Sleep paralysis is the experience of the horror of helplessness. Scary Stories and Mystery Stories Exploding Head Syndrome

That day, or rather it was already night, I went to bed as always, lay down for about 5 minutes and fell asleep. Soon I woke up and at first glance I was not surprised, because... I sleep very lightly, I wake up from the slightest sound... But after a moment I was overcome with such horror that I almost laid bricks (although I don’t think I could). I was completely paralyzed! My eyes were half open and seemed to be stuck together, and I couldn’t even move my eyes. At first I thought it was some kind of lucid dream, but everything looked very real, however, I saw little, except maybe the ceiling above me and the wall next to me, but I was sure that this was not a dream. There was a hum in my head, reminiscent of the sound when the wind blows in the ear, only in my case it seemed to be in both ears, however, that’s nothing. I began to hear laughter, it sounded like the laughter of a small child and I would say that it did not sound evil, but still the horror was indescribable!

Then I began to struggle with all my might, the harder I tried, the louder the laughter. It seemed to me that I was able to raise my hand, but it was a very strange feeling, as if it was not the bodily shell that was rising, but a thin one, it is difficult to describe this state.

It’s also worth saying that during this whole nightmare I was aware of someone’s presence. It was nearby, but I couldn't turn my head and look. I think you're wondering how I got out of this state? In an instant, I was overcome with rage, I tried to escape as soon as I could, I twitched like crazy, while the laughter in my head did not subside, and finally I woke up! Yes, I just woke up, as if it was a dream, my heart was beating wildly... I think it’s clear that I didn’t go to sleep that night. Thank God I never experienced sleep paralysis again until today.

By the way, I forgot to note that I always sleep on my stomach (for personal reasons:3), and when I woke up during paralysis, I was already on my back. I doubt I could roll over without waking up. Regarding the evil spirits in my house: I don’t think I’ve encountered any spirits, brownies or other bastards before. Of course, I won’t be able to go to bed so casually and easily.

Imagine waking up and not even being able to move a finger. The room is dark, but you feel someone’s ominous presence - someone is standing next to the bed, or maybe sitting right on your chest, preventing you from taking a breath. This strange phenomenon is known as "sleep paralysis", Fr. Belief in the supernatural nature of paralysis always inspired great fear of it.

According to experts, at least 5 percent of people experienced the sensations described above. Some people wake up immobilized only once or twice in their lives, while for others this happens regularly. But there is good news for everyone who falls into this state: sleep paralysis is not dangerous to life and health.

Physiologically, the condition is close to natural paralysis, which occurs during the REM sleep phase. The biological meaning of paralysis during REM sleep is to prevent sudden movements and, accordingly, to prevent a person from waking up regularly from this. During sleep paralysis, the brain just wakes up, but the body does not, and the paralysis persists for some time.

Sometimes this state is accompanied by catatonic or rather dissociative manifestations, which are expressed in full or partial awareness of the body diagram and motor skills (for example, the feeling that it is possible to move a finger, but the transition from thought to movement takes an indefinitely long time). In addition, sometimes so-called “flies” occur, that is, a phenomenon when the sensation of a sound vibration (probably an illusion or hallucination) in the ears suddenly manifests itself sharply in the form of an increase in the acoustic spectrum and volume, smoothly turning into “white noise” with a predominance of a peculiar “ squeak,” which can be heard by anyone in a state of wakefulness in silence, but in a less pronounced form.

In addition to paralysis of the whole body, the most common symptoms are: a feeling of terror, a feeling of pressure (especially on the chest) or difficulty breathing, a feeling of the presence of a foreign being, an increased heart rate, a feeling of body movement (the person may feel as if he is turning over from one side to the other, although actually lies in place), some people seem to be trying to wake up. Typical auditory sensations are voices, footsteps or pulsating sounds, visual sensations are people or ghosts in the room. This is where the myths about incubi and succubi come from - demons that attack people in their sleep (and sometimes have sexual relations with them).

