Sleep paralysis demons have haunted mankind since before our recorded history. These malevolent forces pin us to our beds and devour our essence while we’re at our most relaxed. They sit on our chests, chain us to the bed, smother us, and more. Or at least that’s how it feels when you’re locked into the crippling immobility of sleep paralysis. Modern science tells us the demons responsible for these nighttime terrors are nothing more than a figment of our semi-dreaming minds, but to the superstitious, these monsters are real. They appear in the corner of the room while we struggle to breathe, taunting us in our panic, and they come in a multitude of shapes and sizes from every corner of the globe.
Sleep paralysis is one of the most terrifying experiences found in the human condition. On a scientific level, it’s caused by a misalignment of our sleep-wake cycle where the body remains in its sleeping state while the mind shifts from REM to partial wakefulness. If you didn’t know, our bodies use the chemicals GABA and glycine to shut down our motor nerves while we’re in deep sleep, according to Dr. John Peever. This prevents us from acting out constant involuntary movements during our dreams and possibly injuring ourselves or others. If the heightened level of these chemicals persists when consciousness returns, it presents as sleep paralysis (SP).
The hallmarks of SP include waking during sleep, body paralysis (minus the eyes), anxiety, a sense of pressure on the chest or being unable to breathe, and, often, hallucinations. Here’s the thing about these hallucinations too: they can present as anything from a full-blown stay in Hades to an authentic alien abduction scenario. It’s a perfect recipe for belief in the demonic, especially before the understanding of modern science. And since man’s inclination towards superstition is worldwide, so are creatures thought to cause sleep paralysis.
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 are present throughout much of Western civilization, and they can trace their origins to the birthplace of the Western world itself: Mesopotamia. The oldest known legends are of Lilu and Lilitu mentioned in the Sumerian King List from around 2400 BCE. Lilu is listed as the father of the great Gilgamesh and Lilitu as his seductress counterpart.
Legends of the incubus and succubus eventually spread across the Mediterranean to Rome where their contemporary names were coined. “Incubus” meaning “one who lies atop” and “succubus” meaning “one who lies below.” It wasn’t long until these creatures were known throughout the rest of Europe and the West and, eventually, recognized by the Catholic Church.
The Malleus Maleficarum, a 15th-century book on witchcraft adopted by the Church as a manual for witch hunts, lists a handful of ways to rid oneself of incubi. These include exorcism, confession, making the sign of the cross, praying the Hail Mary, and physically moving the victim away from the incubus’s location. While the Church may have deemed encounters with the incubus worthy of exorcism, there have always been those who believed the creature cares little for the power of Catholic ritual, like several medieval clergymen and, of course, modern-day scientists.
We now understand the incubus phenomenon to be a common hallucination correlated with sleep paralysis. In fact, that’s exactly what the term “the incubus phenomenon” means within the scientific community today.
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. What we know as nightmares today can be anything. It’s simply a dream that causes fear and anxiety, 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.
The nightmare was more than just a scary dream. To many old societies across Europe, the being known as a mare was a creature that not only haunted the unfortunate but could kill them under the right circumstances. Even worse, the people of these areas believed the mara was a being commissioned by sorcerers, nobility, or those with cruel intent.
Some sources claim the mara presented in the form of a woman sitting or pushing down on her victim’s chest to suffocate them and give them frightful dreams, but folklore scholar D. L. Ashliman’s collection of mara stories from across the European continent claims the mara could be any gender. This collection is rife with interesting tidbits about these sleep paralysis demons. For example: The mara can sneak through any small hole or crack into your bedroom, they can also be captured and kept as concubines, and best of all, they can be avoided with a number of simple tricks. So if this traditional mare has haunted your sleep, you might want to check out Ashiliman’s suggestions for dealing with it.
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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 likewise visits during anxious periods of sleep paralysis to torment unsuspecting sleepers. This iteration of the sleep demon, however, is quite easy to identify.
The mokthi is a male sleep demon thought to terrorize women, and you can recognize him by the golden fez hat atop his head. To non-believers, this is a very specific hallucination. To believers, this may be as much a blessing as a curse. Legend says if you capture the golden fez, the mokthi will grant you a wish, but be careful. If you go this route, the demon will visit you frequently in the night. These follow-up visits, however, are thought to be harmless. Maybe he doesn’t want you stealing his favorite hat again.
