David Hufford's work deals with the so-called Old Hag experience, a psychologically disturbing event in which a victim claims to have encountered some form of malign entity while dreaming (or awake). Sufferers report feeling suffocated, held down by some "force," paralyzed, and extremely afraid. The experience is surprisingly common: the author estimates that approximately 15 percent of people undergo this event at some point in their lives. Various cultures have their own name for the phenomenon and have constructed their own mythology around it; the supernatural tenor of many Old Hag stories is unavoidable. Hufford, as a folklorist, is well-placed to investigate this puzzling occurrence.
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His experience-centered methodology for dealing with strange phenomena is worth studying. -- Journal of Operational Psychology, Vol. 14 No.1, 1983
It's a provocative exploratory work with numerous firsthand accounts. -- The Book Review, Los Angeles Times, May 1, 1983
This is a scholarly book, but very readable by a person without a technical background. -- Choice, May 1983
It's a provocative exploratory work with numerous firsthand accounts. -- The Book Review, Los Angeles Times, May 1, 1983
This is a scholarly book, but very readable by a person without a technical background. -- Choice, May 1983
From the Publisher
David Hufford's academic work, subtitled An Experience Centered Study of Supernatural Assault Traditions, deals with the so-called 'Old Hag' experience, a psychologically disturbing event in which a victim claims to have encountered some form of malign entity whilst dreaming (or awake). Sufferers report feeling suffocated, held down by some 'force', paralyzed-and extremely afraid. It is an experience which is surprisingly common, with Hufford estimating that approximately 15% of people undergo it at some point in their lives. Various cultures have their own name for the phenomenon, and have constructed their own mythology around it; the supernatural tenor of many Old Hag stories is unavoidable. Hufford, as a folklorist, is well-placed to investigate this puzzling occurrence.
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The Canadian province of Newfoundland is an island in the North Atlantic off the east coast of Canada. Read the first page
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By Lisa
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The shipping was very quick and easy to deal with. The book was in better shape than I had expected. An excellent product to say the least. Can't wait to start reading it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By M. Packo
I applaud Professor Hufford for this ground-breaking analysis
of Night Hag (Phantomania) attacks. Nothing else quite like
it since its original publication over 20 years ago.
Though it begins, and occasionally bogs down, in typically tiresome academic prose, Hufford has the courage to allow the facts to speak for themselves - with the benefit of his methodical and objective reasoning. This eventually delivers his subject from the tediousness of too much jargon and equivocating.
And though he (wisely) resists arriving at any certain conclusions,his courage to at least acknowledge most of the possible correlatives associated with pavor nocturnus is to his credit.
of Night Hag (Phantomania) attacks. Nothing else quite like
it since its original publication over 20 years ago.
Though it begins, and occasionally bogs down, in typically tiresome academic prose, Hufford has the courage to allow the facts to speak for themselves - with the benefit of his methodical and objective reasoning. This eventually delivers his subject from the tediousness of too much jargon and equivocating.
And though he (wisely) resists arriving at any certain conclusions,his courage to at least acknowledge most of the possible correlatives associated with pavor nocturnus is to his credit.
Most of the eyewitness accounts (which, I think, could have been
improved by some editting), actually make for some scary and unnerving late night reading. If you have read Grave's End,
you will know what I mean - only multiple, and more believable, examples of the same sort of experience.
I only wish that the Professor had more thoroughly described the different stages of sleep, including brain wave Hz rates, length and periodicity of cycles and degress of REM activity.
It seems to me that an all inclusive scientific study of nightmares should result in some truly surprising insights into the nature of consiousness itself.
Likewise, Professor Hufford is way overdue for an update considering the limited sources his research was conducted
from and based upon.
In that regard, allow me to recommend to whomever might be
interested in pursuing an understanding of the Night Hag:
Carlos Castaneda's The Active Side of Infinity, particularly
the chapters on Inorganic Awareness and Mud Shadows.
Skeptical? Just take a look, you'll see what I mean.
By grasshopper4
David Hufford looks at a phenomenon called "The Old Hag" in this remarkable study of folklore. The "Old Hag" consists of a belief that a person is stunned by supernatural forces and ridden by a ghost, witch, or other supernatural being in the night. He became interested in the unified way in which people described eerie nightmares that froze people with fright. Hufford discovered that the experience was shared by people who had never even met, thereby challenging the idea that "The Old Hag" was merely a folk belief passed along in an oral tradition. The book provides an excellent way to understand belief from the point of view of a person who accepts it as part of reality. It also provides interesting ways to think about ways to reconcile belief with science. Finally, the book adds great insight into beliefs in alien abductions.
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