Sleep paralysis often occurs when sleeping on your back (several times more often than in other positions). There is a low risk of sleep paralysis when sleeping on your side. May occur with sleep disturbances (especially if such disturbances are rare).

Sleep paralysis can only occur upon natural awakening. With rapid awakening, which occurs under the influence of external factors (bright light in the eyes, the sound of an alarm clock), sleep paralysis does not occur.

Ways to combat sleep paralysis vary from person to person. General methods primarily include a regular, good sleep schedule. Many people recover from an attack of sleep paralysis by moving their eyes, tongue or thumb of their right hand (left for left-handed people). For others, on the contrary, complete muscle relaxation and calmness help: this softens negative emotional sensations and causes a gentle exit from the state of paralysis. Also, some begin to actively develop brain activity - for example, they begin to count or think about something. You can also try to make a sound from the nasopharynx (mooing), since it is impossible to open the mouth. Many people find it helpful to try to raise their head upward (decreasing the angle between the plane of the back of the head and the back).

In Russian folk tradition, this phenomenon is associated with a brownie, who, according to legend, jumps on a person’s chest in order to warn of either good or evil.
In the Muslim tradition, paralysis is associated with the activities of the jinn.
In Chuvash mythology, there is a separate character for this phenomenon - Wubar, whose actions exactly coincide with the symptoms of sleep paralysis.
In Basque mythology, there is also a separate character for this phenomenon - Inguma, who appears in houses at night during sleep and squeezes the throat of someone sleeping, making it difficult to breathe and thereby causing horror.
In Japanese mythology, the giant Kanashibari demon is believed to place its foot on the chest of a sleeping person.

A study found that people with an analytical mind, who believe less in the supernatural, feel less depressed after a bout of sleep paralysis. According to scientists, they most often try to explain their condition from a scientific point of view, while adherents of intuitive thinking look for answers in the area of ​​irrationality.

There are also several signs characteristic of this disorder:
Eye movement is maintained
Visual and auditory hallucinations, the person may also sense the presence of something evil, feel touches, or hear voices and noises in the room
Sometimes you can see faces or people near the bed
There is a feeling that the person is suffocating (or pressure on the chest, sometimes it even feels like someone is standing on it).

Have you ever experienced this feeling: you woke up but couldn’t move, or felt an incredible weight on your chest, or saw something scary next to you?

If so, we hasten to assure you that you are not alone! Sleepy stupor is a disorder that was previously associated exclusively with otherworldly forces. Now science knows that in fact this phenomenon is nothing more than muscle paralysis that occurs before falling asleep or does not stop after waking up. Sleepy stupor can last from a few seconds to a couple of minutes. A mere trifle, you say? Stories from those who have experienced this condition will quickly convince you!

1. Dark creature

One guy in his childhood fell into a sleepy stupor from time to time. At these moments, he woke up, lying on his back, and saw a dark silhouette in the corner of the room. Attempts to scream, speak, ask for help were in vain, but one thought sat in my head - if you lift a finger, the creature will attack.

2. Lucid dreaming

Another netizen talks about his experience of “invoking” lucid dreams using radio waves. The method turned out to be effective, however, instead of awareness, the hero of the story received sleep paralysis. During the latter, a huge dark silhouette with an ugly face appeared in the corner of the room. A moment later, eerie sounds were heard, and the stupor finally subsided. At the same time, the narrator also lost the desire to experiment with sleep.

3. Sleep paralysis of a 10-year-old child

The 10-year-old narrator decided to take a nap before school, and when he woke up, he could barely breathe. It was as if there was a stone on my chest, and the air in the room turned orange. Laughter was heard, and the hero woke up.

4. Paralysis while napping

A young man experiences sleep paralysis every time he dozes off. The stupor is very frightening, and in order to get out of it as quickly as possible, the guy had to learn to give signs to his girlfriend that he was still awake.

