient Rome Called The Nightmare Nocturna Oppressio

The Word Nightmare Has Scandinavian Origins

Mare Comes From Mara

Mara Was A Spirit Said To Torment Or Suffocate Sleepers

In 1664 A Dutch Physician Published A Collection Of Case Histories

One Was Titled Of The Night-Mare

It Described The Nightly Experiences Of A 50 Year Old Woman

The Account Says The Devil Lay Upon Her And Held Her Down

It Was Later Called The Earliest Detailed Account With Illusions

The Name Sleep Paralysis Only Arrived In 1928

In Japan It Is Called Kanashibari

The Word Means Being Totally Bound

In One Account A Summoner Uses A Vengeful Spirit To Suffocate Enemies

A Survey Asked 635 Japanese College Students About It

About 40 Percent Had Experienced Kanashibari At Least Once

In Newfoundland It Is Known As The Old Hag

The Old Hag Is Described As A Witch Who Sits On The Sleeper

In Istanbul 88 Percent Of 59 Students Named The Karabasan

It Is A Spirit Like Creature From Turkish Folk Tradition

In Abruzzo In Italy It Is Blamed On The Pandafeche

Over A Third Of Sufferers There Thought It Might Be The Cause

In Brazilian Folklore It Is The Pisadeira

She Tramples The Chest Of People Who Sleep On A Full Stomach

The Tale Describes Her As A Crone Who Lurks On Roofs At Night

Nearly Half Of A General Sample In Cairo Blamed The Jinn

Ethiopians Consider The Dukak An Evil Spirit

In Southwest Nigeria The Yoruba Describe The Ogun Oru

The Ogun Oru Is A Female Demon Said To Possess Body And Mind

Hmong Tradition Describes A Pressing Spirit On The Chest

In China Traditional Belief Blames A Kind Of Ghost Oppression

One Researcher Spent 13 Months In A Newfoundland Community

That Work Outlined Local Theories Of What Causes The Old Hag

It Also Compared 69 Adults On A Health Questionnaire

Those With The Experience Reported No More Illness Complaints

In Istanbul Seventeen Percent Thought The Karabasan Might Be To Blame

Thirty Seven Percent Used Religious Or Supernatural Ways To Prevent It

These Included Prayer And Reciting The Quran And Wearing A Talisman

A General Sample In Cairo Was Compared With People In Copenhagen

The Cairo Group Was More Likely To Give A Supernatural Cause

In Abruzzo 42 Percent Of Sufferers Feared They Could Die From It

They Also Reported Long Periods Of Being Unable To Move

Both Were Higher Than In Denmark

Denmark Has No Such Elaborate Tradition

The Authors Say Such Beliefs Can Potentially Shape The Experience

Researchers Studied 747 Hmong Immigrants In Wisconsin

Participants Were Questioned On Sleep Problems And Cultural Beliefs

Dab Tsog Is Their Name For A Night Spirit Pressing On The Chest

Those Experiences Were Related To Sleep Paralysis And Nightmares

The Same Experience Is Interpreted And Shaped By Each Culture