The Nightmare

I was so glad to see this documentary now on Netflix - I've been wanting to see it.  
For those unfamiliar, its witness testimony regarding sleep paralysis experiences.
It was MUCH better than I thought it would be.

There's so much to discuss, but I'll point out several interesting things in the documentary.
- The documentary was interviews with 8 different people around the world and their sleep paralysis experiences.
- They started feeling an electricity/numbing sensation sensation at the start of their experience
- They saw evil/negative "shadow beings", either in blob, person or large cat form
- Many saw these "lesser" shadow beings, and then a more prominent shadow figure being a "hat man" appearance (like what's shown in the video still above)
- Almost every country and culture, past and present, have experienced these happenings and have specific names for the entities seen.
- Several of the witnesses stated that their experiences started when someone else who was experiencing these "encounters" shared what was happening
- A couple reported sharing a sleep paralysis hallucination.  
 * During a sleep paralysis episode, this man saw an 8 foot tall shadow being with red eyes standing over him in bed that kept saying "Do you know who I am?" and "You will die." over an over.  He "woke up" to his girlfriend (who was asleep next to him) screaming saying there was a huge "shadow cat" with red eyes on her chest that was babbling and hissing at him.  (man who saw the giant shadow figure)
- Several people in these interviews experienced these "beings" while awake.
- Sometimes, the people could see large black eyes, "weird clown mouths" and very long fingers on the shadow people.  (want a visual example?  Picture an alien grey)
 * One reported awake experience was of a pleasant blue shadow figure encountered in a forest that told the experiencer not to fear the demons standing behind him - he turned around and saw semi transparent shadow people with large black eyes, "weird clown mouths" and very long fingers.
- There is some discussion regarding theories of multiple dimensions
- There were some reports of "glitch in the matrix" type experiences
 * ie: someone woke up and all the items were room were gone and thought they were robbed, then "woke up again" and everything was back to normal
- Most of these encounters reported feeling pain during the experience, and when they woke up, they still felt the pain

A very pleasant surprise in the footage which the stories and reenactments moved me:

- Two of the people interviewed stopped being atheists and converted to Christianity because of these experiences
- Two of the people interviewed called on the name of Jesus Christ (full name) and their experience stopped  (POWERFUL reenactment)

Does anyone have thoughts regarding this topic or this documentary?

My opinion, this is just additional evidence regarding:
- The millions of people experiencing this aren't just crazy/having a bad dream, there's something there
- There's entities still on earth beyond our comprehension
- When people see "aliens", they're really seeing demons / fallen angels
- There's power in the name of Jesus Christ

Please discuss.

ThomasEversole wrote:

I was so glad to see this documentary now on Netflix - I've been wanting to see it.  
For those unfamiliar, its witness testimony regarding sleep paralysis experiences.
It was MUCH better than I thought it would be.

There's so much to discuss, but I'll point out several interesting things in the documentary.
- The documentary was interviews with 8 different people around the world and their sleep paralysis experiences.
- They started feeling an electricity/numbing sensation sensation at the start of their experience
- They saw evil/negative "shadow beings", either in blob, person or large cat form
- Many saw these "lesser" shadow beings, and then a more prominent shadow figure being a "hat man" appearance (like what's shown in the video still above)
- Almost every country and culture, past and present, have experienced these happenings and have specific names for the entities seen.
- Several of the witnesses stated that their experiences started when someone else who was experiencing these "encounters" shared what was happening
- A couple reported sharing a sleep paralysis hallucination.  
 * During a sleep paralysis episode, this man saw an 8 foot tall shadow being with red eyes standing over him in bed that kept saying "Do you know who I am?" and "You will die." over an over.  He "woke up" to his girlfriend (who was asleep next to him) screaming saying there was a huge "shadow cat" with red eyes on her chest that was babbling and hissing at him.  (man who saw the giant shadow figure)
- Several people in these interviews experienced these "beings" while awake.
- Sometimes, the people could see large black eyes, "weird clown mouths" and very long fingers on the shadow people.  (want a visual example?  Picture an alien grey)
 * One reported awake experience was of a pleasant blue shadow figure encountered in a forest that told the experiencer not to fear the demons standing behind him - he turned around and saw semi transparent shadow people with large black eyes, "weird clown mouths" and very long fingers.
- There is some discussion regarding theories of multiple dimensions
- There were some reports of "glitch in the matrix" type experiences
 * ie: someone woke up and all the items were room were gone and thought they were robbed, then "woke up again" and everything was back to normal
- Most of these encounters reported feeling pain during the experience, and when they woke up, they still felt the pain

A very pleasant surprise in the footage which the stories and reenactments moved me:

- Two of the people interviewed stopped being atheists and converted to Christianity because of these experiences
- Two of the people interviewed called on the name of Jesus Christ (full name) and their experience stopped  (POWERFUL reenactment)

Does anyone have thoughts regarding this topic or this documentary?

