Night terrors are dreams of people etc that you can't prevent that kill you and there are over 200 reports in Britain alone each year.

I'd have to say that Ghosts and Spirits are the most chilling unexplained phenomena out of those above.  :sd

I've never actually heard of night terrors before. Sounds a bit like Nightmare on Elm Street.  :s8

:sn  :s07

I have voted for ghosts and spirits as if you are in the presence of one, you could be scared witless, if you did not know what it was.

I would love to see someone report a night terror after they have experienced one, if they have not experienced one, then how do they know it is one or not?

[blue]Don't believe in the classical version of Hell, but if I did, it would scare me into becoming a priest.

I voted for Bigfoot. Just the prospect of walking around a corner in Northern California (for example) and clapping eyes on an 8 ft tall humanoid gorillaesque creature a stone's throw away is enough to scare the living cr*p out of me...
:s07

But then again I think there are far scarier things on planet Earth than paranormal things: shark attacks, fires, AIDS and probably Joan Rivers.
[/blue]

          I've heard of 'night terrors',  but I didn't know they caused death!!
          I don't know if I've told this story before but,  when I was very young (too young to be reading Poe-with my vivid imagination),  I dreamt that I was declared dead,  and my parents had me buried,  and I woke up in the coffin!! (can you guess which story I'd just read?)  The next morning,  before I opened my eyes,  I instintively reached out my hand,  and touched the wall!!  Needless to say, it scared the s*** of me,   but I'm still here...at least I think I am.  Maybe I'm a ghost writer!!   ;D
       Anyway,  I thought THAT'S what night terrors were!!

Gotta pass on this one - most of them are as scary as each other - though Bigfoot wouldn't so much, because if it exists then i'ts just another mammal. Hell i suppose should be the ultimately scary thing, as it could possibly contain all of the others.

Ok i voted  :D

I chose Hell, that place scares me a lot, well, I don't think that is exists but if it exists, well, it has to be the most scaring place on/off this world! :sh

Odin S. :s9

Yep, by it's definition it should be the scariest thing (un)imaginable

QUOTE

I've heard of 'night terrors',  but I didn't know they caused death!!

 They don't KC, how could anyone make that determination reliably? (read scientific or medical)  The victim certainly isn't co-operating, they're already dead. I'm curious myself as to what indicators would support a conclusion of 'death by night terrors'. Hopefully Charlie will enlighten us.

Magikman  :sg

::) Would like to visit Hell, just to see if it was that bad.................. :s9

And for witches being scarey............. :o hey! .............that's no fair............I'm quite nice when you get to know me :s04

I vote for hell :sh :si

Just to add, there are many cases reported each year. They are suspected of having heart attacks but always theres marks such as rope marks on the neck( they were dreaming of a hangman.) People chasing you is also common. You may wake up before you are just killed but once they sleep once more you are going to die. Night terrors are demons in the dreams that kill you.

( One belief is that dreams are just a disguise for a ghosts murder)

charleroi66,

There is a fair distinction between night terrors and being under the possession of a spirit/demon.

Night terrors are not, as you said, "demons in the dreams that kill you." A night terror is a sleep disorder involving abrupt awakening from sleep with behavior consistent with terror. The main cause is still unknown, but they occur in the deeper stages of sleep (stages three and four), and are usually associated with periods of emotional tension, or stressing issues.

Possession by an evil/spirit is when a person becomes influenced and vigorouslycontrolled by something that is supernatural, which can cause self-torture.  

Dakoda is right,
My son suffers from from Night Terrors. They started when he was around 2yrs, he would wake up in a panick
and his heart would be racing, he would usually go straight back to sleep after a cuddle.
I mentioned it to my doctor who said he was having Night Terrors and that they are very commen in young children.
My son who is now 6 still has them occasionally and they are different from nightmares as he can't remember why he is scared and can drop straight back to sleep, with a nightmare he usually ends up in bed with me!! Night Terrors are also mentioned in my Mother and Baby books.

