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David Hufford's work exploring the experiential basis for belief in the supernatural, focusing here on 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.
Acknowledgments
Introduction
The Old Hag in Newfoundland
The Old Hag and the Cultural Source Hypothesis
The Phenomenology of the Old Hag
The Psychological Dis-Interpretation of the Old Hag
The Old Hag and Culture
Conclusion
Appendix
Bibliography
Index of Features
General Index