My opinion, this is just additional evidence regarding:
- The millions of people experiencing this aren't just crazy/having a bad dream, there's something there
- There's entities still on earth beyond our comprehension
- When people see "aliens", they're really seeing demons / fallen angels
- There's power in the name of Jesus Christ

Please discuss.

Ever drop acid?

No. ...but I did other hallucinogens in the past.

ThomasEversole wrote:My opinion, this is just additional evidence regarding:
- The millions of people experiencing this aren't just crazy/having a bad dream, there's something there
- There's entities still on earth beyond our comprehension
- When people see "aliens", they're really seeing demons / fallen angels
- There's power in the name of Jesus Christ

I agree 100%

About seeing a man with a hat

My Grandparents pastor had the same experience, he then came to Christ also

My friend has had experience with sleep paralysis-like episodes. The topic came up many years ago when I told him I had gotten into this band who did a concept album about sleep paralysis (Dredg - El Cielo).

I don't remember him mentioning any shadowy figures, but I'll see if I can bring up the subject somehow next time I talk to him.

I wonder if this is available in European Netflix too. Looks interesting.


I used to have lots of sleep paralysis experiences. Never saw any scary figures, but here's what always happened to me:

-I could hear footsteps around me and I could sense lots of people around. Lots of talking noises too, nothing I could understand though. But always after the experience I saw nobody was there.

-I had "near" out-of-body experiences. I could always feel myself rising away from my body. A clear sense and sight of rising up. But right at the moment where I would be completely removed from my body, I felt an enormous sense of DEATH. The feeling of dying became so massive that it scared the heck out of me. The more I rose up, the more I felt I'm dying. Then it became a huge fight to fully wake up. I tried to put all my focus first on one finger and try my best to move it. Then another finger and then another and then another, and finally I was able to move my hand and eventually my whole body.

People have said it's an amazing feeling if you can let yourself depart your body, be it real or just a hallucination. But for me the sense of fear was so huge I just could ever go that far. I tried many times but every single time, even if I had psyched myself up to the task, the sense of fear became way too big for me to handle.


It's both interesting and scary thing. You 100% feel you are awake but you can't do a damn thing. And then some truly weird stuff starts to happen. And really, the sense of being awake is as real as when I'm walking around. It's much different than those dreams where it feels you are not dreaming, because afterwards you always can see and feel how it was all a dream and different from how it feels now to be awake. But in sleep paralysis the sense of being awake is 100% the sense of being awake.

Deepfriar wrote:I don't remember him mentioning any shadowy figures, but I'll see if I can bring up the subject somehow next time I talk to him.

The start of the documentary, people reported being aware and awake, couldn't move, but would hear whispering/voices and would either see nothing or a weird light show. Sometimes they could move around as well.

THEN, the "Shadow People" came. THEN they started having painful encounters.

Airola wrote:I wonder if this is available in European Netflix too. Looks interesting.


I used to have lots of sleep paralysis experiences. Never saw any scary figures, but here's what always happened to me:

-I could hear footsteps around me and I could sense lots of people around. Lots of talking noises too, nothing I could understand though. But always after the experience I saw nobody was there.

-I had "near" out-of-body experiences. I could always feel myself rising away from my body. A clear sense and sight of rising up. But right at the moment where I would be completely removed from my body, I felt an enormous sense of DEATH. The feeling of dying became so massive that it scared the heck out of me. The more I rose up, the more I felt I'm dying. Then it became a huge fight to fully wake up. I tried to put all my focus first on one finger and try my best to move it. Then another finger and then another and then another, and finally I was able to move my hand and eventually my whole body.

People have said it's an amazing feeling if you can let yourself depart your body, be it real or just a hallucination. But for me the sense of fear was so huge I just could ever go that far. I tried many times but every single time, even if I had psyched myself up to the task, the sense of fear became way too big for me to handle.