Another thing that is considered scary, (but I can't think who originally said this quote) is the unknown.

many things people do not know is scary to them at first.

Hi Charleroi66
Found this web site which explains Night Terrors
http://www.nightterrors.org/[email][/email]
Hope it comes in usefull. I'm still trying to find a site which has any evidence of people actually being killed
by a nightmare or Night Terrors like you describe, but I
won't dismiss it as untrue and I would intrested in any facts you can come up with.
  Halo :)

Many of you say of night terrors being just psychological yet particular night terrors within the subject of the paranormal can cause fatal heart attacks and the dreams describe(vividly) that they are being attacked. Sometimes they are woken up before they are killed. It seems demons mix the dreams with reality. Suspiciously, marks are found sometimes such as rope marks in dreams of being hung. It has been noted. :s9

QUOTE

cause fatal heart attacks and the dreams describe(vividly) that they are being attacked.

So how does one determine what another individual is dreaming, to a point that they can conclude that the "description" of the dream indicates that the person is being attacked, charleroi? How would someone be able to describe the dream dreamt by another person? :s9

Dreams are thoughts, images, and emotions that occur during the third and fourth stages of sleep. A dream is a relfection on the events that occur to you throughout the day, week, (etc.) made by your own subconscious. Night terrors are characterized by an abrupt awakening in panic, or screaming. They occur when the autonomic nervous system is activated, and this stimulates feelings of intense fear--a "fight or flight" response. This has nothing to do with being possessed by a demon. The only physical harm that could play a part in the event of a night terror is sleep walking, which can cause a person to smack directly into a piece of furniture. Ouch!

QUOTE

Suspiciously, marks are found sometimes such as rope marks in dreams of being hung. It has been noted. :s9

Do you have any references you could share with us regarding these notations?

QUOTE

It seems demons mix the dreams with reality.

As I said before, there is a fair distinction between night terrors and being under the possession of a spirit/demon. Night terrors are a work of the mind and body, while possession is the work of a supernatural force that we still do not carry a clear understanding of.  

There is infact a story in a book including nite terrors.
It takes place in Moreton, England in 1863.
Stewart Parker, a retired hangman, was sitting in bed next to his wife, reading a book, when he nooded off. The time was 1pm.
At 2am Mrs Parker woke up and turned in the bed to see her husband fighting for his breath. He was drenched in sweat and was making choking noises. She shouted his name repeatedly, but Mr Parker wouldnt wake up. This naturally worried Mrs Parker, her husband had a weak heart, and seemed so afraid of the nightmare he was having that he looked as if he'd kill himself with fear.
Mrs Parker slapped her husband across the face to no avail. As a last resort she poured a glass of water over his face and shook him violently.
Mr Parkers eyes flew open, and he seemed to be paralyzed for a few moments. Then he grabbed at his throat( the hanging) and in a raspy voice said " Thank god- it was just a dream"( This is when she is told of his dream!)
Mrs Parker said she thought he was a goner. Mr Parker said " I dreamt this man in a black hood came forward. I asked him who he was and said he was Peter Woods."
"whos that?" she asked.
"An old house breaker who was hanged for the murder of a widow in Ashton. After he was hanged, the real murderer was caught and confessed. Peter Woods said hed return to hauint me, the jury and the judge."
" It was just a nightmare." said Mrs Parker.
" It was a horrible dream though, dear. Woods tied my hands behind me straped my ankles. Iwas standing on the trapdoor of the gallows and noosed me. You woke me up just as he released the door. It was so vived."

Half an hour later , Mr Parker fell asleep and around 3:30 am his wife woke up to hear a  strange snoring sound. It was Mr Parker having another turn in his sleep. This time she had to push him out of the bed to wake him. Mr Parker woke up and gasped for air. He threw open the window and inhaled.
"Are you alright? Shall i call the doctor? she asked.
" No, it was Woods again. He tried to hang me again. i fell through but you woke me just in time."

