Incubi and succubi: the ghosts of sleep

Have you ever dreamed that an entity sat on your chest and prevented you from breathing? Folklore has one explanation for this phenomenon and psychology, for its part, another. We explain it to you.

Incubi and succubi represent the same demonic creature capable of acquiring a feminine or masculine corporeality.. Its folklore dates back to Mesopotamia 2500 BC. C, where they were described as seductive entities that appeared at night to have sexual relations with their victims. And they did so by resting on the chest, hindering breathing.

Beyond the interesting mythology that surrounds these disturbing beings, psychology describes a clinical reality linked to these traditional figures. What is known as the “incubus phenomenon” is a very distressing type of parasomnia in which, in addition to experiencing the classic sleep paralysis, hallucinations appear. We suggest you learn more information below.

“Sleep is the small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctuary of the soul.”

~ Carl Jung (Archetypes and Collective Unconscious, 1969) ~

What are incubi and succubi?

It is very possible that you know the striking painting by the artist Heinrich Füssli, titled The Nightmare (1781). In it you can see a sleeping woman with an anthropomorphic creature on her chest, with a spectral horse peeking out of a red curtain in the purest David Lynch style. This being symbolizes an incubus, whose meaning, in late Latin, is “nightmare induced by a demon.”

The female version of this entity would be the succubus, which had its greatest representation in the figure of Lilith.. She was, according to Mesopotamian and Judaic tradition, Adam’s first wife, and who was later banished from the Garden of Eden. In Hebrew texts she is described as a nocturnal and lascivious demon that appeared in dreams. Let’s get more information.

A demonic imagery that spread throughout the world

Ludovico Maria Sinistrari was a 17th century Franciscan priest who studied the phenomenon of incubi and succubi. Currently, we find his work published under the title Incubi and Succubi or Demoniality: a historical study of sexual contacts with demons (2017). In this work he describes all the culture, beliefs and traditions around these creatures.

Read Also: How to solve the 7 most common family conflicts?

The main characteristic of this being able to adopt both genders is its power to stimulate the victim’s orgasm.. This gave him the opportunity to give birth and, in fact, tradition says that the wizard Merlin himself was the son of this demon. For its part, in the Malleus Maleficarum or book of witches from the 15th century, it describes how to get rid of it.

Specifically, there would be five mechanisms, among them would undoubtedly be the exorcism itself. Likewise, it is interesting to know that the imagery of these creatures extends throughout the world. In Japan, for example, we find the kanashibari, in India at pori and In England and the United States they have the form of a night witch called Old Hag.

Incubi and succubi are mythological beings that often represented sexual desires, fears and taboos in a given society. However, today, we continue to see its connection to the dream world, which awakens interest in the scientific community.

Nocturnal demons in psychiatry

Traditional culture usually leaves a psychological imprint on the unconscious of humanity. In some way, what Carl Jung described to us in his book Archetypes and unconscious (1969), has a part of reality. Along the history, There are many people who dream of mythological beings that are placed on their chest and prevent them from breathing.

What’s more, there are also cases in psychiatry of patients who say they have been raped in dreams. Let us remember that the incubus and its female counterpart, the succubus, were known to produce nocturnal pollution. These phenomena have been studied by science and have an explanation that is as interesting as it is illustrative.. We describe them to you:

The “incubus phenomenon”

The Industrial Psychiatry Journal described In 2018, the case of an 18-year-old boy who said he was sexually assaulted in his dreams by a witch. It was a feminine presence that, against her will, caused her to orgasm. After a clinical analysis, any type of parasomnia, such as night terrors, nightmares or sleep paralysis, was ruled out.

Read Also: Ten obstacles that prevent good communication

What the young man suffered from was schizophrenia and after treatment with aripiprazole, those experiences disappeared. This is not the only case. Frontiers in Psychiatry, also delved into these clinical conditions. This is the “incubus phenomenon”, a paroxysmal disorder that has a prevalence of 0.11% in the population. These are its characteristics:

Visual and tactile hallucination of a presence that is placed over the person. Said hallucinatory entity exerts pressure on the chest. This experience arises, in some cases, during sleep paralysis. The person suffers an extreme and overwhelming feeling of terror. A Despite fear, it can occur along with sexual arousal. The “incubus phenomenon” is common in patients with schizophrenia or narcolepsy.

Dissociation and sleep paralysis

The appearance in our dream universe of incubi and succubi is not only associated with the phenomenon described above. It is also common in patients who experience sleep paralysis., a type of parasomnia that, according to the International Journal of Applied & Basic Medical Research, affects 8% of the population. Let’s see how this experience is explained in this case:

Disruption of REM sleep: sleep paralysis appears during REM sleep. The muscles of the body are temporarily paralyzed to prevent us from acting or moving in our dreams. Sometimes, this immobility persists when the person wakes up, thus creating a very disturbing experience.Anxiety and difficulty breathing: This parasomnia is experienced with anguish and confusion. Breathing accelerates and it is common for the individual to experience great pressure in the chest.Dissociation: During this sleep disorder you can experience dissociation. A part of the mental apparatus becomes conscious, even though the brain remains installed in the REM phase of sleep. The sensation of suffocation can generate a vivid dream in which a being is visualized above the thorax.sexual arousal: You will be interested to know that during the REM phase the brain is as active as when awake. Blood flows more strongly to the genitals and this can generate sexual arousal.Guilt and discomfort: The vision of a supernatural being, added to the excitement that accompanies this experience, often makes the man or woman feel feelings of guilt, anxiety and great confusion.

Read Also: The 11 components of a good attitude

Dreams, mythology and the human mind

Dreams and myths have been interconnected in various cultures throughout our history. Also in art, because not only Henri Füssli wanted to make his own representation of incubi and succubi. We also have the Nightmare by Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard (1800), another equally impressive work.

The human psyche is no stranger to these artistic-mythological manifestations. Part of our nightmares are nourished by much of what we feel and also what we see. If we add to this all the sensory symptoms that accompany sleep paralysis, it is not strange to visualize a being that takes our breath away on our chest.

The ghosts of the dream universe do not start from nothing, they are also nourished by iconography, folklore and fears.. Of those atavistic fears that combine taboo with desire, the fascinating with the frightening.