Jose UbedaS.I.: Sierra Bronkhorst

TA: Shellie/CyrilThe similarities between alien abduction claims to the neuropsychological experiences

brought on by sleep paralysis, as well as the commonalities of the sleep paralysis experience

throughout multiple cultures, demonstrates that the phenomenon serves as the groundwork upon

which purported “alien abductees” base their claims. Many of these abductees strongly defend

their positions, despite the fact that several defining characteristics of these purported abductions

correlate to the neurophysiology behind hypnogogic and hypnopompic experiences (HHEs)

undergone in conjunction with sleep paralysis (SP). The subsequent interpretations of these

HHEs demonstrate that misinterpretation of physically-based phenomena often tend to also

directly correlate to experiences thought to be part of abduction by aliens. The relationship

between HHEs and aspects of abduction claims requires further evaluation to demonstrate that

apparent out of this world experiences and invasions are nothing more than an acutely

heightened neurological response with a physiological origin. Previous and continuing research

into the stages of sleep, rapid-eye movement and non-rapid eye movement, demonstrate that the

physiological processes of the human body produce extraordinary sensory experiences, all in an

attempt to sleep. As researchers investigate the ways in which the mind perceives sensory

phenomena brought about during altered physical states, it becomes easier to offer an

explanation in support not of abduction claims, but of a bodily cause for these misinterpreted

events. Additionally, while multiple aspects of the SP phenomenon and abduction claims mirror

each other in cultures around the world, these connections continue to face a large amount of

scrutiny from supporters of the latter. Education regarding the deep cross-cultural similarities of

sleep paralysis episodes needs to be widely distributed and easily visualized, so that people with

abduction claims have the ability to scrutinize their statements against the SP phenomenon

across a wide variety of people and places. Resources such as David J. Hufford’s A Terror That

Comes In The Night serve as invaluable references that connect SP accounts across a huge

spectrum. These resources provide an unvarying background that serves as a basis of comparison

for claims of abduction. Ultimately, in providing the resources necessary to make an accurate

comparison and decision on the interpretation of an experience, researchers may continue to

advance their work on paranormal occurrences via the removal of false positives and false

negatives. The removal of false positives and false negatives ensures that researchers focus

solely on unexplained phenomena and not on events that have a basis in common physiology and

psychology. Most importantly, this investigation demonstrates that abnormal claims of

experience, such as alien abductions, trace to bodily origins and do not merit any concerns or

questioning of psychological well being.

To begin the argument that SP serves to establish the base upon which “abductees” claim

truth, I will present established data on the neurophysiological origins of SP, as well as debunk

support for the individuality of abduction claims. Next, I hypothesize that memory distortion via

fantasy proneness, coupled with cultural interpretations regarding SP, directly correlates to the

propensity of people claiming alien abduction. Subsequently, I will draw support from multiple

SP case studies, focusing on particularly repetitive elements of these episodes to show how they

provide experiencers around the world with a common narrative that directly correlates to the

similarities between abduction claims. After this, I focus on Cartesian dualism and how the

methodology causes and explains the variation in abduction claims, not actual varying

experiences.

Researchers around the world continuously investigate sleep paralysis (SP), showing that

despite societal differences, the phenomenon presents itself within significant portions of the

population. Considering that a vast amount of purported interactions and abduction by aliens

2

maintain a high degree of similarity, the scientific community may assume that the model below

provides a legitimate connection through which many “experiencers” relate to one another

(Enigma 11-12). Often times, people who experience sleep paralysis (SP) encounter confusion

when relating the experience to friends or family (Relations 317). Despite this prevalence in

people, the biological processes via which SP occurs remain highly debatable, with many

investigators offering multiple avenues of reasoning. SP occurs in conjunction with the

established stages of sleep, known as Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and Non-Rapid Eye

Movement (NREM), with the majority of experiences materializing at the onset of REM

(Hishikawa and Shimizu 257-258). In regards to grounding the SP phenomenon to physiological

causes, Hiishikawa and Shimizu provide a strong model that ties together interplay between what

they label “REM sleep-on and REM sleep-off” neuronal populations. Via this model, data

suggests that monoaminergic structures that generally inhibit “REM sleep-on” neuronal

populations, cells that normally inactivate during the REM sleep stage, are the primary reason for

irregular onset of REM sleep and subsequently, sleep paralysis (Hishikawa and Shimizu 252).