5. Good night...

The first experience of sleep paralysis was the saddest for the hero of this story. Not only did he wake up, gasping for breath, feeling a heaviness on his chest, but also a strange voice whispered to him: “Just come to say goodnight.”

6. Woman in black

Another story is about a woman in black with a skeletal face. She comes to visit the hero 2-3 times a month and whispers something like: “Go to sleep” or “Good night, baby.”

7. Real sleep paralysis

The first time the man in black appeared was when she was still a little girl. Seeing the silhouette, she wanted to scream, but the “guest” did not allow her to wake up her parents. After a while, at a conscious age, the heroine again saw this man, he was sitting right on her bed. This time I managed to scream, which greatly frightened the silhouette and made it run away. The girl called 911, but the pervert was never caught...

8. Regular sleep paralysis

Despite the fact that the hero of the following story constantly experiences a state of sleepy stupor, it still frightens him just as much. And if he is more or less accustomed to silhouettes, screaming and gasping people, he cannot come to terms with the impossibility of calling for help.

9. Alien Invasion

Another “lucky one” heard a voice saying: “Look, he woke up.” He tried to get up, but found himself chained to the chair. At first, the hero thought that aliens had stolen him, but after looking around, he realized that it was just paralysis.

10. Meow

To the traditional “symptoms” - a feeling of heaviness on the chest, shortness of breath - the hero of this story also had a cat’s meowing. After a while, he felt the cat pass over his body. And everything would have been fine, but the narrator didn’t have a cat...

11. Grandfather's old house

For a young man, the desire to take a nap at his grandfather’s house turned into real hell. It was him that the narrator saw behind the door. The paralysis was accompanied by laughter and a feeling of pain in the body.

12. Sister's room

Having fallen asleep in her sister's room, the girl suddenly saw a dark figure jumping around the perimeter. As it turned out, the owner of the room also sees this silhouette periodically.

13. Three stories of sleep paralysis

From one person. At first, the hero saw a cat's silhouette jumping on the bed and his chest. The second time he saw a man walking around the room. The third experience was the most ridiculous - the man watched a flock of stupid penguins walking around his room.

14. Aliens

The young man often falls into a sleepy stupor. His most terrible story involves aliens. The room then turned blue and a pair of figures formed on the corner of the bed. Before he was kidnapped, the guy turned on all the lights and tried to convince himself that it was just sleep paralysis.

15. Proximity

The hero of the story was sleeping on his side and suddenly felt someone hugging his stomach. Someone's hot breath could be felt on my neck. The unknown force did not leave the man for about half an hour, and then left with the words “You are not ready yet, I will come back later.”

16. Mirror in the dressing room

The attacks began after the man was kicked by a horse. The hero of the story began to feel like a certain force was constantly pulling him towards the mirror.

17. Gremlin

While some people just see silhouettes, others see gremlins during sleep paralysis. The monster sat on its stomach and spoke in some creepy dialect.

18. Rapid breathing

The hero of the following story experiences paralysis every time he sleeps on his stomach. Stupor is accompanied by rapid breathing and accelerated heartbeat.

19. Exploding head syndrome

But rapid breathing is far from the worst manifestation of paralysis. One person, during a stupor, feels like his head is being torn apart by a shot. The hero of the story can no longer fall asleep after this.

20. Angry monkey

She has long arms, and every time the animal tries to bite. After a while, the image of the monkey disappears, and what remains is pure evil.

Before his appearance, the hero of the story heard grinding sounds. And then a tall figure appeared before my eyes, saying: “You must warn her.”

22. Mom

While he fell into a stupor, his mother just entered the room. She looked creepy. Mom started tickling both him and his sister, and then began to grunt. He would have been glad to stop the monster mother, but he could not speak. Later, the woman grabbed the hero’s torso and began to shake him.

23. Claws

It was not quite paralysis, but rather a mixture of paralysis and hallucination. The hero of the story felt sharp claws tearing his hand. He felt that death was approaching, but he could not do anything about it. Another time, his mother’s voice was heard trying to wake him up.

