Awake Or Not?

This is definitely sleep paralysis. I used to be afraid of this until I found out for sure what it was. I am not someone who doesn't believe in spirits or paranormal and comes onto this site to tell everyone they don't exist. I'm just saying this case was sleep paralysis. There was a point in my life where I got it every night almost. I would wake up accompanied by a feeling of dread, I could only breath and open and close my eyes (I would usually keep my eyes closed because when you open them you see hooded figures or "evil" things) When this happens your mind wakes up but your body has a chemical released in your brain so you don't move when you sleep so it feels like you are paralysed. It usually takes about 30 seconds of not being able to move and feeling terrified and seeing things before you wake up fully.

I really think that is true. It happened to me may times when I'm sleeping. I remember that I was babysitting my bro and we were both in my room (we lived in a house). I went to sleep because I was really tired anyhow I went to sleep then I woked up I couldn't move just like you I could of only moved my eyes I thought I was going to go insane. Then after that I tried to go back to sleep wich I did and then woked up and I was scared half to death this has happened to me like 4 times in my life. I totally believe you!

Zander, Thanks for the link.
And thanks for your elaboration. I've always been a cynic. Never saw a ghost, never saw a UFO, but I have surely felt an energy that is not of our physical world.
Thanks again Zander.

Hi DannyBruise,

I think that I may not have done a good job explaining my analogy, which is more to the point of what you asked, I believe. So, I will try to, here.

First, I have no idea if the curse of Tut's tomb is "true" or not. My instict tells me that anyone disturbing the resting places of the departed, regardless of whether or not they were a pharoh is asking for trouble, but that's beside the point.

Let's say the curse is "true". Then the fungus could have been the way that the paranormal curse extenuated and manifested itself in our phsysical, scientifically observable reality.

However, once the fungus was found, the logic seemed to run that "aha! There was no curse because the untimely deaths were caused by a fungus".

In my humble opinion, the obsservable scientific explanation (the discovered deadly fungus in the tomb) does not preclude a paranormal underpinning to its presence nor effect.

Hi DannyBruise,

Thanks so much for your kind comment about my attempt to explain my take on "sleep paralysis". Actually, I'm very glad to hear from you because it also gives me a chance to let you know that I read and was fascinated by all of your stories about growing up and the energies that seemed to follow you.

About Lord Carnarvon and Tut's tomb, basically, many strange events accompanied the moment of his death. Here is a linkn which describes them:

Http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/curse.htm

This is a special form of Sleep Paralysis, when having an event some people have experienced enhanced hearing to the point of near super-human mode. I'm a sufferer of SP myself and this does sound like a case to me. If it repeats keep us updated or if anything gets weird (Visions, demonic haunting, alien abduction) these are all common SP "waking dreams".

Although I am not saying there is no such thing as the paranormal, far from it, but I'm a skeptic so I like to use reason before leaping to faith. I've heard of SP going in families too.

Zander, Loved your explanation on how science can ignore the implication of paranormal. But not sure of your simple analysis of the fungus being the only cause of death from explorers that discovered Tut's tomb. Your quote: "it does not explain the strange events occurring simultaneously at the estate of Lord Canarvon in England at the time of his death" What were those events? Can you elaborate?

Sleep paralysis is extremely terrifying I have only experienced it once myself. Houses where people have died almost always tend to be haunted.

Sleep paralysis in my view, is not an all inclusive explanation since it dismisses any possible paranormal aspect of the phenomena out of hand.

Sleep paralysis is a scientific explanation of what occurs in terms of body and brain wave activity when a person experiences something like you describe. I also have experienced this. However, the science, in my view, is not an all inclusive explanation since, as I mentioned, it dismisses any possible paranormal aspect of the phenomena out of hand.

To my thinking, sleep paralysis as an all encompassing explanation for these phenomenon is akin to taking the vitals of a person who has seen a ghost, finding that they match the descriptors for a panic attack and then concluding that the person "just" had a panic attack--thus dismissing the component of the ghostly presence entirely. For as much as I am all for logical reasoning and the scientific method, I do not feel that one need stop there in all cases. In some cases, the logical, scientific explanation is the full explanation: e.g., the pipes were knocking because they were not properly attached, no ghost is "rapping" signals, here. But is some cases where logic and observation cannot explain what one has experienced within the known laws of physics, physiology and the like, it my view, it would be unscientific not to look further, i.e. To a possible paranormal explanation or at least to a paranormal component to an otherwise "logically" [within our limited modern day science, which is every day acknowledging its limitations ever more--specifically studies in new physics and parallel universes, see Michio Kaku] explainable event.

I believe that one could have a paranormal encounter which also matches the descriptors for sleep paralysis. If you take the definition of sleep paralysis and put all of its descriptors into a circle and then take a paranormal encounter where one is immobilized and there is a spirit or other component in another circle, these two circles might closely overlap, but, in my view, that does not mean that either one is the entire definition by itself. To give an example, the curse of the tomb of Tut was "debunked" as having been caused by a fungus on the walls of the tomb which caused some who had entered to become ill. For one it does not explain the strange events occurring simultaneously at the estate of Lord Canarvon in England at the time of his death abroad but more importantly, it does not preclude a paranormal explanation. We are trained in Western logical reasoning to find the "best" answer, thus eliminating all other possible answers. However, I believe that the best physical, scientific answer can sometimes stand at the same time as the best paranormal explanation, without one eliminating the validity of another.

From what I have read, heard and experienced of immobilizing, paranormal experience, there are a number of common threads:

1] A sound accompanies the immobilization--often the sound begins at a bit of a distance from the person, in my case it was a menacing laughter, in your case, it seems to have been a single, loud sound.

2] One has every reason to believe that one is wide awake. In my case, like you, I was ticking off the ambient noises of the household as it wound down for the evening, hearing all of them clearly. One is aware of where one is--on the couch in one's room, etc. One is not in a "dreamy" place that does not fit with the place where one is resting.

3] One discovers that one is unable to move and then unable to speak.

4] One dispels the hold that the event has on one through outlasting it, managing to speak or at least mouth a prayer or the like.

From my experience, for which I prefer to use the Japanese term, "kanashibari" I feel that I learned some strategies and gained some insights into this phenomenon which you might find useful. I detail them in my posting "Demon Encounter in Tokyo". Sounds scary...ehm...because it was.

It reminds me so much of a serious nightmare. I've had so many in my life. Don't know why I do, but I do. These nightmares are always about my physical world and my nightmares. As hard as I try to call out, or move, I can't. I think it's your physical world fighting to get control of your nightmare.
I'm curious about the deaths in your house. Any details?

I agree with holly, it sounds a lot like your standard case of sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is often identified by loud noises that you experience during an attack. It's an audial hallucination.

Here's some info on how to prevent it:

Http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_prevent_sleep_paralysis

Before we jump to paranormal explanation, have you considered sleep paralysis? What you describe sounds like it.

The bangs you heard, did you inquire about them? Ask family members that were in the house?

Three people have passed in your house which indeed is unnerving. Do you know how they died? Were they former owners?