MovieChat Forums > Communion (1989) Discussion > Sleep Paralysis

Sleep Paralysis

posted 17 years ago by hifispock
86 replies | jump to latest

ANYBODY who suffers (yes SUFFERS) from this awful condition will tell you it is one of the most terrifying "experiences" a person can go through.My own personal experiences of it have always occured if I go to sleep on my back, and it starts when you're half way between being awake and asleep.The same place as when you jump in bed just as you're "going off", because it feels like you're going to fall/roll off the bed.

It starts with a what sounds like high-pitched white noise, like an untuned TV which, in a couple of seconds fades up from nowhere to deafening.If you're quick, and realise what's about to happen, you can, if you try VERY hard, bring yourself out of it, but once the noise is at full intensity, it's got you.

As it starts it wakes you up, and you feel as thought an entity, or something with a negative motive is in the room with you, and it is this "Lifeform", that has rendered you imoble.It is this that drives your terror.This is how I would imagine abductees feel when they've been physically frozen before an examination.You're fully concious, but you're completely paralised.It feels that if you could move a finger, shout, or even open you're eyes, it would bring you out of it.The best I can achieve while in this altered state is to open my eye lids half a millimeter, and hazily peep-out.My natural reaction is to scream, but can't.All I can manage is a quiet "clicking" sound in the back of my throat as it opens and closes in an attempt shout.What I'd give for hicups at this point!!

My Mother has also experienced this which leads me to believe it is hereditary.She also describes seeing "Black figures" (sometimes upto 4)around her bed and feeling movement, people/entities kneeling on her bed, and even breathing on her face.She left her own house for months and wouldn't return it freaked her out so much.

If I was imaginative enough, I might suspect it to be some kind of "neutraliser", much like the one in "Progeny" when the two main caracters are bonking.

The length of these trips varies between what seems about 30 seconds, to 2 minutes, depending how well you fight it.Suffice to say, I don't sleep on my back anymore.Even lying on my side, slightly facing up is enough to start it off.

If you've never experienced it, then words can't describe it, but others will know EXACTLY what im talking about.

"How do you know my name..?"
..."It's stenciled on the back of your shorts". {"\ (*_*) /"}

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] sr_wolfrider 16 years ago

The common hallucination seems to be of an old hag, standing over the bedside. Others claim to simply see murky figures. It's interesting that these two repeating visions turn up in all cases. Possibily a residual product of our ancestors fears, or simply the brain's attempts to read meaningful shapes into near shapeless images.

The tactile hallucinations are an error of the brain. The body simulates the feeling that it has been programmed to associate with certain stimuli.

Last film seen: Robert Bresson's Pickpocket - Brilliant!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053168/

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] Wulfmoon9 16 years ago

I've had terrible issues with sleep since I was a teenager. I've even been on Thorazine and unable to sleep. I currently take a cocktail of sleep meds and still have a lot of problems getting any rest. I frequently have dreams about being out of body, and experience sleep paralysis nearly once a month. I also have a lot of nightmares...sleep in general is not an easy thing for me to attain. :(

And every now and then, I think about this damn movie and that keeps me awake even longer!

"It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything." ~Tyler Durden

[–] devilmaster 16 years ago

I experienced sleep paralysis more than once, but I never got scared because I knew exactly what I was experiencing and what to expect. Every time, they were triggered by attempting to wake up from a lucid dream.
I never hallucinated about "old hags" staring at me nor "incubi" sitting on my chest: what I *did* perceive was a "double perception", that is, I perceived reality and the dream at the same time. So, if I was actually lying in my bed, but I dreamed about standing up in a huge hall, I had the perception of BOTH lying down in my bed AND standing up in a huge hall, as if I had two bodies.
I also felt that I was unable to control my breath, but that does NOT mean that I was unable to breathe AT ALL: I was breathing, but it was a completely involuntary act, as if I had been inside an iron lung and the machine was moving my chest for me.
Every time, I just relaxed and waited for the sleep paralysis to end, and of course it always did ;-)

[–] jacp-1 16 years ago

I had a weird/funny experience lately and I think it can qualify as a sleep paralisys episode. After it happened I just kind of dismissed it as a VERY real dream and was amazed how real the dream was. But after learning about SP I think that it could be it.