24. Old hag

A rather unpleasant phenomenon - a bony old woman. She had no clothes on, so the narrator could see every single one of her sunken ribs.

25. Handprint

After a quarrel with his wife, the man woke up and could not move. An invisible force was dragging him to the floor. When the stupor released him, the hero saw a hand mark on his leg.

And hello again, I want to tell you about how I experienced such a strange and interesting phenomenon as “sleep paralysis.”

And so I was 17 years old then, it was summer, my parents took me to my grandmother in the village and I spent most of the summer time with her. And in the second week it turned out to be a very hot day and I decided to go to the river for a swim. After the water treatments, by the evening I had a severe headache, and I somehow fell asleep at night.

And so I open my eyes, lie on my side opposite the open doorway that leads into a long and dark corridor (and my grandmother’s house was quite large), I lie and try to understand why it’s so dark? After all, in theory it should already be morning. I usually woke up at about 10 o’clock, but it was dark as if it was only one in the morning. After a while, I began to hear some steps, but the steps were strange, as if someone were splashing with wet feet in the mud, plus an irritating ringing in my ears began. I thought that maybe my grandmother had woken up and was walking around there and decided to check, I wanted to get up and turn on the light but... I couldn’t, I suddenly realized that I simply couldn’t move, it felt like I was paralyzed, I just lay there with no sign of I couldn’t move anything, it scared me very much, but what happened next... I thought I was going crazy.

I am on my own, a creative person and my imagination is very rich and vibrant, and sometimes my brain plays a cruel joke on me. I’m lying there, freaked out by my situation, and then I hear the plopping of steps approaching (near the turn to the right side of my room there was an exit to the street where there was a terrace), steps were approaching from there, until the last I thought it was my grandmother, but I was mistaken.

After a few seconds, a strange silhouette began to appear in the doorway; at first I couldn’t see it well in the twilight, but I felt that something was appearing, then the silhouette froze and then slowly moved towards me, the faint light from the windows was not much, just a little slightly illuminated the room and after a moment I could roughly see my “guest”.

You know, when you watch horror films, you see a monster on the screen and you perceive it as just a still from a movie and it’s not particularly scary, but when you see that a healthy, ugly creature literally comes into your room in reality, it is perceived completely differently. I’ll try to briefly describe this crap (I’m not making anything up, I wouldn’t have made this up): the body shape was like an owl and the legs were human and hairy, the wings grew from the head, which, by the way, did not exist, from the body in general, and the wings were not made of feathers as expected, and made of skin like that of bats, the muzzle on the body was like that of an owl, on the chest there were two large shining eyes like a cat, where there should have been a hollow between the ribs there was a semblance of a beak with human teeth, and the skin was covered with strange bulges.

And that means this “owl” is looking at me, I look at her, I was gripped by such horror that I can’t express it in words, I’ve just never been so scared in my life, it was a real fear, I thought I was going to die or something I would lose the creature, my heart was ready to pierce my chest, I was breathing as if after a cross-country race for a while, it was really scary guys, just God forbid anyone should experience this. 3 years have passed and I remember everything in detail.

Honestly, I almost wet myself from fear, I made desperate attempts to move and nothing came of it, this monster was already very close, I already wanted to cry from hopelessness and wild fear, but then at some point my hand twitched and the crap disappeared and It began to get lighter outside, and the ringing in my ears disappeared.

I frantically began to move all parts of my body, but I was in no hurry to get up, I could not move away from what had happened. I was covered in sweat, the pillow, blanket, sheet, everything was wet, I was shaking all over, I was still scared, I still had the image of this humanoid owl before my eyes.

Well, I sat on the bed for about 20 minutes, walked away a little and decided to get up and get dressed. I cautiously looked into the hallway where there was a door to the street, and there were no traces of anything. I sighed with relief, after all, it was just a dream and hallucinations. I went to the kitchen, poured some tea with mint and sat thinking about everything that happened to me at night.

