Paranormal Mysteries: The Night Hag

[Bluntman428]

This started out as a response to a post in Stinkyfire's thread about sleep walking, but it got a bit big and I felt like it deserved it's own thread since about 25% of the world's population has experienced it at some point. It's mostly a repost of a thread I made on another forum about a year ago, but I figured with the interest people showed for various sleep disorders in Stinky's thread, people here may be interested as well.

http://z.about.com/d/paranormal/1/0/j/B/oldhag.gif

Throughout history, dating back to as early as the second century AD in Greece, people have described being attacked by an old hag in their sleep. People describe the experience as feeling as if there's a massive weight on their chest and throat, and a demonic hag materializing over them, strangling them while they lay in bed, unable to move any part of their body. Recent scientific studies have claimed that this is actually a chemical reaction in the brain, caused by a chemical that paralyzes the body while entering the first phase of sleep misfiring.

The common name for the disorder is "Old Hag Syndrome", or sleep paralysis. It's called this because people all over the world describe a Hag strangling them as they lay helpless on their backs in bed. What's odd, and makes me think the disorder may in fact have religious backing, is that the description people give of the hag is identical. In every part of the world, in every culture, the hag looks exactly the same and does the same thing.

What's strange is that the hag doesn't change. Throughout history, and the course of religious and cultural expansion, every culture has described her as the exact same entity. This is unique, because while many cultures share the same basic myths, they all vary to some degree. But the Night Hag retains the same form in every part of the world. Every victim describes their attacker as an extremely frail old woman, almost a skeleton, naked or wearing a black veil, choking them with long, bony fingers that resemble claws.

The hag is actually documented in the Bible, given the name Lilith. Lilith is described as a demon, sent by Satan in the night to torment the souls of men on Earth. In Turkey, the Hag is called "karabasan", a creature that attacks people in their sleep. In fact, the word Nightmare itself is almost directly in reference to the Hag. The word Night is self-explanatory, but the word Mare is derived from the old English term Maere which is a demon, more specifically a succubus or incubus.

Many people connect the experience to religion. It's theorized that in the bible, when prophets are "awoken by angels", that they were actually going through sleep paralysis. While most people describe terrifying encounters with the Night Hag, others sometimes are visited by angels. Many people attribute their religious beliefs to experiences with sleep paralysis.

It's an interesting subject, and oddly enough, one that science hasn't been able to put a solid explanation behind. Scientists theorize that it's a chemical misfire in the brain, but they can't prove it, and they have no idea what makes it happen. All they know is that it's most common in young males, and it's always described as the exact same experience. So whether you've seen the Hag before or not...there's a good chance you still might.

Sleep well. :p

[custom]

I'm about to goto bed right now and this... well it didn't do anything ;)

Interesting story though

[Bluntman428]

When it happens to you, you'll probably say differently. ;)

I know I was scared out of my f'in mind. Imagine the worst horror movie you've ever seen, amplify it by about a hundred, then imagine what it'd be like if it was real. It's that terrifying. I don't sleep on my back to this day, and it's been like two years since the last time I had a bout of sleep paralysis.

Quick list of different cultures' interpretation of the Old Hag:

