If you’ve ever experienced what scientists call “sleep paralysis” then you’ve experienced what most people describe as a truly terrifying episode. Indeed, the sufferer experiences a total paralysis of body, but remains awake and alert as a dark, ominous figure stands nearby. During the dreadful experience, the person is rendered completely helpless and often tries to cry out for help, only to be silenced by a paralyzed, immobilized tongue. For those who have tasted the awfulness of sleep paralysis, it’s a terrifying experience and a very real experience. And although science has tried to explain it away as some kind of sleep-deprivation episode, there are many who reject that notion, and instead believe whole-heartedly that what scientists call “sleep paralysis” is actually an experience with the paranormal.

If you’re inclined to consider some of the paranormal explanations pertaining to sleep paralysis, here are just a few:

(1) A demon is temporarily possessing your body. After praying to God for help, the demon is then expelled.

(2) A ghost of a dead relative is attacking you.

(3) A space abduction is occurring.

Regardless of what you think or don’t think sleep paralysis is, one thing is universally true: it is a temporary state. Sufferers of sleep paralysis, though scared by it, usually only are affected by a brief episode and are awakened to find that all is in fact quite normal around them. No aliens. No ghosts.

So, what do you think? Is there a medical answer or does the answer to what sleep paralysis lying somewhere “out there.” Perhaps we’ll never know, but it’s worth asking.