Then in the afternoon I decided to tell my grandmother everything, I was afraid that she would not believe me, but she understood me perfectly, said that this happens, and advised that when this happens again, I need to read a prayer. To be honest, I am not a believer and am skeptical about these things, but I still listened to her.

When I was already taken home to the apartment, I was afraid to fall asleep, I was afraid that this monster would come to me again, my psyche is not iron-clad after all, I even went to a psychologist for some time, he helped me cope with this phobia. Now I sleep peacefully and nothing happens.

This is how I experienced my first sleep paralysis. Perhaps some of you will think that I made it all up, that these are all fairy tales, but it’s true. Have you ever had sleep paralysis? How did you get through it? I'll be interested to know.

You can't move. It's hard for you to breathe. You feel pressure in your chest area. It's dark in the room. This makes you even more scared. You look around the bedroom and notice a trembling little child in the corner, looking straight at you. You try to scream, but you can't. You fearfully whisper something under your breath, and at this time the child begins to slowly approach you in the darkness of the night...

According to statistics, about 40% of the world's population have experienced sleep paralysis at least once in their lives. Current research shows that sleep paralysis occurs when a person suddenly wakes up during REM sleep. However, science is unable to explain why, when sleep paralysis sets in, you begin to have nightmares.

The following stories have been taken from a variety of sources, ranging from scientific research to dubious websites. Are they true? Perhaps this is just a dream.

When the lights go out

This story was shared by student Adam, who experienced sleep paralysis after falling asleep while reading a book late at night. The last thing he remembers is slowly drifting off to sleep with the muffled sounds of the television coming from the downstairs living room. When Adam "woke up", his room was absolutely unchanged. The bedside lamp was burning on the nightstand. An open book lay on his chest. However, he noticed that the room became very cold.

The cool air made him feel like someone was watching him, even though there was no one in the room. When Adam tried to stand up and look around, he realized that he could not move. His arms and legs were as heavy as stone. Suddenly there was a quiet click and the lamp went out.

Adam couldn't scream. Every muscle in his body was paralyzed. Suddenly, the figure of an old man without eyes appeared from the darkness. Blood flowed from the black, empty eye sockets. The old man began to scream in rage and grab Adam's legs. At that moment the young man woke up. He recognized the old man as his late grandfather.

Fantasies of Nicholas Bruno

Nicholas Bruno first experienced sleep paralysis as a teenager. He didn't attach much importance to it then. As Bruno grew older, waking nightmares began to haunt him almost every night. Then he decided to keep a diary to record everything he saw.

His visions ranged from the surreal to the horrifying. “Faceless figures circled around me as I lay on the bed, unable to move,” says Bruno. This is a description of what millions of people face every year. But Bruno decided to go further and began to convey his nightly experiences through photography.

Bruno's photographs, like his dreams, turn out to be either strange or downright terrible, but they perfectly convey all the hopelessness and helplessness that a person faces during sleep paralysis.

Gremlin on the ceiling

On Reddit, one girl wrote that every time she experiences sleep paralysis, she sees a small green creature that disappears as soon as she wakes up screaming.

The girl writes that this creature is very similar to the gremlin depicted in the painting “Nightmare” by the English artist Henry Fuseli. Most of the time it sits on her chest and whispers incomprehensible words.

But one day the girl woke up at night and saw that the gremlin was sitting, lurking, on the ceiling and smiling at her. Many people treated this experience as something supernatural, but she understands that all this, no matter how terrible it may be, is only in her head.

Female killer

In one documented case, an unknown thirty-five-year-old man who had spent years overcoming his alcohol addiction began to experience recurring nighttime hallucinations.

It all started with him waking up in the middle of the night and unable to move, as if he was chained to the bed. After this, the same woman appeared from the darkness, becoming more furious and cruel every night. She jumped onto his chest and began to strangle him furiously. Each incident lasted no more than five minutes, after which the man could not sleep at all. These incidents became so frequent that he abandoned his successful treatment and began drinking again.