* In Newfoundland and other parts of North America, sleep paralysis is referred to as a visit from the "old hag" (Irish: Ag Rog).
* In Chinese folk culture, sleep paralysis is referred as "gǔi yà chúang" (鬼压床,鬼壓床), literally: "Ghost press bed": 鬼: ghost, 压: press, 床: bed. The belief is that a spirit or ghost is sitting or lying on top of the sleeping individual, causing the sleep paralysis. This is thought to be a minor body possession by the forces from the dead which doesn't usually cause any harm to the victim.
* In Japan, sleep paralysis is referred to as kanashibari (金縛り, literally "bound or fastened in metal," from kane "metal" and shibaru "to bind, to tie, to fasten").
* In Thailand, this condition is said to be caused by a spirit or "pee um" (ผีอำ) which sits or lie atop of the victim causing him or her to be immobile. The spirit causes no harm to the victim and is said to only be playing pranks.
* In Scandinavian mythology, sleep paralysis was caused by a Mara, or mare - a kind of malignant female wraith who is responsible for nightmares. She appears as early as in the Norse Ynglinga saga, but the belief itself is probably even older. "Mara" is the Old Norse, Swedish and Icelandic name, "mare" is Norwegian and Danish.
* In Mexico, as Se subio el muerto (the dead has climbed on top).
* In Greek, as demonokavalikema (in Greek: δαιμονοκαβαλήκεμα), which refers to a demon having climbed on top of the body.
* In German as Hexendrücken (witch pressing).
* In Turkish, as karabasan (literally: "dark presser": kara: "dark/black":, basan: "pusher, presser". Most Turkish people believe that it's a metaphysical incident, and especially religious people believe that it's a jini that causes the discomfort; so generally some kind of prayer is advised).
* In Hazaragi, as Shazia Zer Kado (pressing ink).
* In the Southern United States, people have described it as "The witch riding your back".
* In the Western United States, the Sleep Paralysis is commonly called "Scissor Lock".
* In Korea, it is referred as Gawinullim, (가위눌림) literally in English: "To be pressed by Gawi." The meaning of Gawi is clear, generally known to mean "spirits" or "demons." Another word in Korean "Gawi" is a homonym that means "scissors". Such occurrences are usually referenced as "scissor lock" in English.[citation needed]
* In Indonesia, Javanese people call it tindihan, spelled traditionally as "tindhihen" (To be laid upon). Also in Sundanese, people call it ereup-ereup.
* In the Philippines, Sleep paralysis is often associated with Bangungot.
* In Malaysia, known as "kena himpap", meaning being pressed down.
* In Vietnam, sleep paralysis is known as "ma đè", meaning a ghost or spirit lying on top of or pressing down on the person.
* In the West Indies, being "ridden by a duppy".
* In medieval times of Europe, attacks of sleep paralysis may have given rise to the belief in mara, incubi, succubi, other demons and witchcraft. People in England believed that witches or hags rode on men's chests as they slept, and the feeling of being unable to breathe was attributed to a hag. This is why people who have had very little sleep may be described as looking "hag-ridden".
* In traditional Russian belief symptoms reminiscent of sleep paralysis were attributed to the anger of domovoi, the home spirit, punishing people for bad husbandship or betrayal.
* According to traditional Hmong beliefs, various states of sleep paralysis are thought to be the processes in which an evil spirit or demon sits down on a person usually in retaliation to wrongdoings. Some Hmong have deemed it as the process of getting 'squashed'.
* Traditional Islamic cultures would usually interpret this as an encounter with a Jinn (or "djinn"); a race of beings, similar to humans which inhabit the earth. The word "jinn" literally means anything which has the connotation of concealment, invisibility, seclusion and remoteness, and is one of the two beings (the other being Human) addressed directly in the Quran. In Islamic text, and scholarship, Jinns are considered beings, which like humans are accountable for their deeds and thus have free will. They are considered to have life and death, society, culture and religion.
* In Laotian culture, it is called "pee um" translated as "ghost silencing you". The ghost or spirit is thought to visit you in the night, hold your arms and legs down, and even cover your mouth up so that no sound would come out when you scream.
* In Finnish a nightmare is called painajainen, but literally it means "pressing" and is thought to be originating from sleep paralysis sensory effects.
* In Hungarian folk culture sleep paralysis is called "lidércnyomás" ("lidérc pressing") and can be attributed to a number of supernatural entities like "lidérc", "boszorkány" (witch), "tündér" (fairy) or "ördögszerető".[1] The word "boszorkány" itself stems from the turkish root "basz-", meaning "to press".[2]
* In Polish folk culture sleep paralysis is known as "dusiołek", a creature that strangles people in sleep. This creature is a character of a poem by Polish poet Bolesław Leśmian "Dusiołek".
* New-age practitioners have argued that sleep paralysis might be the point of separation of the "dream body" from the physical body and out-of-body travel then begins.
* Scientists believe that many supposed occurrences of alien abduction, out-of-body travel, and other seemingly paranormal events may actually be due to misinterpreting the sensory effects of sleep paralysis.

[codedigital]

It happened to me once...I almost got my hands around her neck.

I don't think it's real. The scientific explanation is pretty spot on. I did do a bit more research after your post in Stinky's thread though. I thought this guys story was pretty out there:

Six days after that report, in the leafy neighbourhood of Calderstones, a 45-year-old man living on Booker Avenue named George retired to his bedroom at 10 pm. His wife remained downstairs ironing clothes. She said she'd be coming up to bed in about an hour. However, at around 11 o'clock that night, George was awakened by someone climbing into the bed. He turned to cuddle his wife and found no one there. George thought perhaps he'd been dreaming, and he laid back to relax. As he was about to drop off asleep, George felt something heavy pushing down on his chest. He opened his eyes - and found himself paralysed from head to toe. A dark shape was on top of him. George felt as if the presence was stealing the life out of him, and that if he didn't fight it he'd die. An unsightly face leaned over his face. It was the face of a very old woman with evil staring eyes. George could see a flickering golden light in those eyes. The woman put her mouth to George's mouth and her breath smelt rancid. The putrid breath seemed to fill his head. George had classed himself as an atheist, but that night he called upon God to save him from the evil hag. The wrinkled face grimaced as if in great pain, and then the eyes turned completely white.
The weight was lifted from George, and the hag had vanished into thin air. George felt movement return to his big toe, then the whole of his leg and the rest of his body in turn. He raised himself up and leaned against the bed's headboard, gasping for breath. His heart pounded. He looked about, and saw the room was empty. George then ran down the stairs to tell his wife about the ghastly experience. She immediately noticed a strong putrescent odour, and sniffed his mouth. George then realised the hag had been no dream. He gargled with a mouthwash and brushed his teeth repeatedly until the horrid vestiges of the hag's kiss had gone.
http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t39096.html

[Stinkyf1re]

That is some pretty messed up stuff Bluntman but glad you posted it! I had never heard of "old-hag syndome" until you posted it, although i had heard of people experiencing this. It is puzzling to say the least, and while i myself have never experienced it, i can imagine it to be extremely frightening.

[Bluntman428]

I think there's no doubt that it's real. Some people's accounts of it are fabricated, like that George guy, but the basic story told by most people is 100% true. Having experienced sleep paralysis on a near-nightly basis for over a year, I've got a pretty solid grasp on the whole thing. It happened so often that eventually I learned how to turn the paralysis into a lucid dream.

I only saw the Hag once though. I knew about it beforehand, but my experiences with it were a bit different. I usually just had the overwhelming sense that there was something sinister in the room, right outside my vision. I'd catch glimpses of shadowy figures and the like, but never really a good look at what it was.

One night though, I fell asleep on my back, which I rarely did because that seemed to trigger the sleep paralysis more often. I "woke up" with a massive weight on my chest, unable to breathe or move. When my vision cleared a bit, I saw the Hag. It wasn't anything like a ghost or anything of that nature, she looked as real as a person you'd see on the street. Like something you couldn't just imagine up, something that really existed. She was bony, looked like a cross between a demon and a troll, and she was just smiling with pointy teeth and cackling while she choked the shit out of me. I finally broke from the paralysis, and shot up in bed and she was gone. Just like that, like nothing happened. I was so shook up, I didn't go back to sleep the rest of that night, and I made damn sure I never fell asleep on my back again.

Another odd experience I had was one night near the end of my bouts of paralysis. Usually during sleep paralysis, your body never moves, you just lay there regardless of how scared you are. But this time was a bit different. I entered the sleep paralysis state, and as usual I had the overwhelming sense there was a presence in my room. I never got scared at this point since I was so used to it, but this time was different. All of a sudden, I felt something lift my body up off the bed, and slam me into the wall while dragging me up towards the ceiling. It actually hurt, like I was really being dragged around. I woke up back in bed, but oddly enough, my chest still hurt from where I'd been dragged off the bed in the dream.

Weird stuff.

[codedigital]

I didn't mean to say that SP itself isn't real. I was referring to some peoples accounts of it.

That's insane that you actually hurt though. Maybe your brain was still interpreting the pain and making as if it really did hurt.

[Exane22]

That is crazy shit, i dont have any personal stories to share but i definantly believe in this stuff.

[Bluntman428]

I didn't mean to say that SP itself isn't real. I was referring to some peoples accounts of it.

Oh, yeah, the guy's stories in that link you provided are fictionalized. I've seen that post before actually.

The second story in particular is fake. Nobody's ever heard the hag talk to my knowledge, the worst she does is cackle or scream. I'm also unaware of anyone ever comparing the Hag to a real person, as her features are decidedly inhuman. And that bit about the Bible seems highly unlikely. I have a pretty large metal crucifix and a rosary blessed by Pope John Paul II on my bedstand, and it never had any effect on anything.

[jarhead1990]

If this happens to me, she better not give me a second to movie or shes in for a fight. I beat the shit out of that hag (the air).

[Im a Manatee]

It's okay Blunt, it's not like I actually wanted to sleep tonight.

On a serious note, this is one crazy phenomenon. Has anything ever happened to you if you get a particularly strange visit or are they all in principal the same. I read that article where a greek physician attributed it to indigestion, and wondering if it is all because of things around you changing.

[Bluntman428]

It's okay Blunt, it's not like I actually wanted to sleep tonight.

On a serious note, this is one crazy phenomenon. Has anything ever happened to you if you get a particularly strange visit or are they all in principal the same. I read that article where a greek physician attributed it to indigestion, and wondering if it is all because of things around you changing.

