Architects of Troubled Sleep

An Excerpt from Justin Geoffrey's "The Stone Portal"

This essay can be found in THE STONE PORTAL, which was picked up by 1325 Publishing last year.

Sleep is precious. Sleep is needed. Sleep is wanted. Anything that troubles sleep needs to be eliminated. But what if mere mortals cannot defeat that which harasses sleep? What if there are things worse than mere nightmares?

Sadly, our sleep is plagued by monsters. The recent rise in memes about “sleep paralysis demons” speaks to a larger problem, i.e., the prevalence of nocturnal monsters haunting us during our most vulnerable state. So far, the scientific consensus states that sleep paralysis demons are part of a larger spectrum of sleep disorders, including the so-called “Incubus syndrome” that convinces female sleepers that a male demon molests them as they slumber.[i] Generally speaking, sleep paralysis is a known and well-documented phenomenon. At its core, sleep paralysis is a disorder in which consciousness returns while the muscle atonia of REM sleep remains intact. What this means for the sufferer is that they are awake and alert but cannot move their limbs. It is a horrific situation, and true sleep paralysis sufferers experience this night terror over and over again. Some have reported seeing monsters in this state. Again, science states that these visions are hallucinations. Although the exact cause of these hallucinations is not known, it would appear that they stem from a collision between the dream state and the natural world. This explanation makes sense, and yet…

Sleep paralysis demons could be real. They have been recorded in history since the dawn of civilization. Our ancestors, whether they spoke an early form of English or the tongue of the Enūma Eliš, saw things in the night. We know the names of these creatures—the incubus, the succubus, the nightmare. Nowadays, thanks to the proliferation of the internet, some of these creatures have returned. Or maybe people are seeing them again due to the unconscious influence of reading too many blog posts? Maybe, or maybe not.

I tend to lean toward reality. Sometimes the bumps in the night actually pulsate with life. Some of these creatures will be chronicled here. They represent a small bestiary—an infernal list from the devil’s dictionary. Read with caution. And if you ever see one of these creatures, please consult with professionals. I recommend both a sleep study clinic and a priest or pastor.

Do not let your sleep paralysis demons linger too long at your bedside.

Alp: Also known as the German Nightmare Vampire, an alp prefers to attack female sleepers, especially pregnant females. Why? Because these imps have a taste for breast milk. These shapeshifters are said to take the form of animals, and they are known to fly and transform into mist to enter homes and huts. Besides haunting sleepers, an alp can deliver punishment as the result of the evil eye, or the black magical curse of ill fortune, even novice magicians can wield against their enemies. An alp can always be identified by the Tarnkappe, a magical hat that they wear that remains visible during all of their transformations, even when they become invisible. If an alp loses this hat and you find it and return it to the alp, you will be granted a great reward. But do not think these creatures are friendly. Indeed, these creatures are responsible for Alpdruck, or “elf oppression.” This type of malignancy is similar to demonic oppression, wherein the alp creates morbid dreams that do not stop when the sleeper awakes. While a male alp’s favorite line of attack is to enter a sleeper’s mouth in the form of mist or a snake, and thereafter turn the sleeper sick with nightmares, a female alp, which is known as a mare and often takes the form of a spectral horse, prefers to sit on a sleeper’s chest and deprive them of oxygen. Making these nocturnal terrors all the more terrifying is the fact that an alp can be a regular human by day, but, either through witchcraft or an accident of birth,[ii] they turn into terrible monsters at night.[iii]

Ghost Oppression: Similar to sleep paralysis demons in the West, oppressive ghosts appear to be prevalent in East Asia. A 1994 study in Hong Kong found that among a sample of 603 undergraduate students in the city, 37% reported experiencing at least one incident of ghost oppression.[iv] For East Asians, ghosts tend to be much more malevolent. There are not many Chinese or Thai equivalents to Casper. Therefore, whenever a sleeper suffers ghost oppression, the idea is that a malevolent ghost (possibly the aggrieved spirit of an ancestor or an enemy) is intentionally trying to harm them. Such entities can only be banished with the aid of a shaman and corrective funerary practices.

The Hat Man: Arguably the first sleep paralysis demon to go viral, The Hat Man is a dark figure often seen wearing his distinctive brimmed hat. Beginning in the 2000s, online users began sharing remarkably similar stories about seeing a shadowy entity wearing a hat. This creature usually arrives at the sufferer’s bedside somewhere between the state of full sleep and full alertness. Sometimes, the Hat Man wears a long cloak or trench coat. But, as his name would suggest, the faceless Hat Man always attacks while wearing a wide-brimmed hat (something like a pork pie or slouch hat). Sufferers also report that The Hat Man always inspires feelings of absolute dread.[v] The Hat Man is closely associated with drug abuse, especially the overuse of diphenhydramine, or DHP, the potent ingredient in the allergy medication Benadryl.[vi] Paranormal researcher Heidi Hollis, who falsely maintains that she was the first to name the entity known as The Hat Man, believes that the entity is pure evil and demonic. Hollis also asserts that The Hat Man is surprisingly solid and is the lord of the Shadow People.[vii] Described as impenetrably black shapes that normally appear human-like, Shadow People are among the most common harassers of sleep. The Shadow People and The Hat Man seem more demonic than common ghosts, and their growing prevalence is a worrisome development.