It's both interesting and scary thing. You 100% feel you are awake but you can't do a damn thing. And then some truly weird stuff starts to happen. And really, the sense of being awake is as real as when I'm walking around. It's much different than those dreams where it feels you are not dreaming, because afterwards you always can see and feel how it was all a dream and different from how it feels now to be awake. But in sleep paralysis the sense of being awake is 100% the sense of being awake.

Wow, thank you for sharing!

d@v!d wrote:

ThomasEversole wrote:

I was so glad to see this documentary now on Netflix - I've been wanting to see it.  
For those unfamiliar, its witness testimony regarding sleep paralysis experiences.
It was MUCH better than I thought it would be.

There's so much to discuss, but I'll point out several interesting things in the documentary.
- The documentary was interviews with 8 different people around the world and their sleep paralysis experiences.
- They started feeling an electricity/numbing sensation sensation at the start of their experience
- They saw evil/negative "shadow beings", either in blob, person or large cat form
- Many saw these "lesser" shadow beings, and then a more prominent shadow figure being a "hat man" appearance (like what's shown in the video still above)
- Almost every country and culture, past and present, have experienced these happenings and have specific names for the entities seen.
- Several of the witnesses stated that their experiences started when someone else who was experiencing these "encounters" shared what was happening
- A couple reported sharing a sleep paralysis hallucination.  
 * During a sleep paralysis episode, this man saw an 8 foot tall shadow being with red eyes standing over him in bed that kept saying "Do you know who I am?" and "You will die." over an over.  He "woke up" to his girlfriend (who was asleep next to him) screaming saying there was a huge "shadow cat" with red eyes on her chest that was babbling and hissing at him.  (man who saw the giant shadow figure)
- Several people in these interviews experienced these "beings" while awake.
- Sometimes, the people could see large black eyes, "weird clown mouths" and very long fingers on the shadow people.  (want a visual example?  Picture an alien grey)
 * One reported awake experience was of a pleasant blue shadow figure encountered in a forest that told the experiencer not to fear the demons standing behind him - he turned around and saw semi transparent shadow people with large black eyes, "weird clown mouths" and very long fingers.
- There is some discussion regarding theories of multiple dimensions
- There were some reports of "glitch in the matrix" type experiences
 * ie: someone woke up and all the items were room were gone and thought they were robbed, then "woke up again" and everything was back to normal
- Most of these encounters reported feeling pain during the experience, and when they woke up, they still felt the pain

A very pleasant surprise in the footage which the stories and reenactments moved me:

- Two of the people interviewed stopped being atheists and converted to Christianity because of these experiences
- Two of the people interviewed called on the name of Jesus Christ (full name) and their experience stopped  (POWERFUL reenactment)

Does anyone have thoughts regarding this topic or this documentary?

My opinion, this is just additional evidence regarding:
- The millions of people experiencing this aren't just crazy/having a bad dream, there's something there
- There's entities still on earth beyond our comprehension
- When people see "aliens", they're really seeing demons / fallen angels
- There's power in the name of Jesus Christ

Please discuss.

Ever drop acid?

Yes, why I avoid this type of stuff like the plague!

As for "sleep paralysis", experienced it many times, even decades after I stopped dropping acid. Many other bizarre experiences, one of the reasons I've eschewed the Charismatic realm of the Church, I've had enough madness in my life! 

I've had a few times this year where I've woken up and found myself unable to move.... There was an undercurrent of vague panic, but really I just wanted to get back to sleep. It's the middle of the night, man!

I also had sleep paralysis several times. "Woke up", couldn't move, things started to warp and move, I heard voices, panicked and even had the fear of dying. Once there was a black "shadow being" hovering over me - no cat but a ghost like shape without a face or any limbs.

I'm a stomach sleeper and I only experience this when I sleep on my back. This happens very rarely cause normally I can't sleep on my back. Sometimes - when I'm in the mood for some horror - I try to fall asleep on my back and then....

 

I always believed the explanation is quite simple: While your body is sleeping your visiual sense starts to work (for some odd reason) and your brain is mixing up the visual impression with your dream state.

Tobi Elektrik wrote:

I always believed the explanation is quite simple: While your body is sleeping your visiual sense starts to work (for some odd reason) and your brain is mixing up the visual impression with your dream state.

