Sleep paralysis demons have haunted mankind since before our recorded history. These forces seem to pin us to our beds and devour us when we’re at our most relaxed. They sit on our chests, smother us, and fill us with anxiety. Or at least that’s how it feels when you’re locked in sleep paralysis.
Modern science tells us that sleep paralysis demons are simply a figment of our semi-dreaming minds. To the superstitious, however, these monsters are real. And, they come in many shapes and sizes.
Sleep paralysis is one of the most terrifying experiences we can have. On a scientific level, our sleep-wake cycle going out of whack is what causes this condition. Our body remains asleep while our mind shifts from REM to partial wakefulness.
The chemicals GABA and glycine shut down our motor nerves while we’re in deep sleep, according to Dr. John Peever. This prevents us from acting out our dreams and possibly injuring ourselves or others. If these chemicals stay in our system when our brain wakes up, we experience sleep paralysis.
When sleep paralysis hits, your eyes work but you can’t move anything else. You often have anxiety and phantom pressure on your chest. Sleep paralysis can even make you feel like you’re not breathing at all.
The strangest thing sleep paralysis does is cause hallucinations. That’s where sleep paralysis demons come in. These hallucinations can be anything. You can imagine being in hell or see yourself abducted by aliens.
This sleep condition has spawned several legends about sleep paralysis demons. Many of these myths are older than modern science. And since humans are present all around the globe, sleep paralysis demons are too.
Sleep Paralysis Demons: Incubus/Succubus legends from Europe
The most well-known sleep paralysis demons from around the world are the incubus (male) and the succubus (female). These life-sapping creatures appear throughout much of Western civilization. In fact, they can trace their origins to the birthplace of the Western world: Mesopotamia.
The earliest known incubus/succubus reference comes from around 2400 BCE. The reference comes from the Sumerian King List, which mentions Lilu and Lilitu. The text lists the incubus Lilu as the father of the great hero Gilgamesh. Lilitu is recorded as his succubus counterpart.
Legends of these creatures spread across the Mediterranean to Rome, where the people gave them their contemporary names. “Incubus” means “one who lies atop,” while “succubus” translates to “one who lies below.”
It didn’t take long for these sleep paralysis demons to spread to the rest of Europe and, from there, through all of Western culture. Even the Catholic Church would recognize them in time.
The Malleus Maleficarum, a 15th-century book on witchcraft that Inquisitors used as a manual for witch hunts, lists a handful of ways people can rid themselves of incubi. These include exorcism, confession, making the sign of the cross, and praying the Hail Mary.
While the Church may have deemed encounters with an incubus worthy of exorcism, some have always believed the creature cares little for Catholic ritual. Like several medieval clergymen and, of course, modern-day scientists.
We now understand the incubus phenomenon to be a hallucination of sleep paralysis. In fact, that’s what the term “incubus phenomenon” means to the scientific community today.
Sleep Paralysis Demons: The Scandinavian Night Mare
Moving on to the chilly Scandinavian regions of the North, we find a sleep paralysis demon by a traditional name: the Night Mare. Nightmares today can be any scary dream, but the term’s original meaning comes from the Old Norse word “mara” or “mare,” and it has to do with a very specific type of horror.
Many old societies across Europe believed the mare was a creature that haunted their dreams, but that wasn’t all. They also thought this creature could kill them under the right circumstances. Popular myth shows the mara as a mercenary of sorts. Sorcerers and nobility could commission this sleep paralysis demon to attack their enemies. As could anyone who held enough cruel intent in their heart.
Some sources claim the mara presented as a woman who sat on her victim’s chest, suffocating them and giving them frightful dreams. Folklore scholar D. L. Ashliman’s collection of mara stories disagrees with this gendered view, however. The mara, according to European folklore, can appear as any gender.
The collection contains some interesting information about these sleep paralysis demons. For example: The mara can sneak through small holes and cracks in your bedroom walls. It also says that men in older times would capture mara and keep them as concubines. An odd choice in our opinion.
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The Albanian Spirit Mokthi
You’ll notice a common theme between this sleep paralysis demon and a few others on this list. The term “mokthi” or “makthi” from Albania means “nightmare.” And like the incubus and succubus, the mokthi visits at night to torment unsuspecting sleepers. This sleep demon, however, is easy to identify.
Mokthi are male sleep paralysis demons who primarily target women. You can differentiate them from other creatures by the golden fez hat on their heads. To non-believers, this is a very specific hallucination. To believers, this may be as much a blessing as it is a curse.
Legend says if you capture the mokthi’s golden fez, he’ll grant you a wish. Be warned: If you go this route, the demon will visit you more frequently. Legend says these follow-up visits are harmless, though.
