“There’s nothing more satisfying than hiding in the shadows and sniping a large group of enemies one by one with an enchanted bow. I had the most fun doing this in the East Empire Trading Company Warehouse while sitting in the partially submerged boat in the middle of the cave as the guards stared right at me yet somehow couldn’t detect my location.”
Sleep Paralysis is a phenomenon in which people, either falling asleep or waking up, temporarily experience the inability to move. Scientifically its the transition state between wakefulness and rest characterized by complete muscle atonia (muscle weakness).
I’ve known several people who have had sleep paralysis, who have even made characters who share the same trait. I’ve never suffered from it myself but I find the folklore around it fascinating, because no matter what nation of origin it always has to do with the visitation of a demon or vengeful spirit who either sits on, restrains, or strangles said victim. And so I drew my own little depiction of it, complete with a demon girl puking black stuff on a guy.
I dunno, sue me.
Fun Fact Of the Day #1 the myth of the succubus and incubus came out of the hallucinations people have when they experience sleep paralysis
Fun Fact Of The Day #2 this dude’s art is so fucking rad
Ah this is amazing !!!
When I was 16, fter experiencing SP every few weeks over the course of half a year, I was finally able to figure out what usually triggered it and how to avoid those things as well as finding out how to make the experience end sooner. I wrote an extensive report on the subject for my health class and spent more than a dozen hours researching the folklore, scientific, psychological, and physical reasons that it happens and, even still, it’s a fucking mystery.
I’m glad it hasn’t happened in about a year but I’ll never forget the genuine fear that I felt the first time it happened, and how crazy my mother must’ve thought I was when I came into her room crying about demons.
It’s the type of phenomenon that is somewhat specialized for each individual; demonstrated via the stories and recollections of individuals who’ve experienced it, and for me it definitely reached into my inner self and pulled at the wires of my sanity, provoking intense and terrifyingly real sensations of fear as well as minor hallucinations.
I’m completely ranting now but this art is great and if anyone else has experienced SP I’d love to hear your story and we can exchange information and I won’t feel so alone maybe ;;
Theme Chunk 5, by Max davis.
