{"id":1775,"date":"2021-10-02T04:41:53","date_gmt":"2021-10-02T04:41:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.walkingtheshadowlands.com\/?p=1775"},"modified":"2024-11-16T17:40:51","modified_gmt":"2024-11-16T04:40:51","slug":"episode-53-riding-the-witch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walkingtheshadowlands.com\/?p=1775","title":{"rendered":"Episode 53: Riding The Witch"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Episode 53: Riding The Witch<\/strong><\/p><\/h3><\/div>

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Picture this, it\u2019s been a really long day. You are exhausted and finally manage to drag yourself into your bed for some much needed sleep. You\u2019re so tired that you have no problems falling asleep. Usually you sleep right through the night with no issues whatsoever, and you expect tonight will be no different, in fact, you don\u2019t give it a second thought. But tonight is different, way different. You wake up in the middle of the night, and in the darkness of your room, you are suddenly aware that you cannot move your body, only your eyes. And worse, you become aware of a presence in the darkness, watching you \u2013 like a predator watches their prey.<\/p>\n

Fear suddenly grips you when you instantly become aware of a weight on your chest, pressing you down in your bed. But you are helpless to do anything. Your whole body is paralysed but your eyes are straining to see in the dark. Straining to see what is holding you down. You can\u2019t even call for help, even though your partner is right next to you, sleeping peacefully \u2013 or you have family \/ flatmates sleeping nearby. You can\u2019t see what or who is pressing on your body, your chest. It\u2019s too dark, but you can feel the presence in your room. Something very malignant and frightening. And worse you can hear a raspy breathing sound and you can smell a repugnant odour. You strain to free yourself of whatever is holding you captive, you scream for help, but no one can hear you. No one knows the utter terror you are experiencing, because\u2026. no sound escapes your lips.<\/p>\n

After what feels like forever you can finally wiggle your little finger and whatever was holding you down vanishes as quickly as it appeared. You are now wide awake and laying there in absolute terror and utterly exhausted. After a couple of minutes, the feeling of panic passes and you are able to get up out of bed and turn your light on, wondering what on earth just happened to you. Sleep eludes you for the rest of the night.<\/p>\n

Riding the Witch, otherwise known as the Old Hag Syndrome, Night Terrors, or you may know it by the more modern term of sleep paralysis, is a very terrifying, very real experience. One where people all describe horrific experiences of waking and being unable to move. Sometimes they smell things, see beings, feel a very malevolent presence, or feel as though they are being choked. Almost all feel as though they are being held down, many with pressure on their chests. In this episode we are going to delve into the shadowy realms of the Night Terrors\u2026. The question is; are you willing to walking with me into this part of the shadowlands and see what awaits us there? Then let\u2019s begin\u2026.<\/p>\n

Riding The Witch<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Folklore around the world has for centuries linked the symptoms of sleep paralysis with visits from supernatural creatures and this particular experience goes by many different names in different countries Wikipedia<\/a> gives a pretty exhaustive list. Some of which are: In Arab cultures she is known as Ja-thoom. In Brazil, the Pisadeira, while closer to NZ, in Fiji the experience is known as Kana Tevore.\u00a0 In Turkey it\u2019s known as Karabasan. In China, M\u00e8ng yan. In Nigeria, Ogun Oru. In Scandinavia she is Mare \u2013 from which the word nightmare comes into existence. Whilst in Iceland, Greece and Cyprus, she is called Mara and Mora respectively. In Sardina, she is called Ammuttadori.<\/p>\n

A brief written history of sleep paralysis<\/strong><\/h4>\n

So long as there has been a written history or folklore around the world, there have been stories and descriptions of sleep paralysis. Very often in these stories the descriptions of sleep paralysis have been linked to visits from supernatural, otherworldly beings, such as witches, ghosts, jinn, genies and supernatural sexual entities called incubus and succubus – however, in this episode we are not focusing on the incubus and succubus, which is another episode coming up next season.<\/p>\n

During these episodes they all describe the really scary, terrifying even \u2013 experience of being not able to move upon waking. Of sensing and sometimes seeing beings, an old hag in particular. They describe feelings of being choked, or held down, or feeling as though they have a tremendous pressure, or someone sitting on their chest.<\/p>\n

My sleep paralysis experience<\/strong><\/h5>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>I personally have experienced sleep paralysis twice in my life. The first time was a classic old hag experience. The both times were when I was in my early twenties. I was staying over at my boyfriend\u2019s parents home. So of course we were in separate rooms (this was over forty years ago). I was unfamiliar with the space. It was the first time I had actually stayed there and I was dealing with some post traumatic stress at the time \u2013 but I didn\u2019t realise this until many years later.<\/em><\/p>\n

I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night with difficulty breathing and feeling the weight of somebody sitting on my chest. A literal somebody sitting on my chest. I quickly realised I couldn\u2019t move my body. I was terrified. The only thing I was able to do was open my eyes, and to my horror there was a very wicked, nasty looking woman sitting on my chest, well more sort of crouched on it looking right into my eyes. Stringy hair, crooked nose, missing teeth. And the ones she had were very sharp look. Smelt really bad.<\/em><\/p>\n