Other ways to combat the mokthi – if a hat heist is out of your wheelhouse – include specialized talismans and making your husband’s presence known by leaving his hat or clothing on the bed. If you don’t have a husband, we still support you even if the mokthi won’t.
The Pillow Flipper of Japan
In Japanese culture, sleep paralysis is known as “kanashibari,” which translates to “bound by metal.” If you’ve ever been trapped in a bout of sleep paralysis yourself, you know this is an apt description. And while the translation might sound eerie, the folklore around it is broad and complex.
Several paranormal things are thought to cause kanashibari – spells, monsters, demons, deities, etc. – but the one we’ll talk about is a spirit known as “makura gaeshi,” the Pillow Flipper. For the most part, this entity isn’t malicious. It sneaks into your bedroom solely to take the pillow from under your head and move it to the foot of the bed. They’re also capable of making your bed move, flipping the sleeper in all sorts of fun directions, and causing sleep paralysis. In some centuries-old legends, makura gaeshi were even capable of taking lives.
Some believe these creatures are the spirits of those who’ve died in the location where they appear while others consider them a type of spiritual entity all their own. Folklorists Michiko Iwasaka and Barre Toelken suggest the Pillow Flipper is the same household being responsible for bringing prosperity known as the zashikiwarashi. It’s known to be a bit of a rascal, and some of this spirit’s common pranks include flipping pillows and sitting on sleeper’s chests.
According to Ayako Yoshimura’s ethnography on kanashibari within Japanese culture, To Believe and Not to Believe: A Native Ethnography of Kanashibari in Japan, sleep paralysis is often regarded as an out-of-body experience. This makes pillow flipping a dangerous venture since many also believe the soul can’t find its way home once the pillow has been flipped.
Batibat: A Vengeful Tree Spirit from the Philippines
In traditional folklore of the Philippines, the sleep paralysis demon has a unique story. Most of the myths on this list are related to the malicious spirits of the dead, spiritual attacks by the crossed, devils, and tricksters. In the case of the batibat (or bangungot), sleep paralysis is brought about by a vengeful nature spirit who’s upset over losing its home. Its motives are certainly more justifiable than other sleep paralysis demons from around the world.
The batibat is a spirit or demon who dwells in the trees. They take on the form of a large and terrifying obese crone when they appear to humans, but don’t worry, you likely won’t encounter a batibat unless you disturb the tree in which they reside. They’re angered when their home is cut down, and even more so when the wood is used to build dwellings for someone else. They’ll continue to inhabit their tree in whichever form it takes – be that a stump or the framing of your new house. As punishment, the batibat will impede sleep for those near them. They appear in their victims’ rooms, sending nightmares and causing sleep paralysis. Or worse…
This sleep paralysis demon is also blamed for sitting on their victim’s chest, suffocating them, and causing sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome. It’s basically SIDS for adults. Most want to pass on to the next world while in the comfort of sleep, but no one wants their life to end at the hands of a batibat.
The Old Hag is a Newfoundland Legend
The old hag or night hag is about as Newfoundland as you can get. This legend has permeated the Canadian province’s superstitious culture so heavily that it’s spawned several books and studies into the phenomenon. It seems as if those who suffer sleep paralysis in Newfoundland see 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 her victim’s bed to sit on their chest or back. It’s a suffocating experience but not a deadly one. And it’s old. Written accounts of the old hag go back to the 1800s, but folklore experts trace its routes to the British Isles where “hagging” was caused by witches, or so they claimed during witchhunts.
There are several urban legends surrounding the hag that sleepers may find useful. For instance, some believe you can summon this creature by chanting The Lord’s Prayer in reverse. Why anyone would willingly summon sleep paralysis is beyond us, but if that’s what you’re into, go for it. For the rest of you: It’s said you can kill the hag by keeping sharp objects pointed upward on your chest so as to stab the hag when she sits on you during sleep. We don’t recommend this though since sleeping with sharp objects can turn out poorly for your health.
The Pisadeira of Brazil
Of all the sleep paralysis demons around the world, the pisadeira of Brazil is likely one of the most specific. This creature hails from São Paulo but can be found throughout the country by one name or another. She’s a crone-like creature – a common theme – who prowls rooftops at night looking for victims. She’s scraggly and thick, and her fingernails are claws. Some areas of Brazil describe the pisadeira as wearing a red hat, and like the mokthi of Albania, if you capture the hat, she’ll grant you a wish.