Can you see me?

One Reddit user writes that he experiences sleep paralysis several times a week, but there was one experience after which he was afraid to go to sleep for a long time. He was lying in bed with his eyes closed when he suddenly heard the voice of a little boy asking him, “Can you see me?” He knew what sleep paralysis was, so he was not surprised when, when he tried to get up or move, he could not do it. He opened his eyes and saw a little boy at his feet.

The child repeated the question asked, but the young man closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep. But the boy did not give up and continued to ask him: “Can you see me?” Every time he said this, his voice became deeper and deeper. Suddenly the young man felt someone touch his shoulder. He opened his eyes and saw a little boy a few centimeters from his face who screamed shrilly: “Can you see me?” After this, the young man woke up.

Small humanoid

This story appeared on the Alien Resistance website in 2013. The person who told it introduced himself as Rich, and said that he first experienced sleep paralysis at the age of twelve. He claimed that he woke up one night, unable to move, but could clearly see his bedroom. As he lay paralyzed on the bed, the door creaked open and a small humanoid creature about 30 centimeters tall entered the room. It looked at Rich, then suddenly jumped onto the bed, crawled up to his head and disappeared. This was the first, but not the last, night that Rich experienced sleep paralysis. As he grew older, he was often visited at night by “evil creatures” who immediately disappeared after he uttered the name of Jesus Christ.

Skeleton with claws

The man with whom this story happened claims that he regularly experienced sleep paralysis for 18 months. Every time this happened, strange dark figures appeared in his room.

One day he woke up in the middle of the night, lying on his side with his back to the door. At that moment, he heard someone open it slightly and jump onto his bed. An unknown creature (he does not know what it was) came close to him, and he heard its breathing. He had the impression that he was being hugged by a skeleton with claws. His heart was beating wildly, his body did not move. The creature continued to silently lie nearby. After some time, it finally whispered: “It’s not time yet. You're not ready yet. I’ll be back when you’re ready,” then disappeared.

The next time he experienced sleep paralysis, an old man appeared to him, kneeling next to his bed with a slight smile on his face. According to the person who told this story, he got the impression that the old man wanted to calm him down and assure him that everything would be fine.

Aliens

In 2002, scientists conducted a study looking at the connection between sleep paralysis and stories of alien abduction. According to his results, 60% of people who claimed to have been abducted by aliens were either asleep at the time or had just woken up.

The results of a study conducted by Richard McNally and Susan Clancy in 2005 confirmed this connection. During the study, they interviewed people who were allegedly abducted by aliens and documented several creepy stories.

One of the study participants was a woman who told McNally and Clancy about waking up one night from a deep sleep and realizing she couldn't move. She opened her eyes and saw three creatures near her bed, looking straight at her.

Another participant in the study claimed that he also woke up paralyzed in the middle of the night and saw several aliens in the room who were trying to deprive him of his energy. According to him, he felt electrical impulses running through his body.

Shadow

The author of the video above is named Mike Pike. He claims that he often falls victim to sleep paralysis, and this happens according to the same scenario. Mike usually wakes up in the middle of the night because he thinks there is someone else in the room with him. He opens his eyes and sees a dark figure looming over him.

This began to worry Mike, and he decided to install a video camera at night to convince himself that it was all just in his head. But, alas. You can see the results for yourself.

Red room

In 2014, Reddit user "watchtowerwolf" stated that he regularly experiences sleep paralysis in his life. He understands perfectly well what is happening and tries to finally wake up before something happens, but he is not always lucky.

It all invariably begins with a black shadow slowly rising along the wall near the “watchtowerwolf” bed. The room is filled with a strange noise. Common auditory hallucinations that sound something like this: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SleepParalysis.ogg

The man, approaching the "watchtowerwolf", takes it by the head and begins to scream. The room instantly fills with red, and the hands of the faceless man turn into spikes. He plunges them into the watchtowerwolf's throat, and he wakes up.