Visit from the Old Hag

[ScottL]

I went to bed at about 11pm last night and decided to try a WILD, after about 30 minutes I gave up, rolled onto my side and went to sleep. I seemed to be in the middle of a dream (cant recall the dream) when I felt someone lying on my back trying to strangle me. This took me by surprise as it was totally unexpected until I realised what was happening and just relaxed and decided to go with it. After a couple of seconds the sensation had gone and I was awake. I checked the clock and it was 1 am so I had only been asleep just over an hour before this happened. Was this part of sleep paralysis??? I did not try to move although I didn't feel as if I was paralysed. It is a good thing I have read about the old hag and know about this kind of experience as at the time is a very realistic and scary sensation. I can easily see how people can be terrified by this experience. I personally now find it more fascinating than scary. What is really interesting though is the vast amount of people who basically have the identical experience. If this is a hallucination\dream of one's subconcious why do so many different people have virtually the same experience???

[hellohihello]

My personal opinion is it started way back when, when no one knew about this "Sleep Paralysis". They didn't know what on earth was going on and thought some sort of demon was behind this as they could not move. That's when their imagination took over and actually programmed said "demon" attacking them. Then we heard about it and it was drilled in our subconscious. Reason two: Our body is hallucinating why it cannot move, thus creating the sensation of something external causing this "paralysis".

[Expulsion]

My first dream paralysis was scarier then any regular nightmare I've ever had. Earlier in the day I was debating the existence of aliens with a friend and what do you know, a good nightmare to follow. My bed is near my window and I had it open, a figure (use your imagination) suddenly came and started at me, I honestly thought I was awake, and I was frozen under it's gaze, terrified. Maybe in fear I thought idk... But after that the paralysis happened to me very often with out the scary hallucination... I agree with hellohihello, that's why after you realize its a dream the first time you don't really need to make up an excuse the second time.

[Shift]

Well, it's strange because you said that you were dreaming when this happens, which leads me to believe it was still the dream, unless you were actually waking up when it happened, which means it's quite possible that you were experiencing hypnopompic sleep paralysis and an incubus hallucination (not an intruder hallucination, so technically not the Old Hag).

[ScottL]

I know I was dreaming before it happened but as soon as it happened I felt as though I was awake. I actually felt something on my back trying to strangle me which is weird because in dreams I don't usually have any sense of feel. In all it only lasted about 10 seconds and I was totally awake after it was gone.

[wet_roof113]

hmm, is there anyway to not hallucinate when you get SP? I've got it maybe 4 times in my life, only once have I hallucinated though... If you close your eyes during SP seems like a good option... can you close your eylids during SP? I think I've got it with my eyes closed and with my eyes open...hmm

[Shift]

hmm, is there anyway to not hallucinate when you get SP? I've got it maybe 4 times in my life, only once have I hallucinated though... If you close your eyes during SP seems like a good option... can you close your eylids during SP? I think I've got it with my eyes closed and with my eyes open...hmm Yup, it's quite possible to just lay there paralyzed. Happens to me most of the time.

[dreamingofdreaming]

Yeah, I get SP naturally atleast once a month and lately once a week But the only time I ever had a hallucination was after I read on here that people often hallucinate during SP(and I've been having SP spells for 5 years)..... so I think it is an awareness thing

[Tarsier]

that's creepy. it's strange how everyone has the same hallucination. i had a sleep paralysis experience once where a monster truck drove through my wall and into my house, in another one an evil monkey jumped down from my closet and came up to my bed and i woke up screaming.

[Robot_Butler]

There must be some primal instinct that this all stems from. The hallucination is always slightly different for me, but there are always the same fundamentals. For example, someone will be behind me strangling me, tickling me, biting my neck, wrapping sheets around me, gouging stuff into my back, ect. The experience is the same, but the way my brain translates it into a hallucination varies.

[Fisherdec]

Could it also be the way you sleep?? I never have had sleep paralysis. Is it because I always sleep on my side? Does everyone here sleep face down?

[The Cusp]

I always sleep on my side, and I still get it.

[Robot_Butler]

I get it on my side, stomach, and back. The hallucinations are always limited by the way I am sleeping. For example, if I am on my stomach, I obviously don't see anyone in the room. If I am on my back, I never get attacked from behind. One other interesting thing is, I will sometimes get into a weird disoriented state where I have no idea which way I am facing. I will be aware of both my dream body and my real body in bed, both doing different things. This can make me feel like I'm lying on my back, when I am really on my stomach. I am not just dreaming of having sleep paralysis. I am dreaming, AND having sleep paralysis. I think anyone who WILDs a lot knows the weirdness I'm talking about.