The sheer prevalence of SP within the general population and amongst people with sleep

disorders, coupled with the neurophysiology model above, allows one to correlate the

phenomena to the wide range of abduction claims. Since hypnopompic and hypnogogic

hallucinations accompany the REM sleep-on/off model, not only does light shine on the common

framework of abduction claims, but these statements simplify to a neurophysiological origin, not

to otherworldly events.

While purported experiencers such as Whitley Strieber argue that the generality of

abduction claims gives them credibility, the individuality of experiences that abductees convey

in recounting their abduction claims remains a defining feature that they hold on to, despite its

3

fallibility. Although the “REM sleep-on and off” model connects abduction claims and provides

a closer look at their underlying basis, the insight has further possible reaches. To researchers,

people’s anomalous experiences, such as claims of alien abductions, appear incredulous in that

they involve varied occurrences ranging from traveling to alternative worlds and dimensions, to

multi-faceted interactions with many beings (Communion 216-222). In addition to the variability

that occurs during supposed abduction experiences, the overall goal of “alien abductors” also

tends to vary, encompassing both malevolent and benevolent realizations. Although these

otherworldly claims maintain a sense of uniqueness to the purported experiencer, the majority of

experiences share multiple archetypal connections. The connections present evidence that

strengthens the support of a common base or framework to which anomalous occurrences such

as abduction claims directly correlate to (Brown 277-283). Whether considering the fact that

many abduction claims involve beings whom lack limitation by common physical laws, or that

the majority of claimed experiences occur in altered states of consciousness, archetypal

connections serve to detract credibility from this apparent phenomenon as a whole. Archetypal

connections remove credibility because they interconnect the majority of abduction claims, via a

multitude of aspects, allowing researchers to more easily attach a sufficient explanation to these

claims, as seen with the SP phenomenon across cultures. Without the power of being separate

from a common framework, individual claims of alien abduction correspond to a misinterpreted

occurrence, a stance argued in the subsequent sections of this analysis.

Provided with the idea above that anomalous experiences such as abduction claims break

down to a common framework, the connection between the cross-cultural SP phenomenon and

alien abduction becomes noticeable. The SP phenomenon, or “night-mare as researchers refer to

it,” maintains a high degree of similarity all around the world, including in societies where no set

4

of beliefs or established models exist to provide a meaning for the experience (Adler 9).

Common features of the night-mare include: the sense of being “awake,” perceiving the

environment as incredibly real, body wide paralysis and (perhaps the most terrifying for the

majority of people) a sensed presence coupled with overwhelming fear and dread throughout the

entire episode (Hufford 20-21).The occurrence of hypnopompic and hypnagogic

hallucinations/experiences (HHEs), another key defining feature of SP, additionally links

abduction claims and the SP phenomenon. HHEs, hallucinations that have a heightened sensory

effect due to the physiology of the body during REM sleep, represent the actual occurrence that

prompts claims of alien abductions. The onset of SP preceding the start of REM sleep brings

about an altered bodily state, one that both external and internal stimuli act upon. The external

and internal stimuli combine, creating challenging sensory situations from which the central

nervous system draws no coherent and meaningful interpretation from (Hypnagogic 321). When

the body functions abnormally throughout an unfamiliar experience, such as during a typical SP

episode, the door opens for exaggerated interpretations of temporary hallucinations as things

such as alien abduction. One of the prime examples of this human response remains present

throughout Strieber’s Communion, in which Strieber experiences vast internal struggles while

construing what he sees inside of his bedroom (Communion 11-12). Strieber demonstrates a clear

pathology of SP in that he not only experiences several of the defining characteristics others have

felt in a typical SP episode, but that when he ultimately fails to make sense of what he believes

he sees, he attributes it to the culturally available narrative of alien abduction. Rather, claims

such as the ones that Strieber makes relate to the Intruder, Incubus and Vestibular-Motor (IVM)

model. In the IVM model SP-related hallucinations include sensory experiences ranging from

humanoid apparitions to people’s sensations of something touching or grabbing them (Sleep

5

Paralysis 320). Both the Intruder and Incubus aspects of the model, where people perceive the

definitive SP characteristic of a threatening presence, provide an explanation for another

common feature present in abduction claims. The previous model provides an explanation for the

invasion of one’s surroundings and subsequent assault by an external agent, both common

features of abduction claims. Given the high degree of similarity and prevalence of the SP

phenomenon throughout societies, HHEs and their bodily interpretations among SP sufferers

represent the basis of abduction claims around the world.

