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Description
The Mara, or Night Mare is a malicious entity which can be found present in the folklore of practically every culture in Europe, and even has (admittedly sometimes tenuous) links in others, including India, China and Japan. She comes during sleep, and is known to ride, straddle or sit on her victims upper torso. These unfortunates may be strangled by her, smothered or crushed, and, horror of horrors, she may mess your hair up if you are really unlucky. This is often in conjunction with afflicting you with vivid dreams full of horror and dread, for she feeds on your negative emotions, your discomfort, your anxieties and your fears.

You may have met her yourself, if you have ever suffered sleep paralysis, as many people do at some point in their life. Depending upon the severity of your experience, you may feel pressure on your chest, a tightness in your throat and panic due to your body being effectively paralysed. You may well be stuck in some half lucid, half awake, half asleep state, with particularly discomforting dream experiences. You may even have perceived a figure crouching over you, or even sitting on your chest, as many people who suffer a severe case do.

Some tales speak of witches being able to assume the form of a Mara in order to afflict a particular enemy with such treatment, as in the Ynglinga saga.

Of course, this is just a folklore explanation for of finding oneself stuck somewhere between sleep and waking states, during which the body is in a state of paralysis to prevent walking off some cliff during a particularly energetic dream. The anxiety of feeling complete body paralysis, whilst being in a liminal and suggestive state can lead to some very trippy and dreadful expperiences, including hallucinations...

...or maybe you had a visit from an entity that's been in evidence in folklore for potentially 6000 years which wants to feed on your pain suffering; you decide.

p.s. This was supposed to be a Halloween posting, but the best laid plans and all that

Description
The Mara, or Night Mare is a malicious entity which can be found present in the folklore of practically every culture in Europe, and even has (admittedly sometimes tenuous) links in others, including India, China and Japan. She comes during sleep, and is known to ride, straddle or sit on her victims upper torso. These unfortunates may be strangled by her, smothered or crushed, and, horror of horrors, she may mess your hair up if you are really unlucky. This is often in conjunction with afflicting you with vivid dreams full of horror and dread, for she feeds on your negative emotions, your discomfort, your anxieties and your fears.

You may have met her yourself, if you have ever suffered sleep paralysis, as many people do at some point in their life. Depending upon the severity of your experience, you may feel pressure on your chest, a tightness in your throat and panic due to your body being effectively paralysed. You may well be stuck in some half lucid, half awake, half asleep state, with particularly discomforting dream experiences. You may even have perceived a figure crouching over you, or even sitting on your chest, as many people who suffer a severe case do.

Some tales speak of witches being able to assume the form of a Mara in order to afflict a particular enemy with such treatment, as in the Ynglinga saga.

Of course, this is just a folklore explanation for of finding oneself stuck somewhere between sleep and waking states, during which the body is in a state of paralysis to prevent walking off some cliff during a particularly energetic dream. The anxiety of feeling complete body paralysis, whilst being in a liminal and suggestive state can lead to some very trippy and dreadful expperiences, including hallucinations...

...or maybe you had a visit from an entity that's been in evidence in folklore for potentially 6000 years which wants to feed on your pain suffering; you decide.

p.s. This was supposed to be a Halloween posting, but the best laid plans and all that