I was taking a nap at about 4 - 5 p.m. and bang on my room's door woke me up. My father came into my room and he asked me to get up, because my mom wants me to help her with something. I wanted to say "OK" or something, but I found myself unable to move or speak. I also had troubles opening my eyes (I could peep out just a bit, but since I was lying on my side and facing the wall, I wouldn't see anything anyway). All I could manage was to lift my hand just very slightly. My father was getting nervous and kept shouting above my head thing like: "how many times do I have to ask you, I told you to get up right now" and so on, and so forth... It lasted for about minute until I could finally break the paralisys and open my eyes. And guess what? There was NO ONE in my room! In fact there was no one in the house...

[–] Browncoat_26 16 years ago

I had one expierience with this when I was about 18. I was halfway asleep and then discovered I couldn't move, couldn't open my eyes, I tried to yell out to snap myself out of it but I could open my mouth or talk for that matter, and I tried really hard but to no avail. I also recall hearing a what could only be described as a hammer being hammered down on metal. Then I finally snapped out it. Scariest thing ever thank God I have expierienced it again since.

[–] bEATpREDATOR 16 years ago

I'v had very similar experiances 5 times in my life now, since about 8 years ago. At the time i was taking sleeping pills and daily medication for migraine attacks. I wasn't working and was on the doll so i was finding it very hard to sleep.

All 5 times it has completly terrified me and once i was actually able to move my body, break out of the paralysis, i've woken up literally screaming my head off.

The first time was the worse but they've all been terrifying. I was drifting between being awake and dreaming in my bed at home when i felt a presence in the room and a overwhelming feeling of dread. I don't remember hearing any sound. My body was paralyised and i tried to get up in bed but could'nt move at all. It was like my body wasn't doing what i was telling it to do, like i was trapped inside of it. I remember trying to open my mouth to call for help but no sound came out and my lips wouldn't part, which scared me even more. I'm sure my eyes we're open because i could see the room i went to sleep in, although it looked very hazy in the darkness and because i remember very vividly seeing a tall dark figure stood watching over me to the right of the end of my bed. It was stood there watching over me then leaned in close up to my face so quickly, i did not even see it move.
Unlike a lot of peoples descriptions here though i could actually see the face, sort of. The figure looked like it was wearing a big black cloak with a hood over its head. When i tried to concentrate on the face it looked exacly like the static you see on a tv that is not getting any reception but i could make out the curves of the nose and mouth ect. As i stared up at the face i woke up screaming my nuts off and my arm slowly moved up to punch the air were the face had been. The figure had dissapeared, my bed side light was on (i don't remember leaving it on before i feel asleep) and i was drenched in sweet and my heart was pounding so much i though i had just had a heart attack. I think it lasted about a minute. Even though i knew i was awake now it took a good 5 minutes at least before i could move again because i was paralised with fright. I still had a really horrible feeling of terror that lasted for a good half an hour afterwoods and it took me several hours to get back to sleep. I will never forget that feeling as long as i live.

I told a freind about this a few days after and he told me it was probally Sleep Paralysis. He lived in a house with 4 other people and one of them had Sleep Paralysis attacks at least a couple of nights a week for about 2 months. I've also meet 2 other people that have had very similar experiences.

I hope it dosn't happen again. Just because i know what it probaly is it does not make it any less terrifying.

[–] jacp-1 16 years ago

I knew I had it a couple of times in my life before I've learned what it was, but after I learned about it (HERE, on THIS board, some 2 months ago), I have it virtually EVERY night, in the best cases two or three times a week. I don't know why, but somehow learning about it kind of triggered it...

Knowing what I could see, I never even try to open my eyes. What makes things easier is that I always sleep on my stomach. Some people said that sleeping on your stomach can even prevent it from happening, but that isn't true in my case. I still have it, but the good thing is that I don't have any visual hallucinations. Auditory are very rare, just like in the case I've described two post above.

But the worst thing is that I have it SO frequently now! Some week ago I had like 5 times during an hour! I was constantly drifting between being awake and asleep or rather... trapped into sleep paralisys. It was like 2 minutes awake, 2 minutes paralysed. I heard some weird stuff and gone deaf on one ear during one episode... After I woke up I still couldn't hear anything. I had to slap myself in the head couple of times to have my hearing back... I frequently scream when I break the paralisys and I'm always sweaty and terrified even if nothing scary happened.

I only hope I never get to experience some horrible hallucinations like other people have.

