Sleep Paralysis And Seeing People Who Aren't There - Or Are They?

I had a follow up comment from Jo Bober to my post Kate's Sex With A Ghost Turns To Sleep Paralysis And Thoughts Of Aliens. The post is primarily about sleep paralysis. Jo writes:

"I have had sleep paralysis episodes for as far back as I can remember. They tend to come in groups rather than random attacks. I've tried to control them, and have on a couple if occasions, but usually they're just plain scary.

Twice I've seen a tall figure stood in my room. A man wearing a hat and a long coat. He never did anything but his presence scared the hell out of me.

At other times I've felt someone lying next to me and could hear their breathing. Sometimes I can feel them touching my skin.

Only once did I feel anything physically aggressive and the following morning I had bruises on my wrist. I took photos and was determined to get to the bottom of what was happening, but then I started to think I was probably driving myself crazy and must have done them myself in my sleep. Its the only logical answer.

I'm just glad other people have shared their experiences on the internet."

It does seem that hallucinations, or believing someone is with you, often occurs with sleep paralysis. The medical explanation is along the lines of:

This is thought to be due to the brain not properly switching out of dream mode.

But supposing this isn't the explanation. Could it be, say, that the person is tuning into, well something like another dimension - sort of akin to tuning in to another radio station. And perhaps all of those people described as mad in the past, for hearing voices, were doing the same thing. All of these other dimensions might be out there - just like all of those radio and television channels - and at times, when we got our wires crossed. we somehow tune in to another dimension.

Too fanciful? But strange things do happen, like with the Double Split Experiment for example.

Going back to sleep paralysis I have experienced this myself, fortunately only twice and neither time did I see of hear anything peculiar. But it was still quite scary.

It's funny old world, with much more to it than we first imagine.

Kate's Sex With A Ghost Turns To Sleep Paralysis And Thoughts Of Aliens

Towards the end of last year I published three posts from Kate who claimed that she regularly had sex with a ghost. It was quite controversial because some readers didn't believe her while others thought it possible. Kate has now sent me an update but things have changed somewhat. Here's what she has to say.

"As you will remember in my last email I told you how I was having sex every Wednesday with what I called a ghost. I called him Thomas and looked forward to his visits and they became the highlight of my week.

"I am definitely sure they weren't dreams as the feelings and sensations were very real, but I did go to sleep straight away afterwards and would wake up as normal the next morning.

"But then mid February of this year things changed and I got quite scared, something I wasn't previously.

"After the sex had taken place I woke up and couldn't move. I tried to shout out but nothing happened. I don't know how long it was that I stayed like this. I could think quite clearly but couldn't move my limbs or any part of my body.

"Gradually after I don't know how long I became able to move again and felt very scared by what had happened. So much so I decided I would try to end my relationship with Thomas.

"The next week, however, he returned and I felt him on top of me but that's all I remember until I felt I was trying to wake up and again couldn't move.

"The week after I went to stay with my aunt who I have mentioned in my previous emails. Wednesday was no problem and I slept all night normally without any interruptions and I got back to a before Thomas life. I even got myself a new boyfriend.

"Since that time I've only had one other occasion when I felt paralysed on waking. Otherwise life has been normal. I've heard of people being paralysed after alien visits and I know this sounds mad, but I'm wondering now if Thomas, as I called him, wasn't a ghost but an alien. It's crazy, I've never seen a UFO or anything like that but I have this inner feeling that perhaps what happened was out of this world, which in some ways it was!"

~ Kate

Back in 2010 I published a post about sleep paralysis The Night Demon Sitting On Your Chest. What made me write this was because I had experienced this myself. I wrote:

"I 'woke' up and felt completely paralysed. Frightened, I called out over and over to my wife to help me but she didn't hear. I felt, or had an instinct, that I had to try and relax. I was still paralysed for a while but gradually I returned to this world. I know this wasn't a dream."

As happens in life, by chance I read an article in the Daily Mail by a Dr Scurr on this subject. His explanation of sleep paralysis is:

"Sleep paralysis is a form of parasomnia - an undesirable physical event that happens as you fall asleep or during periods of lighter sleep. In the case of sleep paralysis, this is thought to occur during the dreaming stage, known as rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep.

"... During this dreaming period our brain paralyses the body. This is a safety mechanism to prevent us acting out our dreams and hurting ourselves.

"This safety switch turns off once we wake, but for some reason there can be a delay and people can find themselves paralysed once they wake.

"This usually only happens for a few seconds to a few minutes but can, understandably, feel much longer and is often accompanied by a sense of acute panic.

"Even more frighteningly, some people also suffer hallucinations or experience the sensation that someone is in the room with them. This is thought to be due to the brain not properly switching out of dream mode."

The doctor's thoughts are the standard medical answers to such things as alien abductions and the like. But what interests me is that he goes on to say:

"We do no know why some people are affected."

As to Kate's experiences I'll leave that for readers to reach their own conclusions. There are many theories. Colin Wilson in his book, Mysteries, for instance writes about how ...

"... his paralysis sounds like the state that so many have experienced before projection of the astral body. It was the beginning of his remarkable psychic powers."