Other ways to combat the mokthi include:
- Specialized talismans
- Making your husband’s presence known by leaving his hat or clothing on the bed
Sleep Paralysis Demons: The Pillow Flipper of Japan
In Japanese culture, people call sleep paralysis “kanashibari” or “bound by metal.” This is an apt description for anyone trapped in sleep paralysis. Now, the translation might sound eerie, but the folklore around it is fascinating.
According to legend, several paranormal things can cause kanashibari – spells, monsters, demons, deities, etc. – but the ones we’ll discuss are sleep paralysis demons known as “makura gaeshi,” Pillow Flippers.
For the most part, Pillow Flippers aren’t malicious. They sneak into your bedroom and move your pillow under your feet. Folklore describes the makura gaeshi as being capable of moving a bed as well. Most importantly, people believe this creature causes sleep paralysis. Older legends even tell of a Pillow Flipper who’s able to take lives.
Some believe these creatures are the spirits of those who’ve died in the location the Pillow Flipper haunts. Others consider the creature an independent species. Folklorists Michiko Iwasaka and Barre Toelken suggest the Pillow Flipper is the same spirit who brings prosperity to Japanese households. The zashikiwarashi, as people call the spirit, can be a bit of a rascal. Coincidentally, one of the spirit’s common pranks is flipping people’s pillows.
According to Ayako Yoshimura’s ethnography on kanashibari within Japanese culture, To Believe and Not to Believe: A Native Ethnography of Kanashibari in Japan, the public often regards sleep paralysis as an out-of-body experience. This can make pillow flipping dangerous, since many also believe the soul can’t come home once a creature has flipped its pillow.
Batibat: A Vengeful Tree Spirit from the Philippines
In traditional folklore of the Philippines, sleep paralysis demons have a unique origin. Most myths on this list involve malicious spirits of the dead, spiritual attacks, devils, and tricksters. The Batibat (or Bangungot), however, is a vengeful nature spirit upset about losing its home.
The Batibat dwells in the trees, as popular myth explains. When the Batibat appears to humans, it takes the form of a monstrous, obese crone. Don’t worry, though – You shouldn’t encounter a Batibat unless you disturb its tree. The Filipino people believe you’ll enrage the Batibat if you cut down its home, and even more so if you use the wood to build a new dwelling.
This spirit will continue to inhabit its tree regardless of it’s form. If it’s a stump, the batibat will live in a stump. If it’s the frame of your new house, it’ll live there too. And you don’t want that. Legend says the batibat will forever punish you with sleep paralysis if you live in a house made from its tree.
People also blame this sleep paralysis demon for Sudden Unexplained Death Syndrome. They believe the Batibat smothers victims by sitting on their chest until they die.
The Old Hag is a Newfoundland Legend
The Old Hag, or Night Hag, is about as Newfoundland as you can get, and this legend has absolutely permeated its superstitious culture. Authors have written books about the hag, and researchers have studied it. It seems that everyone who suffers from sleep paralysis in Newfoundland sees the same sleep paralysis demon.
The hag is just what you’d expect. She’s an old woman, quite storybook witch-like, who crawls her way up the foot of the bed to sit on your chest or back. It’s a suffocating experience, but not a deadly one. And it’s old. Written accounts of the Old Hag in Newfoundland go back to the 1800s, but folklore experts trace the hag to the British Isles. And it’s much older. Witches in British myth have caused “hagging” (sleep paralysis) as far back as the witch hunts.
Several urban legends involve the hag. For example, some believe you can summon this creature by chanting The Lord’s Prayer in reverse. They also say you can kill the hag if you point a knife upwards as you sleep. As such, you’ll stab the hag when she sits on your chest. We don’t recommend this approach, though, since sleeping with sharp objects is dangerous.
Sleep Paralysis Demons: The Pisadeira of Brazil
There are many sleep paralysis demons around the world, and the Pisadeira of Brazil is one of the most specific. This creature hails from São Paulo, but you can find its legend throughout the country. This is another crone-like creature, but it doesn’t live in the trees like the Batibat. This demon prowls rooftops at night, looking for victims.
The Pisadeira is scraggly and thick. Its fingernails are claws. And, some areas of Brazil describe the creature as wearing a red hat. Much like the Mokthi of Albania, if you capture this hat, then the Pisadeira will grant you a wish.
This demon looks for the most specific victims: People who’ve stuffed themselves at dinner. If you sleep belly-up with a full stomach, the Pisadeira will come into your room and stomp on your torso. This, according to legend, is how the creature causes sleep paralysis. In truth, you can easily avoid the Pisadeira by not falling asleep on a full stomach.
Spirits of the Dead from Mexico
Though not necessarily demons, the spirits who cause sleep paralysis in Mexico are unpleasant enough to make the list. Imagine ghosts of the dead coming back from the spirit world to climb into your bed. The majority of people would find interacting with a ghost scary enough, but they’d find sharing a bed with one even more uncomfortable. And that’s what some people in Mexico believe is happening to them.