While the SP phenomenon and claims of alien abduction interconnect on a physiological

level, their correlation strengthens on a subconscious level among people who claim abduction,

but that most likely misinterpret SP episodes. The biggest proponent demonstrating that people

with abduction claims misinterpret SP episodes is that these “abductees” present demonstrably

higher levels of memory distortion and fantasy proneness (Clancy et al., 455-456; McNally 11-

12). In being susceptible to high levels of absorption, a trait that ties in with fantasy proneness

and proneness to memory distortion, people who claim abduction by aliens live with a higher

risk of seeing the accompanying HHEs of SP as an alternative experience. In reality, the alleged

abductee’s experience represents a bodily recognition of the paralysis that prevents the body

from moving during the REM sleep stage. Coupled with the fear in not being able to make sense

of HHEs, the confusion these people experience becomes a distortion where extraterrestrials go

about and manipulate them however they like. In addition to this distortion, first-time SP

experiencers’ misinterpret the SP phenomenon more readily due to little exposure with the

experience and lack of knowledge of the physiology behind it or the accompanying HHEs. These

people misinterpret natural experiences commonly, especially considering the fact that they often

piece together extremely vivid imagery.

6

Lastly, to tie together the previous two sections, I introduce Hufford’s 1982 cultural

source hypothesis (CSH) and the role it has in contributing to the misinterpretation of SP

episodes as alien abductions (Hufford 14). The CSH involves beliefs that claim as the

hypothesis’ legitimizing power, extraordinary events involving direct contact with supernatural

powers, foreshadowing the role that tradition plays in a culture (Hufford 14-15). The relationship

between the CSH and the incorrect interpretation of SP episodes manifests when looking at

cultures with deep roots in religions like Catholicism, a cultural component prevalent in Latin

American countries like Guatemala. In Guatemala, as well as in many societies around the

world, peoples’ beliefs in concepts such as heaven and hell develop via practicing Catholicism.

Believers accept the existence of locations like heaven and hell, despite the confirmation of these

places lacking empirical evidence. I argue that peoples’ openness to spiritual ideologies makes

them more prone to misinterpretation of events they experience. Considering the prominence of

multiple ideologies throughout today’s world, a large chance exists that the culture that an

individual lives in follows a particular ideology, regardless of that individual’s own practices or

beliefs. If this ideology involves higher powers and the existence of a world other than the

physical one, these people would find it easier to correlate terrifying SP episodes and HHEs to an

otherworldly or supernatural power. Coupled with the levels of fantasy proneness, absorption

and simple lack of physiological knowledge concerning sleep paralysis, the CSH serves as the

final element by which a vast amount of people come to the conclusion of alien abduction.

Hufford (1982) provides a clear-cut investigation into the prevalence of the SP

phenomenon across multiple cultures, a study that continues to expand today. He develops a

common, and many times, basal spiritual narrative that represents the similarities across

abduction claims. Hufford shows that a main theme exists in the three original SP case studies of

7

the “Old Hag (Newfoundland), Uqumangirniq (Canada) and Kanashibari (Japan)” phenomena.

The main theme is that a spiritual or otherworldly entity carries out the “attack” during SP (Adler

28-31). Subsequent studies of the SP phenomenon in more recent times evokes, from groups

such as university students, the belief in an attack by a spirit like creature that prayer confronts

the best (Jalal et al., 163). The fact that beliefs concerning the SP phenomenon change very little

over the course of more than 30 years provides evidence for the phenomenon’s connection to

claims of alien abduction, being that the latter has remained largely unchanged as well over the

same period of time. It remains interesting to note that often times, despite the very nature of SP

in causing seemingly debilitating physical effects, a large portion of general populations across

cultures fail to evoke physical problems with their bodies, choosing instead to address what they

believe might be the cause of their ailment via methods such as prayer and even traditional

healers (Ohaeri et al., 509). As in Strieber’s Communion, “experiencers” conclude that

psychologically, nothing is wrong (Communion 21-32). In comparison, experiencers of SP across

a multitude of settings conclude that something else causes their discontent. (cite here)

Considering that attitudes about both SP and abduction claims fail to delineate, even over a

multi-decade time period, abduction claims overlay onto a spiritual SP narrative, highlighting the

relationship between the two phenomenon.