Other Reading:
The Night Demon Sitting On Your Chest
Kate Says She Has Sex Regularly With A Ghost
Kate Thinks The Ghost Who Wants Sex With Her May Be An Incubus
The Ghost Who Wanted Sex With Kate
The Ghost Sitting On Kate's Bed

The Aliens Examined Her Legs And Feet

A story today by a reader who calls herself Revelation Petra. It's about her personal experience of the examination of her feet and legs by some sort of aliens. There's no UFO involved, the aliens appear to simply have arrived and then disappeared.

As with most stories received I have to take this at face value. There's nothing I can research to verify what is said to have happened. So, as I often say, see what you think.

"I had just arrived home from a friend's place and was lying on my bed  looking out of the window at the stars. I felt a sharp pain like a pin being stuck in my toe.

It felt like I was frozen and I wanted to yell out but didn't want to disturb my mother who was asleep in the next room. I was wide awake and had only just put my head on the pillow seconds earlier, thinking about tomorrow and things I had to do. I felt someone was in my room and there were sounds from the foot of my bed.

I couldn't see anything, and couldn't move at all. It was then that I felt hands around my feet where the pin prick had been. I could only lift my head slightly and I saw three small figures looking at me from the foot of the bed.

There were two small entities standing at the end of my bed and one was holding my ankle and examining it. While this was happening I hoped my mother, in the next room, wouldn't wake up and disturb these entities as they might panic and hurt her. After what seemed like just a few seconds I noticed three more figures standing at the foot of the bed and they stuck something in my leg.

I started to feel able to move again, only slightly and lifted my head off the pillow and saw right into their faces. They looked back but never stopped doing whatever they were doing. They knew I was looking straight at them and that I was wide awake.

They were not trying to intentionally hurt me and I felt no fear and I can remember everything that they did. I was aware of being awake and that this was not a dream. I tried to communicate with them but I couldn't talk as no sounds came from my mouth.

They looked quite solid, long arms but not abnormal, smallish heads, not extremely large, more like small children feeling around and playing. They were around three or four feet tall, dark greyish in appearance with lizard like scales, Their skin seemed the same colour throughout the body as far as I could see. They had a almost sad look about them and there was definitely some kind of rank as one or two ordered the others around - not with words or telepathy but they just seemed to obey without answering.

They still had hold of my ankle and reminded me of well trained doctors with nurses helping them, this was a real event. I noticed that they had three large type fingers that seemed to be too large to do anything intricate, yet they were doing things to me with the skill of a surgeon.

I felt no pain except for the initial discomfort of a pinprick in my toe.

They wanted to look at my legs and feet and didn't come near my face or touch any part of me except my toes and ankles, although they had direct contact with my eyes.

They seemed to be quite aware of my feelings and as they continued they would look my way to see if I was in any discomfort.

Before they left I noticed they looked back at me and then vanished.

It was then that I felt a sensation in my foot and toe and I immediately jumped up and went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

When I checked the time it was less than three minutes since I had arrived home. This was impossible as I had made something to eat when I first arrived home, went to the bathroom, got undressed and went to bed.

I then heard my mother talking and realised it was all over."

It's interesting that the 'aliens' appear to have a reptilian look which ties in with my post UFOs And Visits From Reptilian Dinosaurs.

Some will say that not being able to temporarily move or speak is part of sleep paralysis. I've experienced this myself a few times, but I can't remember seeing anything or anyone in combination with this.

I asked Petra if there was any after effects of what had happened. She answered that there wasn't other than 'her toe ached a little' the next day, though she feels she is 'more sensitive recently to other people's feelings'.

It's up to us as to what we believe.

Other Alien Experiences:
The UFO Visit And Abduction Experience
Was This An Alien Abduction?
A Dream Or An Alien Encounter?

Kate Says She Has Sex Regularly With A Ghost

Regular readers may remember that I have published three posts from Kate about how a ghost wants sex with her. She has sent me another email with an update of what has now happened to her. It seems things have progressed. I have amended her email a little and omitted some content to make it less explicit.

"Kate here, remember me?

I would like to update you on what has happened following the last experience of mine that you published. I know you and your readers may not believe me but it's true and I figure that if it's happened to me and also my aunt it must have happened to others as well.

My ghost now visits me regularly usually on a Wednesday every week. It's mostly the same procedure and I look forward to these visits.

It always starts when I'm sleeping, as I told you last time, but now I do not tell him to go away as I did before. The ghost has sex with me. I enjoy it and am a willing partner. It feels very real and afterwards the ghost I now call Thomas goes away and I go back to sleep.

These aren't dreams as I wake up as soon as he starts to first touch me.

My aunt, who had similar experiences, says it was the same with her and this continued for several months before it suddenly stopped, and the ghost was never seen or felt again.

If it wasn't for my aunt I don't think I would have let it go this far. As it is I now look forward to Wednesdays and prepare for his visit."

So there we go. Having done a little research into the subject it appears that others also claim to have had similar experiences.

Often these visitors - men appear to have them as well as women - are described as incubi and succubi. They are mostly believed to be 'thought forms.'