I wouldn't say anything particularly strange has ever happened to me after a bout of SP. The only odd bit was after the first few times it happened, way before I ever saw the Hag, when I had no idea what was going on. When it first happened, I thought I'd crossed the line and God had turned his back on me. After I woke up, I felt like a bit of my soul had been taken. During the whole experience, I felt like something was sucking my life away. It sounds crazy, I know, but if you've never experienced sleep paralysis, you can't really grasp the feelings you get afterwards. The only word that can truly express the experience is terror.

Not fear, just flat out terror. It's worse than thinking you're going to die...it's the feeling that you're not only going to die, but you're going to hell. When it first happened to me, I thought the demons I was running from for years had finally caught me. I sincerely thought some demons were trying to possess me, and there was nothing I could do. It got to the point where I was so scared to fall asleep that I'd stay up for days at a time. But as soon as I drifted off to sleep, they'd be there again.

At the time when it first started happening, I was in the middle of some serious drama. I'd just gotten out of jail, I was involved with gangs and drugs, and my life was a wreck in general. My case was a bit different than your average report of sleep paralysis. Where most people only experienced it for a few seconds, maybe a minute or two in bad situations, I'd experience it for up to an hour at a time, which is unprecedented to my knowledge. It wasn't an occasional thing for me, it happened every night. I became so accustomed to it, it was part of my every day routine.

For about a year, every night I'd deal with sleep paralysis. What's odd about it is, sometimes I wouldn't get the sense that there was something evil in my room. I'd just feel like the room was empty, and I wasn't quite so scared. Some nights, I'd see some things much different than what I'd originally seen. Some nights, I'd see what I to this day interpret as angels, watching over me, keeping the bad spirits away. Rather than the darkness I'd catch on the bad nights, I saw light.

These experiences reaffirmed my religious beliefs on a whole new level. I don't think I could even come up with the words to describe what happened, because it was something much deeper than words can express. You can't really put into words what it's like to see angels and devils, regardless of whether they're a figment of your imagination or not. But I do know that something, whether it was real or not, was watching over me during that time.

We all think we're untouchable when it comes down to it. Some people believe in a god, or some kind of higher power. Others think we're just animals, control our own lives, with no creator. But we all think that on Earth, we control our own destiny. So in a situation where we're rendered helpless, and we have no control, we're left humbled.

Seriously though, this is some deeply personal shit I've never told anyone. For some reason, I felt it would be good to share these experiences, if for no other reason than to get it off my chest so someone else can know what it's really like. I dealt with sleep paralysis on a level much deeper than anyone else has, at least the people who report it to scientists and the like. None of what I said has been fabricated in the least bit, and I take it seriously, so show some consideration before you reply. I will get offended if you make a stupid ass remark you think may be funny. Questions are cool, but don't be a douchebag.

[L3giOn]

This hasn't happened to me in years, thank God, but it used to happen to me often (teenage years). I'd always explained it to people this way: I'm in a stage of being half asleep and half awake. I know I'm awake but I can't move at all and can't talk. I have to try to push my body to the limit to wake up (hard to explain better). When I finally do, I jerk up out of paralysis.

I've never seen a hag or anything weird like that, but the experience of being paralized is the worst feeling in the world.

[xVanished]

That's crazy... I would not know what to do if I couldn't move my body or speak.. This is one wierd topic.. I like it.:)

[twelvegoats]

i've had this happen to me on many times, but none of which have i seen the hag.

my first experience was the worst. i had it a few years ago. I just went to sleep after a freind of mine's wedding reception party, and i woke up in the dead of night to absolute darkness, i couldn't see a foot infront of me, i thought i had gone blind. but to make it worse, i couldn't move, and i could hardly breathe either. i remeber that night feeling like i was about to die, or worse, as bluntman said, you'd be dead and in hell.

nonetheless, i woke up that morning to the sun beaming in from my bedside window, with full control of my body and sight. but the experience of that itself was harrowing.

the other instances of that happening were relatively the same as that, except most of them, i could see where i was, sometimes better than i could without the paralysis happening.

i've been experimenting with lucid dreaming for about a year now, i've bought multiple books on it, and studied it heavily. anyways, one night when i was trying some methods i had read about and practiced for months, i awoke in my own bed and at first i thought it was sleep paralysis. but i had full control of myself, so i walked out of bed, out to the front door and when i had opened the front door, there was no ground infront of me, and i fell off of the doorstep into darkness. when i woke up, i was not in my bed but on the couch in my living room. it was honestly one of the most frightening experiences that i've had in a dream before.

