A 16-year old girl had the following dream:
“This is the second time I’ve seen an incubus in my dream. The first time the incubus sat on my chest and I tried to scream, but my sister didn’t hear me. In the recent dream, I’m having a sleep over with my two best friends in my room, but then suddenly I’m in my sister’s bedroom, and my bed is randomly placed in the middle of her room. My sister is asleep. Unexpectedly I say ‘Come on, you can’t have me, incubus!’ Then I feel this pressure on my chest, it is so intense it is painful. I try to call out to my sister for help but no one can hear me. I want to get away but I can’t move! I try to look and see the incubus; there is a light behind it and I can see through the sheet of my bed like it was transparent. I could feel that it was a male that was pressing down on me. I was really scared. I think about looking at the incubus not through the sheet but moving my head to the side so I could see it, but then I don’t think I want to see it. I was trying to escape and talk until I woke up but no sound was coming out and I could not move. Finally, I woke up terrified.”
This dream is a classic example of a sleep paralysis attack. During R.E.M. sleep the major muscles of the body become paralyzed so that we do not act out our dreams and harm ourselves or others. We are still able to breathe and move our eyes (thus the term ‘rapid eye movement’ which happens as we actually watch our dreams!), and most of the time we are never aware that our body is paralyzed. However, in some instances there can be a little glitch in the system where the mind becomes conscious before the paralysis lifts from the body. When we try to move as we normally would upon waking, we find that we cannot. This is a very scary situation to find one’s self in. And for some, it gets scarier….
All over the world throughout history, in every culture known to man, there is another phenomenon that can accompany sleep paralysis, coined by Penn State University Professor David Hufford as ‘sleep paralysis attacks’, referring to a ‘visitor’ in the form of some sort of energy usually experienced as having negative intentions. Not everyone who experiences sleep paralysis also experiences the ‘attack’ part, but those who do will never forget it. In a sleep paralysis attack, the person realizes they are physically paralyzed and they also experience this visitation from a figure, entity, stranger, energy, or whatever you want to call it. This figure sometimes appears in a black hooded cloak like what we associate with the classic image of the Grim Reaper. Others experience something known as ‘the Old Hag’, which interestingly enough looks like what we would stereotype as the classic Halloween Witch. For others, the figure may appear as a black silhouette or shadow, or they may not be able to see it at all. It can take many different forms, usually menacing; sometimes even devils, demons, or aliens. It is even speculated that alien abduction reports may actually be cases of sleep paralysis attacks (which is a whole other topic for another exploration). In sleep paralysis, the visitation is often accompanied by a sensation of pressure pushing down on one’s chest, impeding the ability to breathe, as if the entity is crushing the person. It is believed that Fuseli’s painting ‘The Nightmare’ which pictures a demon sitting on a woman’s chest as she lies in bed, is very likely a depiction of a sleep paralysis attack.
In the above dream example, the dreamer refers to the figure as an incubus (she also referred to him as the Devil when I asked her to give the dream a title). Ryan Hurd, author of ‘Sleep Paralysis’, defines the visiting entity as an incubus as soon as physical contact is made with the dreamer. whether or not the contact is actually sexual in nature (thought there is often the feeling of that intent coming from the visitor). The physical contact can range from sitting on the bed or sitting on the person, to pressure on the chest inhibiting breathing as described above, to sexual touching or full on intercourse. Traditionally an incubus is thought of as a male entity that has sexual contact with women, and a succubus is a female entity who has sexual contact with men. I’m not sure if they swing both ways, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t. Some say they are shapeshifters who can change gender, so an incubus and a succubus are one in the same and just able to switch on command (again, a topic for another article – an interesting one at that).
About 40% of the population will experience sleep paralysis at some point in life, and for many it will occur only once or a handful of times. Factors such as having our sleep cycle disrupted by working odd hours, periods of intense stress, even certain medications can be triggers. Often just regaining balance in life will help them go away or they will resolve by themselves. About 15% of those affected will actually experience a sleep paralysis attack, or visitation. Many have the paralysis without a visitor.
If you experience sleep paralysis and the problem becomes ongoing, seek help from a sleep specialist or read the books about it by authors Ryan Hurd or David Hufford. Ryan Hurd also provides examples for how to deal with the experience on both practical and spiritual levels as he has experienced ongoing episodes himself. I hope this Halloween season finds you safe and sound with happy dreams, and if you have any apparitions or visitations may they be from warm fuzzy bunnies and puppies and kittens. Unless, of course, you’re into succubii or incubi. Whatever floats your boat!
This ‘Ask The Dream Detective’ is from Mimi’s Dream Column for the New Spirit Journal
