It happened to my brother first. First he told me that he had a really bad and weird dream...something to do with a church and priest. Then all of a sudden he woke up and he was like pyralized. He couldn't move or talk. But in less than 30 seconds, he was free. He didn't think much of it and went back to sleep. He woke up like an hour later, and it happened again. I've heard of many people experiencing with this, but never to the extent of what happened to my brother. Twice in one night if very bizarre. And the weird thing is one day when I stayed home from school and was by myself, it happened to me too. I was sleeping in my room. I've only fallen asleep for like 30 minutes, then i suddenly woke up (you know the feeling that something is wrong) and i couldn't move. I tried yelling, and my mouth was like stuck. It all stopped in less than 15 seconds though. I'm hmong and i highly believe in phenomenas. In our culture, the explanation for that is that a ghost is sleeping on you. And we have developed some candles that is suppose to keep them away. You just burn the candle in the room. It kinda reeks, but it works. Also i forgot to mention that the house i'm living in is quite new with no background of anything that might be related to this incident. Just give me some input of what you guys/gals think.

It sounds like it could possibly be sleep paralisis . Th candles are interesting , perhaps they produce a smell which keeps the brain functioning in a normal R.E.M sleep .

now that's an interesting theory. Thanks.

Sleep paralysis is a very interesting phenomena. The paralysis part is normal. It keeps you from actually doing all the things that you dream yourself doing. But when you wake in that state, it seems often that you experience things that are very different from ordinary reality, and yet you won't feel a "waking up" from that experience -- you are already awake! I used to suffer from it when I was younger, but most of them seemed to revolve around a certain set of events. So my experience of it leads me to suspect it isn't always the thing the simple medical explanation would have us believe. But other times leave me mystified to explain it.

For instance, the last time I experienced sleep paralysis, I clearly heard small footsteps cross the carpet in my bedroom until they stopped right next to my left ear, and then a voice started chanting, "Baby! baby! baby!" in an excited, troll-like voice. A very odd thing! It slowly faded off into the distance, and then silence when I started praying, but I never had the sensation of waking, I just gradually got control of my limbs.

A very bizarre thing, but what does it mean? If it is my "unconscious mind" trying to tell me something, what? If something not part of my mind, double what?

I am with Kismit, that sounds like Sleep Paralysis.

Here is a good site to get you some more information on it: University of Waterloo Sleep Paralysis Page

Using that as refrence, it is easy to see why SP happens when you think you are in the presence of another or in great danger. These are understandably stressful times, even if they do not exist in the physical world around you.

As for the candles, my guess would be that they cause your serotonin levels to increase because you feel more safe and secure with them around. Increased serotnin will stop these SP sessions from occuring.

Sometimes things like geting paralysed in your sleap has to do whith aliens and abducktions but these candles you where talking about and that it only lasts for a couple of minutes made me thingk it could must sertinly be a goust but it could also be as the two above me says that it is sleap paralyzis!