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Imagine this: You're fast asleep when all of a sudden you're awoken!
想像這個場景：正當你睡得很香的時候突然驚醒了！
And not by your alarm clock.
而且你不是被鬧鐘吵醒的。
Your eyes open, and there's a demon sitting on your chest, pinning you down.
你睜開雙眼，在你的胸前坐著一個惡魔，狠狠地壓住你。
You try to open your mouth and scream, but no sound comes out.
你試圖張嘴尖叫，但是無法發出聲音。
You try to get up and run away, but you realize that you are completely immobilized.
你試圖爬起來逃跑，但是你意識到你完全無法動彈。
The demon is trying to suffocate you, but you can't fight back.
那個惡魔試圖讓你窒息，但是你無力反抗。
You've awoken into your dream, and it's a nightmare.
你驚醒過來，原來這是一場噩夢。
It sounds like a Stephen King movie, but it's actually a medical condition called sleep paralysis,
雖然這聽起來像一部斯蒂芬.金的電影，但是這其實是一種身體狀況叫做睡眠癱瘓，
and about half of the population has experienced this strange phenomenon at least once in their life.
大約一半的人在他們的一生中至少經歷過一次這種奇怪的現象。
This panic-inducing episode of coming face-to-face with the creatures from your nightmares can last anywhere from seconds to minutes
這種誘發恐慌感覺與噩夢中的生物面對面的情形一般能夠持續數秒或甚至幾分鐘，
and may involve visual or auditory hallucinations of an evil spirit or an out-of-body feeling like you're floating.
比如你正飄浮在空中。
Some have even mistaken sleep paralysis for an encounter with a ghost or an alien abduction.
一些人錯誤地認為睡眠癱瘓是因為碰到了鬼，或者是被外星生物綁架。
In 1867, Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell was the first medical professional to study sleep paralysis.
1867年，塞拉斯·威爾·米切爾醫生成為第一個開展睡眠癱瘓研究的權威人士。
"The subject awakes to consciousness of his environment but is incapable of moving a muscle.
“研究對象對于周圍環境意識清醒但是他的肌肉無法動彈。
Lying to all appearance, still asleep.
表面上看，他似乎仍然處于睡眠狀態。
He's really engaged for a struggle for movement, fraught with acute mental distress.
但是其實他一直在努力掙扎，試圖移動，并且腦中充斥著嚴重的精神壓力。
Could he but manage to stir, the spell would vanish instantly."
他只能夠使勁試圖移動，魔鬼的力量不久就會消失。”
Even though Dr. Mitchell was the first to observe patients in a state of sleep paralysis,
盡管米切爾醫生是第一個觀察處于睡眠癱瘓狀態中的病人的人
it's so common that nearly every culture throughout time has had some kind of paranormal explanation for it.
幾乎在各種文化的歷史長河中都出現過對于這個現象超自然的解釋。
In medieval Europe, you might think that an incubus, a sex-hungry demon in male form, visited you in the night.
在中世紀的歐洲，人們認為這是一個魔鬼，一個性饑渴的男性魔鬼在夢中造訪他們。
In Scandinavia, the mare, a damned woman, is responsible for visiting sleepers and sitting on their rib cages.
在斯堪的納維亞，是一頭母馬，一個噩夢般的女人，負責造訪沉睡中的人們并且坐在他們的胸廓上。
In Turkey, a jinn holds you down and tries to strangle you.
在土耳其，是一個神靈按住他們并且試圖扼死他們。
In Thailand, Phi Am bruises you while you sleep.
在泰國，是寡婦鬼使他們在夢中受傷。
In the southern United States, the hag comes for you.
在美國南部，是因為女巫。
In Mexico, you could blame subirse el muerto, the dead person, on you.
一個已經死了的人壓在你身上。
In Greece, Mora sits upon your chest and tries to asphyxiate you.
在希臘，是莫拉坐在胸口上試圖使你窒息。
In Nepal, Khyaak the ghost resides under the staircase.
在尼泊爾，是住在樓梯下面的魔鬼凱安克。