Incubi & Succubi: Incubi and succubi are the horrific sex demons that have been recorded since antiquity. Incubi are male demons that molest and rape female sleepers during their nightmares. Sometimes incubi appear to their victims as beautiful men. Other times, they do not appear at all, but attack as invisible agents. Like mares and alps, incubi place all of their weight on the chests of their victims, thus denying them the oxygen required to fight back against nighttime assaults. Succubi are most often seen as gorgeous women with bat wings. Like the incubi, the succubi live to drain the blood, semen, and other vital energies of their male victims. Typically, both the incubi and succubi prefer to target faithful individuals.[viii] While there was an explosion of incubi recordings in medieval Europe, succubi attacks were both prevalent and frequently chronicled in Ancient Mesopotamia. In the Jewish tradition, the succubi are led by Naamah, a female demon mentioned in the Zohar who, alongside her partner-in-crime Lilith, seeks to snatch away children when they are not busy corrupting angels. In the Mesopotamian (specifically Akkadian) tradition, Lilitu are evil spirits that can be either male or female. The worst female demon, Lamashtu, is the mother of monsters and the daughter of the Mesopotamian sky god Anu. Lamashtu hunts pregnant women and their babies, plus she has a fondness for drinking the blood of men. Her evil deeds are manifold—causing plagues and sickness; causing women to miscarry; causing infestations in rivers; and causing horrific nightmares. Often depicted with a lion’s head, Lamashtu, who likely inspired the Hebraic stories of Lilith, can only be counteracted by another demon: the dreaded wind-demon Pazuzu.[ix]

The Night Hag: Like the majority of the entities on this list, the Night Hag is fond of pressing on the chests of unsuspecting sleepers. In North American folklore, the Night Hag is depicted as an ugly old crone who is more often than not an actual witch. Said witches use their satanic powers to project their astral bodies into the bedrooms of male and female sleepers.[x] Their goal is simple: to drain the energies of the victims. The Night Hag is similar to psychic vampires in that her power stems from her ability to oppress others.

Given that these sleep paralysis entities all traffic in oppression, exhaustion, and death, it appears evident that they are demonic in origin. Do not seek them out. They are not memes, but real terror for those who see and feel them. Again, if you encounter any one of these beings, do not try to sleep it off.

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[i] Robin Victor, Priyaranjan Avinash, Rupali Rohatagi, and Arvinder Singh Aulakh, “The Devil Molested Me: A Case Series of Incubus Syndrome,” Industrial Psychiatry Journal, Vol. 31 (2), Jul-Dec. 2022: 346-349.

[ii] An alp can be created as the result of stillbirth, a baby born with hairy palms, an extremely difficult birth, or any moment during the pregnancy wherein the mother was frightened by an animal.

[iii] Alex Postrado, “Alp: The Mischievous Embodiment of Nightmares in German Lore,” Lorethrill.com, <https://lorethrill.com/alp-embodiment-of-nightmares/>. Accessed July 21, 2023.

[iv] Yun-Kwok Wing, Sharon Therese Lee, and Char-Nie Chen, “Sleep Paralysis in Chinese: Ghost Oppression Phenomenon in Hong Kong,” Sleep, Vol. 17 (7), Oct. 1994: 609-613.

[v] Miles Klee, “How the ‘Hat Man’ Went from Benadryl Joke to TikTok Horror Villain,” Rolling Stone, Nov. 2, 2022. Online. <https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/hat-man-benadryl-tiktok-monster-1234620397/>. Accessed July 21, 2023.

[vi] One of my working theories is that The Hat Man may be connected to Jacob Baugh, a minor YouTube celebrity who abused Benadryl for years as part of his idiosyncratic form of masturbation. Baugh was a unique and brilliant musician who suffered terribly during his short life (kept in a basement, denied human contact and romance, always afflicted with health issues), and thus may have passed on his pain in the spirit realm in the form of The Hat Man.

[vii] “Shadow People & the ‘Hat Man,’” Coast to Coast AM with George Noory, Wednesday, July 23, 2008. Web. <https://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/2008-07-23-show/>. Accessed July 21, 2023.

[viii] Alicia McDermott, “Incubi and Succubi: Crushing Nightmares and Sex-Craving Demons – Part I,” Ancient Origins, June 24, 2016. Web. <https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/incubi-and-succubi-crushing-nightmares-and-sex-craving-demons-part-i-006157>. Accessed July 21, 2023.

[ix] Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. “Lamashtu.”

[x] Night hags typically target male sleepers. It would appear that the gender binary and “heteronormality” is standard in the spirit world too.