The night hag in folklore

[ScriptReadsMe]

It just occurred to me that this fantastic creature appears in pretty much every culture across the globe, cultures that have very little in common. How did this myth propagate so far and what do you think it represents?

Yama-uba in Japanese folklore

Baba Yaga in Slavic folklore

Germanic (Hänsel und Gretel)

 

[Zer]

Every culture has men who've been around at last call bro

 

[bubbleboyjones]

Today we call them crazy cat lady.

 

[Thai Domi]

Wood

 

[ScriptReadsMe]

Today we call them crazy cat lady.

 

[BB in Crazy!!!!]

Many different cultures also have forms of drowning creatures, like bog/swamp/water hags to keep kids away from water that they may accidentally drown in. Like this ole lovely lady.

 

[FacePunch]

Unfortunately, The Mother-In-Law has been around as long as there has been pussy.

 

[minute bull]

Bitches ain't shit in every culture, TS.

 

[Doughbelly]

Because sleep paralysis happens regardless of culture or ethnicity.

 

[ScriptReadsMe]

Because sleep paralysis happens regardless of culture or ethnicity.

How did we come to assign the picture of a night hag to sleep paralysis?

 

[BEER]

Every culture has men who've been around at last call bro

/thread

 

[Turtlejuice]

Round these parts we refer to that as the morning after.

 

[Plissken]

Should have used the last picture for a "your mom" joke.

 

[LEGS MAHONEY]

the hag thing being noted as a sight around the world with sleep paralysis is disturbing as all hell.

 

[TONY-T]

 

[Lights Out 101]

I find it odd that some people from different parts of the world who suffer from sleep paralysis see the hag in their hallucinations.

I suffer from SP from time to time but have never seen the hag, I see a strange bearded man who twists and contorts his body while moving.

 

[VulcanNervPinch]

I find it odd that some people from different parts of the world who suffer from sleep paralysis see the hag in their hallucinations.

I suffer from SP from time to time but have never seen the hag, I see a strange bearded man who twists and contorts his body while moving.

 

[Agent Mulder's Hair]

Because sleep paralysis happens regardless of culture or ethnicity.

You do realize why your explanation falls apart, don't you? You're talking about people all over the world throughout centuries all from different cultures and backgrounds who have what? A shared mass hallucination? And THAT is a satisfactory explanation for you? Not for me. If it is only a hallucination, why and how are so many unrelated people throughout centuries having the SAME hallucination? I ask the same question about The Hat Man, as well. Is it possible that there really is something there, but that they exist in a different plane of existence than we do and we are only aware of their presence when we are in a certain state of mind, like between REM sleep and waking?

 

[Goonerview]

Cultures all across the world have the concepts of dragons, kings, queens, God, heaven/hell etc.

 

[Willy Womack]

Read up on some of Joseph Cambell's works, or even Jordan Peterson. They speak a lot about different archetypes that are born of the human mind and transcend culture. These could be considered biologically based ideas since they've been repeated so many times throughout history and within various cultures that had never made contact.

I think the "hags" might typically represent the malevolent side of the mother, or even femininity, which is often associated with chaos and the unknown (order is usually considered more masculine and represented by the father). No doubt every society or even hunter-gatherer clan has dealt with psychotic women.

Also, Agent Mulder and Doughbelly, I read something yesterday that's interesting and relevant. Apparently the vast majority of sleep paralysis cases in Egypt are attributed to Jinn, and of the sufferers 90% claim to recite Koran verses during an episode in order to banish the Jinn and sleep safely.