Sleep paralysis misinterpreted as encounters with ghosts

Excerpts from Between Two Worlds: True Ghost Stories of the British Isles (D.A. MacManus, Colin Smythe Ltd., 1977) -

"All this time the sense of something that was loathsome beyond words to express became more and more intense and she waited with bated breath for the next move.  She had not long to wait for in a few moments she clearly heard the soft slur of a heavy, shapeless body moving slowly but steadily across the carpet towards her bed.  She remained motionless, her mind so numbed that it had not the power to command action.  After what seemed an eternity of waiting, the awful 'thing' reached the side of her bed.  Then came the ultimate horror, for it began to climb upon the bed.  She felt its weight upon her, a heavy weight, and next it seemed to stretch itself out and it seized each of her hands in a grasp of iron.  Its hands or paws, were icy, hard and boney and the strength of their cold vice-like grip was such that she felt her own bones might break.  Relentlessly it climbed further and further on to the bed until her legs were being crushed by its weight.  In another moment the Thing would have been right on top of her but, at last, the sheer horror it it all broke the spell and her mind and will leapt into action." [Killeaden, 1926]

"Eventually, from sheer emotional exhaustion [the maid] dropped off to sleep, only to be awakened panting for breath as if in her sleep something heavy had been pressing upon her chest and neck, crushing the breath out of her.  She lit her candle and looked round the room.  All was just as it had been...

So the next night saw her again in bed in that eerie room... she awoke from a sound sleep to feel, very definitely this time, something heavy upon her, pressing on her chest and throat as if to choke her.  It was the same sensation as she had experienced the night before, but now it was more pronounced and frightening.  It was with considerable difficulty that she struggled clear of this unseen weight, but she managed to do so and at once lit her candle...

[the next night] But this doze was nearly fatal to her for she awoke to find again the awful unseen body upon her, pressing down on her and slowly, relentlessly strangling her as it squeezed upon her throat... She was unable to cry out because of the pressure on her throat and at first she was so numbed with horror that she was unable to move at all; then fortunately blind panic seized her and gave her the strength to fight fiercely for her life.  Eventually she managed to push the awful Thing away from her sufficiently to be able to turn on the side and feel for the matches...

[the next night the lady of the house sleeps in the same room]  Then she fell asleep also and slept soundly for some hours, but suddenly awoke to feel something upon her, trying to strangle her.  She fought hard to wriggle away from under this unseen body which was lying on her and pressing upon her throat...

[she tells her husband, who mocks her, so she returns to that room the next night]  But, sure enough, an hour or two later she awoke with a start to find the usual heavy uncanny body lying on top of her and pressing tightly against her face and neck, strangling her inexorably.  Then the awful fear of imminent death overcame all other fear and inspired her to fight for her life as she had never fought before, violently using every muscle in her body in a desperate struggle for survival.  For some time she could make ho headway, but at last she managed to struggle free and frantically strike a light.  The evil 'presence' then ceased to manifest itself and she sank back on her pillow quite exhausted.

[the next night her husband sleeps in the room, taking "his tough bulldog" with him]  This was about eleven o'clock and he was undisturbed for some time, but shortly after two o'clock he woke up struggling and panting for breath.  As he shook off his sleep and gained full consciousness he found that there was something heavy lying upon his body and a soft but very tangible 'Thing' was pressing so hard upon his neck that as he painfully gasped for breath he felt that he was getting black in the face from strangulation.  Just as with his wife, the awful fear of coming death spurred him to frantic physical effort and after a few desperate surges he forced away from himself the unseen 'Thing' for a few moments..."  [ten months later the family moved out] [south of Dublin, 1904]

"One night as Mrs. Shephard lay in bed she felt a heavy weight climb upon her.  It was soft though heavy and frantic with fear, she struggled to free herself but was unable to move, it pinned her down so firmly.  After some time, which seemed to her to be an age, it became progressively lighter and eventually disappeared altogether.  She was not alone in this for her maid, a trusted and intelligent servant, had the same experience shortly afterwards.  It happened to them both a number of times after that and later, when Mrs. Shephard's mother came to stay, she also suffered it.  It should be noticed that in this house no one was able to struggle clear of this weight, but had to wait till it left of its own accord."  [Ulster, 1944]

Excepts from The Ghostly Register: a Guide to Haunted America (Arthur Myers, Dorset Press, NY 1986), which contains 64 "true" stories of ghosts in American houses - eight of which are probably sleep paralysis:

"I've seen John Wayne's ghost twice and have felt his spirit nearby many times.  I was sleeping in The Duke's stateroom.  I remember waking up with a start in the middle of the night. . . As my eyes got used to the dark I suddenly became aware of someone standing by the door to the port gangway.  I froze because I was alone on the boat.  Then I leaped out of bed - and the figure vanished into thin air!" (an incident involving The Wild Goose, John Wayne's yacht in Newport, CA)

"At one time, Virginia says, she felt an invisible hand choking her in bed.  She prayed, and the hands released their grip." (rented house, Simsbury, Connecticut)

"Mrs. Hollingsworth began seeing a woman with long hair, wearing a long, white gown that seemed to date from the past century. . . "My husband saw her one night... standing by the side of my bed staring down at me.  He said it scared him so badly that he couldn't move.  He says she just stood there for a while, then turned and walked away toward the living room." (house in Statesboro, GA)

"Their daughter, Sarah, however, a college student, has had more explicit experiences.  At night in her bedroom she would hear rustling.  When she turned the light on, nobody would be there.  Once she heard a voice whisper her name.  "One night," she says, "I turned the light out and felt something some down on top of me.  I couldn't move my arms or legs, as though somebody was holding them down.  I tried to speak, but something came down over my mouth.  I just prayed that it would go away, and after about ten minutes it did." (Witch Hollow Farm, Boxford, MA)

"The incident sounds very melodramatic.  I was awakened in the middle of the night by a presence in the room -- a feeling that some unknown being was in the midst.  As I opened my eyes, I saw a grayish figure at the side of my bed, to the left, about four feet away.  It was not a distinct person, but a shadowy mass in the shape of a standing figure.  It remained still for a moment, then slowly floated to the foot of the bed, in front of the fireplace.  After pausing a few seconds, the apparition slowly "melted" away.  It was a terrifying experience.  I was so frightened I could not scream.  I was frozen to the spot." (The Colonial Inn, Concord, MA)

"So I went back to bed.  Sometime after, I was aware of a large figure standing next to the bed, a tall human being's figure, dressed in a kind of cloak with a hood on it, open in the front but closed down enough so that you couldn't see any face within it.  I felt at some level that it was antagonistic to me.  It took me what seemed like a full ten minutes of struggle to actually raise myself.  I felt it was trying to press me back down on the bed.  When I finally did overcome it and get myself to a seated position, it was gone.  It dissolved."  (The mansion of Edith Wharton, Lenox, MA)

"When I woke up I had what I can only describe as the most tremendous feeling of fear and panic, for no apparent reason that I was aware of.  I felt almost as though there were some evil presence that was there and was holding me down - almost, I guess, trying to possess me."  (house in Weymouth, MA)

" . . . he was sleeping in the house's addition.  "All of a sudden I felt something grab me on the shoulder.  I tried rolling over to see what it was, but the thing put more pressure on me, and I couldn't turn to see what it was.  I couldn't even say anything; I couldn't get words out of my mouth. . . I could see the moon outside the window, and I was certain I wasn't dreaming; I was awake.  After a while the pressure released, and I started to turn, and all I saw was just possibly a black image, for just a second."  (cabin in Hancock, WI)