I've had several instances of this as well.  It's been several years since I had an instance of it, but basically I would wake up unable to move, but it wasn't the same as a fully conscious state. It felt like the in-between land of sleep and consciousness. It's like my mind had become somewhat aware, but my body was still asleep and my conscious thoughts didn't connect with my body (I wanted to move but couldn't). I've never seen or heard anything during those episodes. It can be a panic inducing experience. You'll get the same thing if you administer a paralytic medication such as vecuronium without having first administered a sedative or systemic anesthetic. The person will report panic upon experiencing the effects of the paralytic alone, and panic can result in a cascade of various and unpredictable psychological experiences.  I agree with your thoughts on the matter. I also think that for those that do hear/see things, it is an experience of the psyche rather than malevolent metaphysical beings paying a visit. I don't think that demons operate in such obvious manners, and explaining this with demons is a bit of an archaic way of trying to understand the misunderstood.

Deepfriar wrote:My friend has had experience with sleep paralysis-like episodes. The topic came up many years ago when I told him I had gotten into this band who did a concept album about sleep paralysis (Dredg - El Cielo).

I don't remember him mentioning any shadowy figures, but I'll see if I can bring up the subject somehow next time I talk to him.

My friend confirmed he did experience shadow figures as well. I plan on getting together with him soon and having a lengthy discussion.

ThomasEversole wrote:No. ...but I did other hallucinogens in the past.

You might want to take into consideration ones chemical diet and its relation to such experiences.

Candlemass wrote:Yes, why I avoid this type of stuff like the plague!

^This guy gets it.^

Candlemass wrote:As for "sleep paralysis", experienced it many times, even decades after I stopped dropping acid. Many other bizarre experiences, one of the reasons I've eschewed the Charismatic realm of the Church, I've had enough madness in my life! 

That's 1 good reason for eschewing it. My reasons are based more on it biblicaly unsustainable doctrines and I have too much self respect to fake ecstatic experiences just to fit into the crowd.

On the the main topic. I think that these experiences can be attributed to a chemical imbalance in the body. Thus should take no more significance that the given meaning of a dream or nightmare.

As a supernaturalist I hope this video sets people free from this type of demonic attack and opens eyes to the spiritual reality of the heavenly realms.

d@v!d wrote:

ThomasEversole wrote:No. ...but I did other hallucinogens in the past.

You might want to take into consideration ones chemical diet and its relation to such experiences.

Well, I for one have never used any drugs or hallucinogens. I haven't ever smoked weed or cigarettes. I've drunk alcohol probably 4-5 times in my life. The last time was 15 years ago.

But then again, I've never seen those shadowpeople, only heard noises and voices, so maybe that visual sighting happens to past or present drug users

On the the main topic. I think that these experiences can be attributed to a chemical imbalance in the body. Thus should take no more significance that the given meaning of a dream or nightmare.

But what if dreams and nightmares are connected to the "otherworldly" stuff

Tobi Elektrik wrote:I'm a stomach sleeper and I only experience this when I sleep on my back. This happens very rarely cause normally I can't sleep on my back. Sometimes - when I'm in the mood for some horror - I try to fall asleep on my back and then....

I can't sleep on my stomach as I can't stand the feeling of my heart pumping, which I feel really hard after being on my stomach for a while, so I sleep on my back quite often. (I had a heart problem back in the day so when my focus goes into my heart it makes me feel awful - heck, I can't even read depictions of heart problems without getting dizzy)

Anyways, to me too this has happened mostly when sleeping on my back, but most often when I'm sleeping on a couch and not on a bed. I've seen people usually say the same thing that it mostly happens when sleeping on one's back, but one of the persons in the documentary told it happened to her when she was on her side and not on her back.

Airola wrote:

d@v!d wrote:

ThomasEversole wrote:No. ...but I did other hallucinogens in the past.

You might want to take into consideration ones chemical diet and its relation to such experiences.

Well, I for one have never used any drugs or hallucinogens. I haven't ever smoked weed or cigarettes. I've drunk alcohol probably 4-5 times in my life. The last time was 15 years ago.

But then again, I've never seen those shadowpeople, only heard noises and voices, so maybe that visual sighting happens to past or present drug users

On the the main topic. I think that these experiences can be attributed to a chemical imbalance in the body. Thus should take no more significance that the given meaning of a dream or nightmare.

