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Sleep paralysis

Wikipedia contributors · 2024 · Wikipedia

Spiritual Evidence Map/Last updated May 10, 2026/Claims v1.0.0-provisional/Sources v1.0.0/Scores provisional

Summary

Reference entry on sleep paralysis — REM atonia persisting into wakefulness — with its characteristic hallucinations (the 'old hag', felt presences, pressure on the chest, shadow figures) and cross-cultural folkloric framings.

Why it matters here

Single most-cited mechanism behind shadow-people sightings, bedroom visitations, and many folkloric night-encounter traditions.

Linked claims

Evidence score 3/10

Shadow people are external entities

Most reports happen at sleep boundaries or in peripheral vision — exactly where the brain is most prone to producing humanoid silhouettes. The 'external entity' reading is a much larger claim.

Related evidence hubs

Topic hub

Survival & Afterlife

Evidence around dying, near-death experience, and what (if anything) continues.

Evidence pillar

Survival after death

Whether anything of mind continues.

Evidence pillar

Mystical experiences

Psychedelic, contemplative, out-of-body experience.

Evidence pillar

Skeptical frameworks

Cryptomnesia, anoxia models, cold reading. Counter-anchors.