[Amazon XD]

ZE TRUTH!!!!

Old Hag is a little nickname people have been giving Sleep Paralysis for years. When your body enters "sleep", it enters as two different entities, your mind and your body. Your body goes first, then your mind goes second. In order for your mind to actually put your body into "sleep", technical term being "sleep paralysis", it has to believe you have fallen asleep, or into a hibernate mode.

This hibernate mode, known as SP or sleep paralysis is your body's way of paralyzing you from moving or doing anything while your brain enters sleep mode. If you are conscious while this happens, your mind will play tricks on you, like the following things...

You will see things
You will hear things
You will FEEL things.

This is all a product of being paralyzed. Now, people who are in car accidents and paralyzed don't get this stuff because their mind isn't entering a hibernate state.

Now, you're probably saying to yourself... "How does this guy know so much about it!?".

Very simple.

I have posted topics about Lucid Dreaming before, and one of the ways to "lucid dream" (control your dreams and be consciously aware that you are dreaming) is to "WILD" or "Wake-Induced-Lucid-Dream". You do this by entering sleep paralysis. Basically, you control your breathing, don't move a muscle for about 30-40 minutes, and your mind thinks your body has fallen asleep.

So, "Old Hag" isn't really an "old hag". It's a direct correlation to paranoia and fear we have when our body is paralyzed, and we have no way of controlling it. Over time, we become accustomed to sleep paralysis, and I've heard it can be enjoyable at times, but in the beginning (if you can manage to do it), it is never pleasant.

[SuperNova X2X]

Wow. That is some really scary shit. I hope I never have that happen to me, because I get scared really easily. I've almost drowned once and that was scary enough. But not being able to move and seeing some weird old woman trying to kill you? Fuck that. I wish I had never read this thread now :(

[Pez]

Wow... I've finally realised what happened to me roughly 10 years ago, when I was about 6 or 7.

I didn't see any hags, but I remember waking up one day on my Grandma's couch, or dreaming I woke up, not entirely sure, and not being able to move any of my body. It lasted for about 3-5 minutes, and it was the single, most terrifying thing that's ever happened to me.

I was the only one in the room, and if I remember correctly everyone else was in the kitchen and/or second living room. I'd have shouted for help, but I couldn't speak nor move. All I could do was look around.

After the 3-5 minutes I honestly can't remember what I done. Whether I told my parents, got up, woke up or went back to sleep, I can't remember a thing.

Only reason I remember it so well is because it really did frighten the hell outta me, and it still does. If there's one thing I'd never like to endure again, it's this.

[xK1NG L30N1DASx]

I'm 16 yrs old and you say its more prone to happen to teenagers. so is this more prone to happen to me? cause now im scared to go to bed. and a question i have is ive woken up not neccessarily paralyzeed but with extreme pains in my leg most lily labled as a common muscle spasm. except once i woke up and cunt move my body because my neck was litterally throbbing with pain and frozen and it scared me shitless.

[WaDiNhO]

OMG that is some scary shit, I wish I never read it. Like Supernova I get scared extremely easily....

[EviL Bettee]

I've experienced this as well. The weird thing was that me and my dad experienced it within days of each other. Some major ill shit was going on in the family at the time, so we put it down to being some kind of panic attack or something but this explanation clears it up a bit. I'm glad I've been able to find some form of explanation now though, as like a few people have said before me, this was easily one of the most terrifiying things to ever happen to me.

It is extremely hard to explain to people who have never experienced it for themselves. The fear you get is incomparable, it's not like watching a horror film or anything like that, you genuinely feel in danger.

I didn't see any hag or anything like that, but I felt like something was around my neck. I remember being about 80% awake (if that makes sense) completely aware of my surroundings, your not awake but your not asleep, it's really hard to explain. It's like your pinned to the bed and your literally having the life choked out of you. I remember seeing movement in the light under my door, I think it was my parents outside my room. I was trying desperately to scream for help but noise wouldn't come out. It's a really strange sensation to be straining to make noise, like really really trying, but absolutely nothing coming out. Anyway, the feeling passed as abrubtely as it began and I think I just slipped back into my sleep.

I didn't suffer any kind of long lasting fear or anything like that, mainly because I was so embarrassed of being so terriffied of a "nightmare" I tried my hardest to ignore it had ever happened.

I've tried to explain it to people before but it's only my dad, whos also experienced it, that really understood what I meant. It's cool to see other people with similar experiences on here though, I never really knew howto explain it before so it's good to get some closure!

Don't really think it was the night hag though!