But what if dreams and nightmares are connected to the "otherworldly" stuff

I don't know what's truly connected to what, but I know what I've experienced and have a strong suspicion as to why, an experience shared by another person here. You don't necessarily need to take bad chemicals to have problems. Think about epileptics for example.

Superjuice wrote:As a supernaturalist I hope this video sets people free from this type of demonic attack and opens eyes to the spiritual reality of the heavenly realms.

Amen

Here's a thought: whether or not it's demons or chemical imbalances I think we can all agree that it's not good. How sad that it tortures people like it does and I hope it gets more exposure. The more the light is shed upon the darkness with stuff like these documentaries that has a lady claiming that the shadow figures went away and never came back when she called upon the name of Jesus... this lady said she was not a Christian until after this... either way the fact that this lady had a miraculous conversion in her life means it is worth discussing.

Side note: I do believe it is primarily a demonic force but maybe not every single instance.

Airola wrote:

d@v!d wrote:

ThomasEversole wrote:No. ...but I did other hallucinogens in the past.

You might want to take into consideration ones chemical diet and its relation to such experiences.

2 points David, or anyone who thinks its just hallucinogens or some imbalance.
1) I've never experienced sleep paralysis myself, or anything I would identify as supernatural/paranormal.
2) When I was under the influence, I KNEW what I was seeing was a hallucination.

Please consider the evidence of millions of people in countries/cultures around the world before dismissing it to simple chemical inebriation. (whether self inflicted or not)

The spirit realm is real, and so are demons. I used to laugh off stories like these, assuming that the recipient was either on some hard drugs or otherwise had some wacky mental disorders. Not anymore. Discernment and prayer are important here.

H.M. Murdock wrote:The spirit realm is real, and so are demons. I used to laugh off stories like these, assuming that the recipient was either on some hard drugs or otherwise had some wacky mental disorders. Not anymore. Discernment and prayer are important here.

More Amen

This reminds me of a story I heard from someone who went somewhere to be a missionary(I can't remember where, but I have heard a lot of stories recently, so they're all running together).  Anyways, they met this person, a muslim, and started talking to him.  As they began to speak, he revealed that a "Man in white" had appeared to him in his dreams and that was the only dream he could remember.  They told him that was Christ and he was interested.  They parted ways.

The next day, he saw them and explained he had another dream.  In this dream he saw a man in all black with a hat trying to kill him.  They said that was the devil.  He accepted Jesus.

That being said, I do truly believe this is demonic in nature.  Sadly, many Christians are discounting the supernatural as having an impact on us to such a great extent.  But it does exist and it is very real.

ThomasEversole wrote:

Airola wrote:

d@v!d wrote:

ThomasEversole wrote:No. ...but I did other hallucinogens in the past.

You might want to take into consideration ones chemical diet and its relation to such experiences.

2 points David, or anyone who thinks its just hallucinogens or some imbalance.
1) I've never experienced sleep paralysis myself, or anything I would identify as supernatural/paranormal.
2) When I was under the influence, I KNEW what I was seeing was a hallucination.

Please consider the evidence of millions of people in countries/cultures around the world before dismissing it to simple chemical inebriation.  (whether self inflicted or not)

All my sleep experiences came in short order after the last time I used such substances. I'm not talking about the hallucinations I had while under.

Our brains are powerful. They have an incredible ability for imagination and to interpolate data sets. Think of all the optical illusions that you can see in science museums or even on some web pages.
Take into consideration how the chemicals that you can't even see dripped onto a tiny piece of blotter paper can send you into madness for hours or even days. Our bodies are very sensitive to chemicals. A tiny drop of snake venom can cause nerve paralysis. Watch out if you forget to scrape the mold off of your rye bread. Think of how vivid and real our dreams and nightmares seem to us when we are asleep. Our brains are powerful to imagine and our bodies are very sensitive to chemicals.

I sincerely believe that everything I saw and felt was a product of my mind.

All that said, I don't think it is impossible that for some their experience may have spiritual origins.

I'm just not keen to run to that conclusion on every report since it doesn't follow the biblical model of enemy's wiles. The Genesis narrative is the model. Satan's work is achieved when he convinces us that God isn't all good, all that we need, and isn't truthful, but that we need terrestrial things to fulfill us and make us wise.