Inside I was screaming my head off, but only a whimper was escaping my lips. I was screaming for help, terrified. She just sat on my chest laughing at my terror and discomfort. I cannot remember how long the episode lasted for, or how it ended. I do remember feeling utterly exhausted and drenched in sweat from the experience. I didn\u2019t really sleep for the rest of the night. I was just too scared. It actually took me days before I was able to go to sleep properly without worrying I would see her again.<\/em><\/p>\n

In 2015, an article<\/a> in the journal of the Royal Society of Medicine stated:<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe first clinical description of sleep paralysis was published in 1664 in a Dutch physician\u2019s case histories1<\/sup>, where it was referred to as, \u2018Incubus or the Night-Mare [sic]\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This physician gives a very good description of this patient\u2019s experience. He states:<\/p>\n

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\u201c\u2026<\/em>\u2009<\/em>in the night time, when she was composing her self [sic] to sleep, sometimes she believed the devil lay upon her and held her down, sometimes that she was choaked [sic] by a great dog or thief lying upon her breast, so that she could hardly speak or breath, and when she endeavoured to throw off the burthen, she was not able to stir her members. And while she was in that strife, sometimes with great difficulty she awoke of her self [sic], sometimes her husband hearing her make a doleful inarticular [sic] voice<\/em>\u2009<\/em>\u2026<\/em>\u2009<\/em>1\u201d<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The article also stated that in 1977, it was discovered more than 100 previously healthy people, mostly men whose ages averaged at 33 years old and who were from various South East Asian communities, had died mysteriously in their sleep. The individuals affected were dying at a rate of ninety-two out of one hundred thousand people, from Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome (SUNDS). Despite extensive medical research and testing no underlying cause was ever found. The community most severely affected was immigrant Laotian Hmong men.2<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 <\/sup>I remember reading about this at the time it was happening and being utterly fascinated by it, saddened for the families of the victims, but fascinated at how this could possibly have occurred.<\/p>\n

One particular study that was done on these deaths, observed a link between sleep paralysis in this particular group \u2013 which was roughly two \u2013 four times higher that of the general population that these people belonged to. One explanation by the local medical fraternity in the country attributed the deaths to the \u2018Nightmare\u2019. \u201cIt was postulated that the nightmare \u2018is not a bad dream, but rather, in traditional terms, the nocturnal visit of an evil being that threatens to press the very life out of its terrified victim\u2019\u201d.2<\/sup> They felt that a cultural belief in the dab tsog \u2013 which is where a spirit sits on the chest of the victim and takes all their breath, along with stress was possibly a cause for all these deaths. But does sleep paralysis have physiological or spiritual causes? Let\u2019s take a brief look at some scientific research on the subject.<\/p>\n

Physiological Causes & Our Sleep Cycles<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Firstly; how wide spread is sleep paralysis amongst the general population? According to a two-thousand and eleven scientific review3<\/sup><\/a> \u00a0\u00a0<\/sup>where researchers put a total of thirty-five sleep paralysis studies together to find out how many people experienced it at least once in their lifetime. The numbers broke down like this: about 7.6% of the then world\u2019s population, has or will experience at least one episode of sleep paralysis in their lifetimes. The review also noted that there was a higher incidence of this happening amongst students, and psychiatric patients, especially those who had post-traumatic stress or panic disorders, specifically 28.3% of students in the studies, and 31.9% of psychiatric patients.<\/p>\n

There are a number of sleep disorders and issues that feature or can cause sleep paralysis, particularly narcolepsy<\/a> \u2013 which is a condition where the person suffers from excessive sleepiness, sleep attacks at the drop of a hat and oftentimes a sudden lack of muscle control. Also they can often suffer from hallucinations with the sleep attacks.<\/p>\n

Other disorders that can cause this are, other sleep issues such as sleep apnoea, insomnia as in Rhiannon\u2019s case later in this episode, and nocturnal leg cramps. Other factors such as Hypertension, seizure disorders, but are also associated substance and medication use, jet lag, student status. \u00a0Shift work and associated changing sleep patterns. So there are a number of physical reasons that scientist state can cause this experience. Finally; they also say a person\u2019s personality and anomalous beliefs can play a part as well.<\/p>\n

If these hallucinations happen when a person is falling asleep, they are called hypnagogic<\/a> hallucinations. If they happen upon waking they are called hypnopompic<\/a> hallucinations. Where a person suffers from sleep paralysis without having narcolepsy, this is then called \u201cisolated sleep paralysis\u201d or if it happens repeatedly, it\u2019s called \u201crecurrent isolated sleep paralysis\u201d.<\/p>\n

Medical professionals and scientists studying this disorder generally agree that sleep paralysis is a neurological disorder, rather than anything actually paranormal in basis. They say that sleep paralysis is more to do with your sleep cycle, and that it comes out of a disrupted REM sleep phase.\u00a0 For those listeners who do not know, or have not heard of sleep cycles before, there are four general stages that we go through in our sleep cycles, day or night. Here is a brief description of the four stages:<\/p>\n