Ultimately, the disconnect between the study of the mind and study of the body,

otherwise known as Cartesian dualism (Cd), strengthens the theory that abduction claims

represent misinterpreted SP occurrences. First off, seeing the mind and body as separate is both a

non-universal method and a cultural and historical construction, prevalent at an extremely high

level in the Western world (Scheper-Huges and Lock 6-7). The prevalence of the Cd

construction and the narrow scope that it provides in terms of viewing abnormal phenomena

8

poses a difficult challenge. The Cd construction prevents categorization of abduction claims into

the categories of physical or mental occurrences. However, because of the previously established

connections between the SP phenomenon and claims of alien abduction, the Cd framework

provides people with the only possible explanation for claims of alien abduction that they will

readily accept. The Cd framework provides the explanation that abduction claims correlate to SP

episodes and the HHEs that accompany it. People accept claims of alien abduction as nothing

more than accounts of HHEs they experience during SP because phenomena dependent on

personal beliefs do not integrate into an accepted framework, especially a medical one (Adler,

6)! Authors of the Impossible author Jeffery Krippal expands on this idea in talking about the

works of Frederic Myers and the London Society for Psychical Research, saying that humans

perceive “impossibilities” that do not represent truly impossible events. Krippal claims that this

interpretation of events represents the fact that humans fail to fully understand the human

personality and how to separate the human ego from it. Essentially, Krippal argues, humans

simply have yet to understand the mechanisms by which impossible seeming events such as

telepathy occur, thus people accept the simplest explanation (Krippal 75-82). The same concept

applies when investigating claims of alien abduction. With the Cd viewpoint at the forefront,

claims of alien abduction have a direct relationship to the SP phenomenon because it presents the

most rational route to take.

Lastly, the prevailing analytical question is, “where do we go from here?” Frankly, until

sufficient evidence exists in support of claims of alien abductions as their own subset of

occurrences, completely separate from the SP phenomenon, humans will deduce these abnormal

claims to something that meets, not breaks, vast amounts of laws rooted in physics, astronomy

and biology (McNally 21-22). Regardless of alien abduction claims’ fantastical nature, these

9

claims represent nothing more than HHE misinterpretations occurring during SP. People with

alien abduction claims need the option of fact checking their own statements against grounded

possibilities that represent the true cause of their disturbance. Despite the advancement of

technology and the accessibility of information, people fail to locate information that accurately

depicts their experiences, especially with regards to sleep paralysis, a realization that drives them

more so to claim abduction by aliens. Cheyne’s previous investigation of undergraduate

university students reveals the commonality of this occurrence, as his data shows that not only do

a high degree of students experience the SP phenomenon very rarely, but also very recently and

for the first time (Hypnagogic 323-324). One useful resource for people to have at their disposal

would be a website that directly portrays the commonalities between the SP phenomenon and

claims of alien abduction. This resource gives people the ability to scrutinize themselves against

the established empirical facts and, coincidentally, aids researchers in the removal of false

positive and negatives in terms of anomalous experiences. In doing so, researchers focus on

actual oddities in terms of experiences, further advancing the field of academic research on the

topic. Despite the advancement of technology and the accessibility of information found

throughout this analysis, people fail to locate information that accurately depicts their

experiences, thus driving them more so to claim abduction by aliens.

In order to recognize the relationship between SP and alien abduction claims, I first

presented a neurophysiological background of the phenomenon. Subsequently, I used this

background as support for the interconnectedness of abduction claims, most of which lack a true

individuality that separates them as unique from the masses of abduction claims. Second, I

present the idea that people come to the conclusion of abduction by aliens because of the

personal and social reasons of memory distortion via fantasy proneness, coupled with

10

interplaying cultural influences. After this, I used results from different SP case studies, all of

which resulted in the discovery of repetitive SP elements, to show that there exists a common

narrative to which abduction claims can be directly compared to all around the world. Lastly, I

highlighted the prevalence of the Cd framework of thinking and its dominance in how humans

interpret anomalous experiences, a conclusion that provides an explanation for apparent variation

in abduction claims.

Through resources such as Hufford’s A Terror That Comes in The Night, we see that the

SP phenomenon represents a clear-cut experience to which abduction claims have a solid

correlation. Resources in and outside of the literature not only serve to help shine light on the

true nature of abduction claims, but also help advance the work of researchers investigating the

field of paranormal occurrences by ensuring that they focus on occurrences that have no

plausible explanation. Most importantly, this analysis diminishes fears of personal psychological

problems, showing that purported abductions relate highly to occurrences with bodily origins.