A common description of sleep paralysis in Mexico is “se te sube el muerto,” which roughly translates to “the dead get on top of you.” To many, it’s simply an apt description. The superstitious, however, believe ghosts and spirits cause their sleep paralysis by getting a little too close.
Sleep Paralysis Demons: In the Caribbean there’s Duppy
“Duppy hold me down!” is a phrase people use in the Caribbean to describe sleep paralysis. A duppy is a restless spirit with roots in West African spiritual traditions. It spread to the Caribbean islands with the African people whom slave traders ripped from their homelands. As such, it holds cultural significance for many.
Similar to other sleep paralysis entities, the duppy is the spirit of a human who stays on this plane. Either the duppy received an improper burial, it left “unfinished business” behind, or it suffered an unfortunately brutal death. Pretty much all of the traditional reasons people believe create ghosts.
The duppy acts as any other ghost might. Some don’t interact with people, while others do. They can be benevolent or malevolent. Some are rowdy, and some calm. Others can be mischievous. They may even convey warnings to the living or seek revenge. And, hauntingly, the duppy can cause sleep paralysis by holding a victim down in their sleep.
Ogun Oru: Nocturnal Warfare in Nigeria
In Nigeria, the idea of Ogun Oru is a type of nocturnal spiritual warfare. And, the conditions surrounding it are quite interesting.
Ogun Oru can occur so long as there’s a conflict between a man’s physical spouse and his spiritual one. Apparently, these two things can be different. In fact, the spiritual spouse may not even be human. That said, the feud between spouses is the catalyst, but Ogun Oru won’t occur until the man eats in his dream. Additionally, this event can only affect men.
From there, the victim consumes the curse or the demon. Then, sleep paralysis can take hold. Luckily, this demon can be exorcised through Christian prayer or specially designed rituals to combat Ogun Oru.
Ghost Oppression in China
Ghost Oppression is the name given to sleep paralysis in Chinese culture. Some people in this region believe, without a doubt, that a spirit causes sleep paralysis due to the common sensation of something sitting on your chest. The feelings of suffocation and anxiety certainly seem supernatural, so it’s understandable.
While sleep paralysis may still be colloquially called “ghost oppression,” the idea of sleep paralysis having supernatural roots isn’t widely accepted. Except in Hong Kong, where a study done in 1994 found that 16% of college students believed ghost oppression was supernatural in nature. Keep in mind that superstitious beliefs are less common among those with college educations.
Sleep Paralysis Demons: Moroi drinks the blood of those sleeping in Romania
Ghosts, demons, and monsters. There’s no better place for the creatures of the night than Romania, famous for its moroi. Or as we would know them: vampires.
In Romanian folklore, moroi are the spirits of those who’ve gone against God. Additionally, moroi can be those who’ve suffered terrible deaths and unbaptized children. Regardless, these creatures haunt the world as a vampiric entities after their deaths.
Villagers have historically exhumed the bodies of moroi so they could stake them through their hearts. No wooden stake needed. Anything sharp will put them to rest for good.
Moroi are malicious sleep paralysis demons. The superstitious blame just about everything on them – from crops failing to droughts and more. It’s said that the moroi cause sleep paralysis while feeding on their victims’ life essence in the middle of the night.
Sleep Paralysis Demons: The Dab Tsong of Cambodia
Dab Tsong is the night spirit responsible for causing sleep paralysis in Cambodian folklore. This creature is a frightening entity that puts pressure on the chest and has been known to kill its victims. Well, sort of.
In the 1980s, over 100 survivors of the Khmer Rouge death camps during the Cambodian genocide died in their sleep after suffering bouts of sleep paralysis. Researchers concluded that their belief in the dab tsong was so powerful it caused heart attacks in the victims.
For context, the subjects of the study were also thought to have suffered from a heart defect. This made their heart attacks more likely than if they’d been healthy. So, whether or not you believe in sleep paralysis demons like the dab tsong, heart issues were a likely contribution to this wave of deaths.
Sleep Paralysis Demons: In Islam, It’s the Djinn Who Sits on Your Chest
In the superstitious and religious Arab world, there exists a creature known as the Djinn. Djinn aren’t demons or devils but rather a race apart. Djinn can be good, bad, or indifferent. They, like man, have the knowledge of good and evil as well as the free will. The Djinn can shapeshift and whisper in your ear to lead you astray. They can also cause sleep paralysis according to Islamic superstition.
Now, even the superstitious realize that sleep paralysis can be caused by things other than spiritual attack, but the Djinn still have their place. It’s said that Djinn will sit on your chest in your sleep and cause paralysis if you’ve failed to say your prayers or if you abandon your other religious duties.
Though all of these superstitious traditions sound scary, modern science is certain that sleep paralysis is a sleep disorder. It’s caused by very mundane, yet complicated, factors. Choosing to believe in these entities is up to you. Though, if you suffer from sleep paralysis, you should consult a medical professional. That or stake a moroi through the heart. Your choice.