In the 1500s Paracelsus described them as demons or the 'shades of dead persons' who have carnal intercourse with amorously disposed women and men.

It's said that witches and sorcerers can generate incubi and succubi, or project out of themselves the organisms necessary for conscious enjoyment of sexual pleasure with sleeping human beings.

In the Life of Paracelsus Franz Hartmann writes that ,"...Such imaginary but nevertheless real forms may obtain life from the person by whose imagination they are created, and under certain circumstances they may even become visible and tangible."

It could be that these thought forms are related to poltergeists, who cause violent disturbances, usually in a household which includes an adolescent. It has been suggested that the poltergeist is a dynamic reflex of superfluous sexual energy.

I wouldn't want to define what Kate's visitor actually is, it could well be a ghost or spirit but a thought form is a real possibility. In Medieval Europe, where natural instincts were suppressed by ascetic tendencies, there are stories of lurid happenings with such astral creatures.

Perhaps we sometimes create thought forms - and give them life - without us realising we are doing so. This would be an answer to the cause of many paranormal experiences.

Kate's Other Posts:
Kate Thinks The Ghost Who Wants Sex With Her May Be An Incubus
The Ghost Who Wanted Sex With Kate
The Ghost Sitting On Kate's Bed

Jessica Alba Abused By A Ghost Or Spirit

I hadn't heard this story previously but it appears that film star Jessica Alba was once abused by a ghost. I have to say that to me it sounds a little like a case of sleep paralysis - which I have experienced - or even an alien encounter.

This all took place at Jessica's parents' home when she was 17.  During the night a spirit / ghost or something ripped the bed covers from her.  She said, "I had no idea what it was. I felt this pressure and I couldn't get up, I couldn't scream, I couldn't talk, I couldn't do anything."

Something definitely took the covers off me and I definitely couldn't get off the bed, and then, once I did, I screamed and ran to my parents' room and I haven't spent many nights in that house ever again."

Because of the frightening incident Jessica's parents' called in the Ghost Busters to rid their old home of whatever had freaked out their daughter so much.

Jessica added, "There was something in my parents' old house, I don't know what it was. I can't really explain it. They got the house blessed and they burned sage and stuff to get rid of whatever attacked me."

Was it sleep paralysis? On second thoughts, maybe not as this wouldn't have caused the bed covers to be ripped from her. Probably just an amorous spirit.

Further Reading:
The Night Demon Sitting On Your Chest

The Night Demon Sitting On Your Chest

Oil Painting by John Henry Fuseli: The Nightmare 1781
It's only happened to me three times but I remember them because sleep paralysis can be quite frightening. The last time this happened I thought I'd do a bit of research on the subject to see if I could understand why this should happen.

I did the obvious thing and Googled 'sleep paralysis' but somehow I didn't feel that the websites I visited fully answered my questions. They somehow didn't feel right.

I often visit flea markets and car boot sales to buy books, anything that takes my interest. It's possible to pick up books for coppers. Amongst the books I had accumulated was Colin Wilson's Mysteries. I had read this years ago and thought I'd like a copy for reference.

For some reason I picked up this book, opened it up, and there on page 379 were some words underlined (the only ones in the whole book). As can be seen from the image below this read: "His paralysis sounds like the state that so many have experienced before projection of the astral body. It was the beginning of his remarkable psychic powers."


After having read a lot of the medical info this was the first time something felt right to me about sleep paralysis.

What Wilson was referring to was a story about a psychic called Robert Cracknell. This was something that had happened to him while he was in the RAF (Royal Air Force):

"I remember lying in this bunk, fully dressed and drifting into sleep. And it was as though I woke up. I could hear quite distinctly the voice of the Orderly Officer asking where I was ... And I tried to call out: 'Here I am, sir, just coming.' But not a sound came out. I struggled to get up and found, to my absolute horror, that I was completely paralysed. I knew I was not asleep. This was not a dream. And yet I could not move a muscle, and for what seemed minutes I was calling out for help ... And then, from somewhere at the back of my mind, came the strong impression that I should relax. The panic, however, was too strong. I recall someone walking down the corridor ... this time I managed to struggle out of the peculiar paralysis ..."

My own experience was very similar to the one above. I 'woke' up and felt completely paralysed. Frightened, I called out over and over to my wife to help me but she didn't hear me. I felt, or had an instinct, that I had to try and relax. I was still paralysed for a while but gradually I returned to this world. I know this wasn't a dream.

Wilson writes that this sounds like what happens 'before' astral projection. To me though this feels more like 'returning' from astral projection. As for a medical answer, they would probably say something like: Sleep paralysis is due to an ill-timed disconnection between the brain and the body.

There is lots of folk lore about sleep paralysis, most of which seems to revolve around incubi, demons or other entities sitting on the chest of their victims - thus the picture at the top of this post.

P.S. Since writing this post I have read that Sleep Paralysis is often associated with Out Of Body Experiences (OBE) see, for example, the article A comparison of OBEs with sleep paralysis on Dr. Susan J Blackmore's website.

Further Reading:
Tortured Man Experienced Astral Projection And Travel
How The Virgin Mary Had A Child But Remained A Virgin
Astral Travel By Hypnotherapy