Yes!
Finally! After a solid two years of commenting on paranormal current events,
something out of the normal has finally happened to me. I can now officially
say that I have experienced the phenomenon of sleep paralysis.
Sleep paralysis may not be the most serious of paranormal events--nor is it
even really 'paranormal' in the true sense of the word--but damn if I'm not
going to talk about it anyway. You know all of those stories about people
waking up suddenly only to find that they are unable to move? Well I can tell
you now from experience that it is by no means a pleasant experience.
I didn't see any little grey men or old hags, but it was frightening
nonetheless. And the more I think of it, the more I feel this may just have
been something supernatural...
First things first, I think it's best I describe what it was that happened to
me. To do this, I'm going to put it in the format I'm most comfortable with: Coast
to Coast AM open lines call.
George Noory: First-time caller line, you're on the air.
I'm Khyron from Minnesota. Love the show.
GN: Thank you. What's on your mind?
Well, the other night I had a sleep paralysis experience.
GN: Go on.
*Clears throat* Ok, here goes...
I woke up abruptly in the early morning hours. Can't be certain, but
considering I feel asleep around 5 AM, I'd say it would have been shortly
after that. But anyway, it wasn't like a normal awakening. No, this one was
more violent--like a sudden realization of consciousness. Suffice it to say,
I was a little confused. I knew I was awake, but was left wondering the why
and how. Rather groggy, I blinked rapidly in a futile attempt to shake the
sleep from my eyes. It was then that my heart nearly jumped. After an
unsuccessful attempt to roll over into a more comfortable position, I was
horrified to find that I was unable to move. Total sleep paralysis. As a
response, my heart began to beat so fast that I felt I was going to have a
heart attack.
But that's when things got even weirder. I can only describe it as some kind
of hallucination, but it felt like someone was climbing up onto the foot of
my bed. The mattress was depressed in so much that it felt like I was
starting to roll towards the indent. I knew this was impossible--as the foot
of my bed is blocked by a computer desk--but I could nonetheless feel the
presence of something there. But then, without any warning or conscious
effort on my part, I fell instantly back to sleep. I woke up the next morning
with the memory of the night prior immediately dominating my thoughts.
Obviously I was more than a little perplexed.
GN: Fascinating...
In all seriousness now, I was at first at a loss at what to call my little
experience. The first thing that popped into my head was night terrors, as the
ordeal was nothing less than terrifying. But after loading up the ever useful
Wikipedia, I'm thinking now that it was most likely an episode of sleep
paralysis. Here's the difference:
Night terrors are described as the state of being unable to fully regain
consciousness after waking up. It's typically characterized by screaming,
moaning, or gasping as you awake. Doesn't quite sound like what I
experienced. Sleep paralysis, on the other hand, involves total body
paralysis after awakening shortly after falling asleep and may often times be
accompanied by some form of hypnagogic hallucination. Hm...I'd say that nails
it pretty much dead-on.
Now that I was confident that it was indeed sleep paralysis that I went
through, my attention turned to why it happened. I've never had any
other sleeping disorders in the past (as far as I know, at least), so was
concerned that this may be the sign of something more serious. According to
Wikipedia, these are the most common causes of sleep paralysis:
~Irregular sleeping schedules. Well, let's see...I usually fall asleep
anywhere between 4 AM and 6, then awake any time after 2 PM so long as I
don't have work. I'd reckon that would qualify as 'irregular'.
~Increased stress. I have been shouting, "Serenity now!" a lot more
lately.
~Sleeping in an upwards supine position. Oddly enough, I was in fact sleeping
supine style that night. I rarely if ever do, but for some reason it just
felt good that night.
Considering these causes, I can't say that I'm all that shocked that I had
some sleep paralysis. Though of course the paranormal researcher in me
started to point towards a more ethereal explanation. Often times sleep
paralysis is reported in conjunction with two paranormal phenomena: alien
abduction and sightings of the mysterious Old Hag. I'm nowhere near lucky
enough to have been abducted by aliens, but the prospect of possibly being
visited by the Old Hag had me freaked right the frak out. Not only is she
often times noted as a harbinger of death and disease, but the thought of an
old crone standing over me as I sleep is unsettling to say the least.
Also worth noting, though probably just coincidental, is that before going to
sleep, I gave myself a little scare related to daemons. You see, after I was
returning to my bedroom after getting a sip of water, the thought just
randomly popped into my head that it would be really freaky if I were to open
my door to find a daemon sitting in my computer chair. I'm not quite sure why
the thought popped in like that, but even after I made sure my chair was
indeed empty, I couldn't shake the sense of fright and dread that I
unnecessarily put upon myself.
So is Khyron being haunted by a daemonic spirit? Maybe. I'd say the
scientific explanation of sleep paralysis brought on by irregular sleeping
habits and an overactive imagination is the most logical one, but still the
thought lingers in the back of my mind that what I experienced was the work
of the paranormal. In any case, I've developed a newfound appreciation for a
good night's sleep.