Taking note of the cross-cultural similarities of SP, a prominent solution is development

of methods via which purported abductees compare their claims to documented SP experiences

across different cultures. In accomplishing this, the direct correlations between characteristics of

a typical SP episode and the characteristics of abduction claims can no longer be denied nor

scrutinized by those who support the possibility of real abductions. As more rigorous

investigations of the SP phenomenon and the alternative physical states it brings materialize,

abnormal sensory perception during SP becomes the bodily event that explains abduction claims

and results in SP’s misinterpretations. The altered physical states and accompanying abnormal

sensory perception represent the physiological processes that the body undergoes during the

different stages of sleep, as well as the culprits that produce the incredulous sensory experiences

11

that people assume to be alien abductions. All in all, the relationships between HHEs and

components of abduction claims require additional investigation. Researchers’ additional

investigations provide proof that SP creates conditions that elicit an abnormal and higher-level

neurological response. This response represents the basis of paranormal experiences and

invasions such as alien abductions. The misinterpretation of phenomena that have physical

causes, common with HHEs, directly correspond to occurrences thought to be a part of supposed

anomalous experiences. Supporters of these supposed anomalous experiences often refuse to

budge from their position, despite the presentation to them of proof that several components of

alien abduction claims associate with the neurophysiology responsible for HHEs during SP

episodes. Due to the fact that many cross cultural similarities exist within the SP phenomenon, as

well as the links between claims of alien abduction and the neuropsychological experiences that

SP brings, sufficient proof exists that pinpoints the SP phenomenon as the basis for purported

abductees’ claims of abduction.

12

Works Cited

1. Adler, Shelley R. Sleep Paralysis Night-mares, Nocebos, and the Mind-body Connection. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2011.

2. Brown, Ray A. “Angels and Elves, Archetypes and Aliens: Anomalous Encounter Experiences Viewed Through A Depth Psychological Lens.” PhD diss., Pacifica Graduate Institute, 2007.

3. Cheyne, James A., Ian R. Newby-Clark, and Steve D. Rueffer. "Relations among Hypnagogic and Hypnopompic Experiences Associated with Sleep Paralysis." Journal of Sleep Research 8 (1999): 313-17.

4. Cheyne, James A., Steve D. Rueffer, and Ian R. Newby-Clark. "Hypnagogic and Hypnopompic Hallucinations during Sleep Paralysis: Neurological and Cultural Construction of the Night-Mare." Consciousness and Cognition 8 (1999): 319-37.

5. Cheyne, James A. "Sleep Paralysis Episode Frequency and Number, Types, and Structure of Associated Hallucinations." Journal of Sleep Research 14 (2005): 319-24.

6. Clancy, Susan A., Richard J. Mcnally, Daniel L. Schacter, Mark F. Lenzenweger, and Roger K. Pitman. "Memory Distortion in People Reporting Abduction by Aliens." Journal of Abnormal Psychology 111 (2002): 455-61.

7. Hishikawa, Yasuo, and Tetsuo Shimizu. "Physiology of REM Sleep, Cataplexy, andSleep Paralysis." In Advances in Neurology, 245-271. Vol. 67. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Lippincott-Raven Publishers, 1995.

8. Hufford, David. The Terror That Comes in the Night: An Experience-centered Study of Supernatural Assault Traditions. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982.

9. Jalal, Bland, Joseph Simons-Rudolph, Bamo Jalal, and Devon E. Hinton. "Explanations of Sleep Paralysis among Egyptian College Students and the General Population in Egypt and Denmark." Transcultural Psychiatry 51, no. 2 (2013): 158-75.

10. Krippal, Jeffrey J. Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press, 2010.

11. Mcnally, Richard J. "Explaining “Memories” of Space Alien Abduction and Past Lives: An Experimental Psychopathology Approach." Journal of Experimental Psychopathology 3, no. 1 (2011): 2-16.

12. Ohaeri, Jude U., Abdel W. Awadalla, Victor A. Makanjuola, and Beatrice Ohaeri. "Features of Isolated Sleep Paralysis among Nigerians." East African Medical Journal 81, no. 10 (2004): 509-19.

13

13. Scheper-Hughes, Nancy, and Margaret M. Lock. "The Mindful Body: A Prolegomenon to Future Work in Medical Anthropology." Medical Anthropology Quarterly 1, no. 1 (1987): 6-41.

14. Strieber, Whitley. Solving the Communion Enigma: What Is to Come. New York, New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2011.

15. Strieber, Whitley. Communion: A True Story. 1st ed. New York, New York: Beech Tree Books, 1987.

14