The pisadeira is selective. This is where the previously mentioned specificity comes in. This demon is looking for those who stuffed themselves at dinner and fell asleep with full stomachs. If they sleep belly-up, that’s her cue to enter their room and stomp on their torsos, causing sleep paralysis. Of course, that also makes the pisadeira easy to avoid. Just try not to sleep 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 lie with you or climb onto your chest. The majority of people would find a face-to-face interaction with a ghost scary enough, but having these restless spirits climb into bed with you would make for a much more uncomfortable experience. And that seems to be what’s happening in Mexico.
A common description of sleep paralysis in Mexico is the feeling of a dead body climbing on top of you. In fact, “se te sube el muerto,” which roughly translates to “the dead get on top of you,” is how a lot of people in Mexico refer to sleep paralysis. To many, it’s simply an apt description, but to the superstitious, ghosts and spirits are thought to be behind the unnerving nighttime terror.
In the Caribbean there’s Duppy
“Duppy hold me down!” is a phrase used in the Caribbean to describe sleep paralysis, meaning a duppy held the person down in their sleep. A duppy is a restless spirit with roots in West Africa. It spread to the Caribbean islands with the unfortunate Africans who were ripped from their homelands and forced into slavery. Similar to other sleep paralysis entities, the duppy is the spirit of a human who stays on this plane for one of what Westerners might think of as traditional reasons. Either the duppy didn’t receive a proper burial, it had the cliche “unfinished business,” it suffered an unfortunately brutal death – You get the idea.
The duppy tends to act as any other ghost might. Some don’t interact with people while others do. They can be benevolent, malevolent, or in between. Some are rowdy, some calm, some mischievous. They may convey warnings to the living or seek revenge. And they may also hold a victim down in their sleep and leave them stricken with sleep paralysis.
Ogun Oru: Nocturnal Warfare in Nigeria
In Nigeria, the idea of Ogun Oru is a type of nocturnal spiritual warfare. For this to occur, a man is visited by a female spirit that can cause sleep paralysis, but the conditions surrounding Ogun Oru are quite interesting.
For Ogun Oru to commence, there must be a conflict between the man’s physical spouse and his spiritual one. Apparently, these can be different entities altogether, and the spiritual spouse may not even be human. The feud between spouses is the catalyst but Ogun Oru won’t happen until the man eats in his dream. At that point, he consumes the curse or demon and is afflicted with sleep paralysis or other ailments. 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. Due to the common sensation of something sitting on your chest and causing anxious feelings of suffocation during SP, it was believed that a spirit or demon was responsible for the event. While sleep paralysis may still be colloquially called “ghost oppression” and though it may be present in folklore, the idea of sleep paralysis having supernatural roots isn’t necessarily widely accepted. That is with the exception of Hong Kong, where a study done in 1994 found that 16% of college students believed ghost oppression (sleep paralysis) was supernatural in nature. Keep in mind that superstitious beliefs are less common among those with college educations.
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 or those who’ve suffered terrible deaths, along with unbaptized children, that haunt the world as a vampiric entity after their deaths. The bodies of the moroi have historically been exhumed so villagers can stake their hearts with something sharp and put them to rest for good. They’re malicious spirits, and the superstitious blame just about everything on them – from crops failing to drought to sleepy paralysis. It’s said that the moroi cause sleep paralysis while feeding on their victim’s blood or life essence in the middle of the night.
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. To be fair, the victims were also thought to have suffered from a heart defect that made their heart attacks more likely than if they’d been healthy. So, whether or not you believe in the sleep paralysis entity known as the dab tsong, it likely contributed to this wave of deaths.
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 removed. Djinn can be good, bad, or indifferent. They, like man, have the knowledge of good and evil as well as the free will to follow whatever path they may. 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 abandon your other religious duties.
Though all of these superstitious traditions sound scary, modern science is certain that sleep paralysis is nothing more than a sleep disorder caused by very mundane, yet complicated, factors. Choosing to believe in these entities is up to you, but if you suffer from bouts of sleep paralysis, you may want to talk to a medical professional. That or stake a moroi through the heart. Your choice.
