Sleep Paralyze

And I close my eyes…

It is dark, hardly see a thing…

Silent…for a while…

My eyes are open…

I see…

I breathe…

No moves…but eyes…

I see her…

Crawling and approaching me…

No smiles, no sound, no eyes…

Only hair…

Long…black…

I move…

Can’t….

She breathes on my neck…

I ignore it…

Can’t…

I move…

Can…

She’s gone…

That was my poem about a sleeping experience at which I have been experiencing it since I was in junior high school. Later, I know the sleeping experience happening to me is well-known as sleeping paralyze. I remember the first time I experienced it is when I was in the 7^th grade. That time I was sleeping, at noon –I think that time was Sunday- with my mother. At a sudden I opened my eyes and I saw my mother slept before my eyes. Something stranger happened that time, and l just can remember that I couldn’t move my body and I hardly took a breath, what a crap!!!

I really tried hard to move my body but I just can’t. I stayed still lying on the bed while I can see and heard thing. I stayed calm while the truth is I was trying to stay calm and not panic. I closed my eyes and imagine that I could move my hands. Alas, it didn’t work. Well, I knew that by only imagining that I can move my hand would not change a thing then I tried hard to move my hand. At first it was hard and the result was the same as I was imagining that I can move my hand. Fortunately, after a while and after continuously trying to move my hands, I can move it at last. After being totally awake, I just got a headache at that time.

After that “strange” sleep experience, I thought that I will not have that kind of sleep anymore. But a God’s hand have Its own fate. I still experience it until now. And the last time I experienced it was on Thursday night 28 of March 2014.

Well, that is just the intermezzo or in the other hand what I just told you is just an introductory paragraph. Actually, today I just want to tell or inform or explain to you about sleep paralyze in-depth. I will give information about this kind of sleep and its legend across the country as detail as I can. So enjoy reading.

A.     Sleep paralyze, what is it?

Well according to Wikipedia (haha, when you are writing a final paper for your college you are strongly recommended not using Wikipedia as a reference, but this time is okay) sleep paralyze is a phenomenon in which people, either when falling asleep or wakening. And also it will be followed by a sensation of incapability of moving our body.

            J.A Cheye from Department of psychology, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada states in her article “Situational factors affecting sleep paralysis and associated hallucinations; positions and timing effects” that sleep paralyze is a sleep period that entails a period of paralysis upon waking or falling asleep and is often accompanied by terrifying hallucinations.

            Nicholas Yuvienco from Pitzer College has his own idea about sleep paralysis. As stated on his paper entitled “Running Head; Sleep paraysis” that sleep paralysis is transient experience of involuntary immobility immediately prior to falling asleep waking up. Yuvienco later argues that although individuals are unable to make bodily movements, they are still able to open their ayes and view the surroundings. Therefore sometimes vivid and terrifying hallucinations often accompany sleep paralysis.

            Well, to sum up upon the given theories about sleep paralysis, it is can be took a conclusion that sleep paralysis is a period of sleep at which individuals are in a condition of falling asleep and wakening. This sleep is marked by incapability of individuals’ body to move while they are still able to open their eyes and see surrounding or even hear. Sleep paralysis is often accompanying by a scary hallucination.

B.     Sleep paralysis, its legend and its urban legend?

It is believed by almost all people in the world that we are not the only living creatures living on the earth. There are others. And others are believed to be the unobvious one. They are satans or in other word we can call them as devil or demon, the others that is believed to live along with us. Then, what do satans do with sleep paralysis? Well, it is believed that it is impossible to say that there is nothing to do for satans in sleep paralysis. Later, I will show you the legend of sleep paralysis and its urban legend.

The history of sleep paralysis had been long known. 

In Scandivian (Swedish) Folklore, sleep paralysis is believed to be caused by a mare, a supernatural creature related to incubi and succubi.  The mare is believed to be in form of a damned woman who is cursed and her body is carried

Incubi, the ghost believed to attack a sleeping person in Swedish

mysteriously during sleep and without her noticing. In according to the urband legend in this state, it is believed that she visit villagers to sit on their rib cages while they are asleep and causing them to experience nightmare. The movie whose theme is about sleep paralysis was created. The title is Marriane.
 

A Hag-ridden illustration

In Newfoundland, South Carolina, and Georgia, it is believed that sleep paralysis is caused by a hag who leaves her physical body at night, and sits on the chest of her victim. The victim usually wakes with a felling terror, has difficulty breathing that is because of a perceived heavy invisible weight on his or her chest, and is unable to move. This nightmare is also called as ‘hag-ridden” by Gullah lore-an African descendant living in South Carolina, and Georgia.

In Fiji, this sleep paralysis experience has another name that is Kana Tevoro whose means is being eaten by a demon. In many cases, Fiji people believe that the demon can be the spirit of a recently dead relative who has come for some unfinished businesses, to communicate some important businesses to the living. Often people sleeping near the afflicted person say “kania,kania” means ‘eat, eat”  in attempt  to prolog the possession for a chance to converse with the dead relative or the spirit and seek the answer as to why he or she has come back. 

In Nigeria, Sleep paralysis is believed to be far more common and recurrent among people of African descendant than among whites or Nigerian Africans and is often referred to within African communities as “The Devil on your back”

In Turkey sleep paralysis is called karabasan and is similar to other stories of demonic visitation during sleep. A supernatural being, commonly known as djinn or cin in Turkish, come to victim’s room, hold him or her down hard enough not to allow any kind of movements, and start to strangle the person. To get rid of the demonic creature, one needs to pray to Allah.

In Thailand, it is believed that sleep paralysis is caused by a ghost at which Thai people call it as Phi Am. Some people believe that this creature may causes bruises.
 

In southern states of United States, elders refer it as “The witch is riding on your back”.

In Chinese culture, sleep paralysis is called as “gui ya shen” or gui “gui ya chuang” which literally means ghost press your body, or ghost pressing o bed. In Eastern Chinese it is believed that sleep paralysis is cause by a mouse that is trying to steal our breath at night. It is believed that by stealing a person’s breath, he can be strong and has a longevity of life. Also, it can turns him to be a human in night. It is believed that the mouse sit near the persons face while the mouse is stealing the breath.

In Indonesia, the country at which I live, sleep paralyze is often called as "ketindihan", rep-repan" or "kelindihan".

Those words literally means being pressed down by something. In Indonesia especially in Javanese culture, when people experience sleep paralyze, it is believed that they are attacked by ghost or spirit of the dead. It is said that to avoid the same attack happens again , we should change our sleep position. I did it but it doesn't work hahahaha.  

Well then, that is all that I can give you about sleep paralyze. See you later on another topic. Good night, sleep tight, don't let a dead spirit bite. hahah LOL YOLO