Uploaded May 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
#oldhag #newfoundlandandlabrador
A couple months ago I posted a video where I talked about some of the strange dream experiences I've had, this is a subject that fascinates me. In that video I talked about experiencing partial sleep paralysis when I was a kid.
Sleep paralysis is where a person is fully conscious but their body is paralyzed and they can't move. This happens when a person is falling asleep or waking up. People often report very uncomfortable and scary experiences that accompany sleep paralysis - hearing angry voices, seeing shadow figures and demons, having something press down on their chest, etc.
There are many estimates out there, but roughly 8-50% of people experience this at some point in their life.
Newfoundland has its own legend around sleep paralysis called the old hag or old hag syndrome. This is sleep paralysis accompanied by the presence of an old woman who usually sits on the chest of the sleeper and makes it hard to breathe. She is said to have a malevolent presence and she sometimes whispers curses and threats into the ears of people while she is sitting on them.
The old hag legend has its roots in the UK. Up until the early 20th century, parts of western and southern England had local beliefs in witches that could cause "hag-riding" or "hagging" - at the time these were common explanations for sleep paralysis. Many people from this area brought these legends with them to Canada, and the old hag has been a strong part of Newfoundland folklore to this day.
According to local legends, the old hag can be summoned by reciting the Lord's Prayer backwards. Reputed methods for warding off an old hag attack were hanging a red ribbon above the bed, placing scissors under the pillow, and driving nails through a shingle and tying it to one's chest.
I found a 1978 academic study that in their study there were no psychological differences between people who thought they experiences and those who thought they had regular sleep paralysis.
People in Newfoundland experience "old hag sleep paralysis" at a greater rate than other Canadians - 60% of people in that province experience it at least once.
There are many similar legends from many different cultures around the world, and I may do more videos on this topic down the road.
I hope you found this one interesting and informative, and if you're interested in watching more of my content please consider subscribing to my channel - I upload at least one new video per week.
Thanks for watching!
#oldhag #newfoundlandandlabrador
A couple months ago I posted a video where I talked about some of the strange dream experiences I've had, this is a subject that fascinates me. In that video I talked about experiencing partial sleep paralysis when I was a kid.
Sleep paralysis is where a person is fully conscious but their body is paralyzed and they can't move. This happens when a person is falling asleep or waking up. People often report very uncomfortable and scary experiences that accompany sleep paralysis - hearing angry voices, seeing shadow figures and demons, having something press down on their chest, etc.
There are many estimates out there, but roughly 8-50% of people experience this at some point in their life.
Newfoundland has its own legend around sleep paralysis called the old hag or old hag syndrome. This is sleep paralysis accompanied by the presence of an old woman who usually sits on the chest of the sleeper and makes it hard to breathe. She is said to have a malevolent presence and she sometimes whispers curses and threats into the ears of people while she is sitting on them.
The old hag legend has its roots in the UK. Up until the early 20th century, parts of western and southern England had local beliefs in witches that could cause "hag-riding" or "hagging" - at the time these were common explanations for sleep paralysis. Many people from this area brought these legends with them to Canada, and the old hag has been a strong part of Newfoundland folklore to this day.
According to local legends, the old hag can be summoned by reciting the Lord's Prayer backwards. Reputed methods for warding off an old hag attack were hanging a red ribbon above the bed, placing scissors under the pillow, and driving nails through a shingle and tying it to one's chest.
I found a 1978 academic study that in their study there were no psychological differences between people who thought they experiences and those who thought they had regular sleep paralysis.
People in Newfoundland experience "old hag sleep paralysis" at a greater rate than other Canadians - 60% of people in that province experience it at least once.
There are many similar legends from many different cultures around the world, and I may do more videos on this topic down the road.
I hope you found this one interesting and informative, and if you're interested in watching more of my content please consider subscribing to my channel - I upload at least one new video per week.
Thanks for watching!