[–] thefunkygecko 16 years ago

Ive suffered with sleep paralysis for about 3 years or so. Ive had about 8 or 9 experiences since so not as bad as some others.

I remember the first time it happened. I was lying in bed around 2am and needed to go to the toilet but my mum was in there so I thought I'd go after. So anyway, I was lying there for around 5 minutes (I hadnt been asleep before then) then suddenly I thought to myself 'oh my god, I cant move' I thought this woman was ontop of me, horribly disgusting woman, with her hands around my neck! I was trying to scream but, as you know, you cant. After around a minute of this happening I just though to myself 'oh my god, tom, you're asleep, wake up!' And with that I felt like I was rising up then I just opened my eyes.

The most terrifying experience happened one night when I was drifting off to sleep and I was lying on my back. It felt like some one was walking on the mattress with a leg either side of me, it started off right at the end of the bed then walked to where it would've been directly over my chest. Absolutely terrifying because I couldnt open my eyes and couldnt scream. Anyway, this thing just sat on my chest for a while then I woke up.

Its happened a few times since but hasnt been as terrifying. Its wierd the sense of calmness that follows though...

Tfg x

[–] StarWarsIsMyLife 16 years ago

I had sleep paralysis earlier this year. It is absolutely terrifying. Not only did I experience it, I experienced it twice in one sleeping. When you wake up, the room just looks "different." You hear people talking to you, but sometimes the voices are indistinct. Even when you don't see anything, you feel the presence of something else in the room. Obviously, you can't move or scream, so the feeling of outright terror is intensified.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] gemmaread 16 years ago

I should not have read any of this, I can't get to sleep now :(

[–] Swearengen 16 years ago

I have it all the time. I had it this morning as a matter of fact. I always know I'm having it when it happens. Much like I always know I'm dreaming whenever something scary or crazy happens in my dream. I've also seen some weird things and hilarious things in this state. One of my earliest experiences was seeing a giant head of Trap Jaw from He-Man in my room slowly opening and closing his mouth. Talk about scary for a 5 year old.

[–] jspattison 16 years ago

Twice when I was younger I was visited by a black figure. Once I woke up to find "someone" leaning over me, "staring" at my face although to me they were just a shape looming over me. Another time I woke up and although I couldn't see anyone, I knew someone was standing at the foot of my bed, watching me; I could "feel" them there.

Both times I threw the covers up over my head and hid.

The terrifying time that I can recall experiencing sleep paralysis was at Loyola Marymount. I was living in the dorms while working there over the summer for 6 weeks. For the first 3 weeks I had a room mate, then he moved out and I had the dorm to myself for the second 3 weeks. This was my first summer in Los Angeles and (to me) it was bloody hot, so I slept naked, on top of the covers. The dorm had two separate bedrooms so I had the privacy to do this without embarrassing myself or my room mate.

The afternoon of the day my room mate left I was taking a nap and sleeping naked on top of the covers, as usual. I'd just fallen asleep when I heard, clear as a bell, my room mate say, "Oh, you're asleep. Never mind."

Forcing myself to wake up was like trying to swim through treacle, or at least I imagine that's what swimming through treacle would be like. I was aware that I was lying naked on my bed in the dorm in Loyola Marymount, but my body refused to obey my commands for the longest time.

Finally I staggered out of bed and looked out into an empty dorm room. I walked through the living room to the other bedroom. It was empty of course. I was the only one in the dorm.

Yes, I was asleep, but I would have sworn I heard my former room mate's voice not in my dream, but in real life.

The kicker is my room mate wasn't just gone, he was on a plane flying back home. Before he'd left he'd turned his key in to me so I knew it was impossible for him to have come back. Not only that, but before I'd taken my nap I'd checked out his room and it was completely empty. He'd taken everything and forgotten nothing; there was no need for him to come back, and he couldn't have let himself in even he had come back because I had his door key.

But I'm positive that as I lay there drifting off to sleep I heard his voice say, "Oh, you're asleep. Never mind."

Then there's The Dream. One of my most terrifying dream moments is when I wake up in my dream and I'm lying on a bed, or a sofa, or some other flat surface. I look across the room and there's always a mirror showing my reflection. And as I look at my reflection I find myself staring into the eyes of the ghoul lying not under my bed, but directly beneath me.

I'm lying on top of a ghoul with my face pressed up against his and we're staring at each other in the mirror across the room. And he's smiling at me. It's not a nice smile. That's usually when I wake up.