"The Old Hag"

Have you ever found yourself awake at night, unable to move, your heart pounding as you stare at the aspects of the room--maybe the clock, maybe the window--feeling that there is a presence in the room with you...coming toward you, but you can't move...
   For those who don't realise it this is the beginning of the experience known in Newfoundland as "the Old Hag."  E. Annie Proulx mentions the term twice in The Shipping News, on page 54 "'The Old Hag's got her,'" and on page 208, "The Old Hag came in the night, saddled and bridled Quoyle," but never explains what the term implies.
    In Newfoundland the term "Old Hag" refers to an experience that happens to about 23% of the populations that have been surveyed (Hufford: 1982). Other terms for this experience may be "Witch Ridden," "Incubus," or "In The Fairies."  ("I was in the fairies all night.")  David J. Hufford's book, The Terror that Comes in the Night, gives a substantial account of the experience.
     Hufford lists the following features as criteria for identifying the "Old Hag" experience:

                         I. Description
                                A. Primary features (definitive)
                                    1. subjective impression of wakefulness
                                    2. immobility variously perceived (paralysis,
                                       restraint, fear of moving)
                                    3. realistic perception of actual environment
                                    4. fear

                                B. Secondary features (reported more than once,
                                   most experiences contain at least one, often more)
                                   1. supine position (very common)
                                   2. feeling of presence (common)
                                   3. numinous quality (common)
                                   4. fear of death (somewhat common)

                        II. Frequency and distribution
                                A. Overall: 23 percent of sample
                                B. By sex: the difference in number of positive
                                   reports is not significant
                                C. Pattern of reccurence
                                   1. once only or once and occasionally, with
                                      intervals of months or years (most common)
                                   2. one or more "runs" of frequent attacks lasting
                                      one or two weeks (sometimes)
                                   3. frequent chronic attacks over a long period
                                      (rarely)
                                                           Hufford: 25.

     Even though about twenty percent of the population have this experience, many people do not actually discuss it because they think it is an experience that noone else has had.  The reason that the experience is largely known in Newfoundland may simply be because our culture has named an otherwise abstract experience.  Naming something gives it power by giving a concrete image to an abstract, or vaguely explained, experience. There is a theory that says this experience has been given different supernatural names in many cultures.  If you compare the experiences of the following traditions you may see the comparison that is being made between them and the "Old Hag," where paralysis in the bed, fear, and a presence in the room have possibly been explained as Vampire, Witch, Ghost, or Alien Visitation.  Think about it.