Ghost Stories & Paranormal Encounters

Two nights ago I had the “Old Hag” experience. I have had this experience half a dozen or more times in my life. I understand the sleep paralysis theory, but why does it always involve some sinister presence and a feeling of impending doom? Why not a giggling Baywatch babe laying on me?

If it is a hallucination while coming out of REM sleep it seems like 50% of the time the hallucination should be positive, however that has not been my experience and that’s not what I’m reading here. If the people explaining it from a scientific standpoint haven’t actually experienced it, I don’t think they have a realistic perspective on the actual experience.

Regardless of whether it was a hallucination or real, here’s what I experienced -

I was sleeping face down and woke up to the sensation of being forced down in my bed, actually sinking deeper into the mattress. I’m 6’6″ tall and 240 lbs and despite using 100% of my strength I couldn’t budge an inch, however I could feel the resistance as if I was pushing against something physical rather than simply unable to move or speak. Besides the actual feeling of being pushed deeper into my mattress I also felt the sensation of something moving directly in front of my face right before it ended. The entire experience probably lasted less than 60 seconds however it seemed much longer.

If I try to explain this scientifically I have to question why no one ever has a positive sleep paralysis hallucination. I’ve had girlfriends sit on my chest and try to pin my hands down in fun, so why do I never have this hallucination or something similar? Where are all the positive sleep paralysis stories?

Based on the various folklore theories I’ve read on this topic I think the Eskimo theory explains it best – At certain points during sleep when you’re transitioning between sleep states, your spirit’s defenses are at a low point. It is at these points that another spirit may try to take possession of your body. What you are actually experiencing is another spirit trying to press your own spirit out of your body. You wake up in the middle of this process and fight to regain possession of your body. This would explain why many people report the feeling that they’re being pressed deeper into their bed and some even report they feel they’re beneath or outside of their body.

I’d like to believe the scientific explanation, however the folklore version describes it exactly as it feels to me. If it is the “Old Hag”, I wish she’d send her sexy grand-daughter instead.

Sent in by WTFwasthat, Copyright 2010 TrueGhostTales.com

Also see – Sleep Paralysis ~ Scientific Explanations And The Old Hag Legends