Friday, May 09, 2003
"Sleep Paralysis"
This phenomenon is simultaneously the coolest and worst thing ever. I had the "postdormital/hypnopompic/on waking" version a few nights ago. I woke up in the middle of the night, couldn't move, couldn't speak. I felt a prescence in the room. Tried desperately to call for help, might have moved my lips a little. I was utterly terrified at this point. Felt the presence shift to something moving around on the foot of the bed. This subsequently proved to be the cat, who I think might have been responsible for causing the whole thing in the first place when she jumped on my feet and abruptly woke me at an odd time. I'm used to her screaming me awake at 3AM but this was novel.
There's been some research (yes, yes CSICOP are often a bunch of asses, but this is still interesting) that points to sleep paralysis as the reality behind some alien abduction narratives. Having experienced it, I can buy that for a dollar. If I had gone back into a full dream state instead of coming to consciousness, I might have literally dreamed up an abduction story that ended with me back in bed and no time passing.
This phenomenon is simultaneously the coolest and worst thing ever. I had the "postdormital/hypnopompic/on waking" version a few nights ago. I woke up in the middle of the night, couldn't move, couldn't speak. I felt a prescence in the room. Tried desperately to call for help, might have moved my lips a little. I was utterly terrified at this point. Felt the presence shift to something moving around on the foot of the bed. This subsequently proved to be the cat, who I think might have been responsible for causing the whole thing in the first place when she jumped on my feet and abruptly woke me at an odd time. I'm used to her screaming me awake at 3AM but this was novel.
There's been some research (yes, yes CSICOP are often a bunch of asses, but this is still interesting) that points to sleep paralysis as the reality behind some alien abduction narratives. Having experienced it, I can buy that for a dollar. If I had gone back into a full dream state instead of coming to consciousness, I might have literally dreamed up an abduction story that ended with me back in bed and no time passing.
