The Terror That Comes in the Night: An Experience-Centered Study of Supernatural Assault Traditions / Edition 1

by David J. Hufford

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780812213058
Publisher:	University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
Publication date:	09/01/1989
Series:	Publications of the American Folklore Society
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	930,831
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 9.00(d)

About the Author

David J. Hufford is Professor and Director at the Doctors Kienle Center for Humanistic Medicine at the Penn State College of Medicine (Hershey), where he has appointments in Medical Humanities, Behavioral Science, and Family and Community Medicine. He is Adjunct Professor in the Program of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

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

Editorial Reviews

"A brilliant and exciting look at a misunderstood phenomenon."

Western Folklore

"Fascinating, original, and convincing, The Terror That Comes in the Night is one of the most significant books on the paranormal. . . . A classic."

Fate

"Anyone interested in folklore or dream research or bizarre and unexplained phenomena, which are here examined carefully and rationally, will enjoy this volume."

American Rationalist

"Anyone interested in folklore or dream research or bizarre and unexplained phenomena, which are here examined carefully and rationally, will enjoy this volume."— American Rationalist

"A brilliant and exciting look at a misunderstood phenomenon."— Western Folklore

From the Publisher