By 4:40 am the couple were drowsy and were already laughin at the ordeal, but now Mr Parker seemed ready for some sleep. He kissed his wife and went straight to sleep . Next morning at 8 am his wife woke up to find him dead. His face was purple and the veins in his face stuck out. After  screaming the doctor arrived.The doctor believed that he had had a heart attack brought on by a night terror- a very traumatic nightmare in which u are unable to wake up from.
The pathologist who performed the post mortem was baffled by the reddish band around Mr Parkers neck.

Some night terrors may be heart attacks or demond entering our minds. Either way they can kill very easily.

This book was called ' Strange encounters'- Parragon.
PROOF!

QUOTE

There is infact a story in a book including nite terrors. It takes place in Moreton, England in 1863.

A story, huh? Well, why didn't you say so!? I had assumed you were refering to an actual article based on recorded facts. But a fiction novel--now that's a different story! By whom is it written?

It is infact in a large book containing factually accounts from hauntings, Jack the Ripper reports, Area 51 it is by Daniel Adcock of New Jersey. Actually.  It also has references to the bible, civilians and there is  a website about it too

And the website would be.... ?

www.nightterrors.org of course. Halo_Jones also agrees with me in a way. Notin personal, mate.

www.nightterrors.org is the website that was refered to us by Halo_Jones, which is a site specificly dedicated to night terrors--from symptoms to sleeping stages. From what it appears, it does not mention, advertise, nor take the book "Strange Encounters" into recognition.

I do not see that Halo_Jones agreed with you on any terms of this subject, nothing personal, mate ;). She merely said she would search for some form of evidence in regards to "demons killing people in their sleep," and said that she would look forward to any actual facts you could present us with. If I'm wrong, then please quote the statement in which Halo_Jones "agreed" with you.  ::)

You like quotes then? Is there anything else you want to talk about or is that it?  :sk

[blue]I have heard of night terrors but I'm not sure they are demons coming during sleep to exact revenge/torture on sleeping people.

I do believe that the mind enters a very different state of consciousness/unconsciousness/subconsciousness whatever during sleep, and I know that we have only the most basic notion of what is happening when people sleep.

It is still being investigated scientifically the world over.

I could not dismiss the story that has been presented above, but on the other hand, it sounds like too good a story to be real. I dunno.
[/blue] ???

Nightmare on Elm Street :s4
Does this story sound familiar.
I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with anyone, just keeping an open mind. I still havn't found any sites which mention death by dream deamons but hey ho!
it might just come to me while I'm asleep ::)

Lets  keep it light hearted :)

There can also be an explanation for the ropemarks on someones neck, some Sleepwalkers have it so bad that they react with their body on everything in their dream. There are cases that people dream that there is a man in the room who wants to attakc them, they attack it in their dream, in reality they are attacking theier wives! So maybe that guy with the ropemarks dreamt that he was hanging someone but was really murdering himself.

Odin S. :s9

QUOTE

There are cases that people dream that there is a man in the room who wants to attakc them, they attack it in their dream

Now there's a good example of "fight" or "flight." 8)

QUOTE

There can also be an explanation for the ropemarks on someones neck, some Sleepwalkers have it so bad that they react with their body on everything in their dream.

Charleroi, perhaps it is unfair of me to make the impression that I am condemning the subject as "false" without further invesitigation (but the only place I've been able to hunt down such incidents in is within the contents of fiction novels on the Net), and I am honestly sorry about that, but it seems you haven't succeeded in backing up your "claims" with any evidence. I used Google to search for the book Strange Encounters by Daniel Adcock and found no matches, and the website you refered us to (which was primiarily suggested to you by Halo_Jones so that you could have an understanding of what night terrors really are) had nothing in relation to "people being killed by their own dreams." Lastly, if you ask me, the subject itself simply appears bizarre, absurd, fabricated, and almost completely out of proportion with reality. I think (and keep in mind that this is just a personal opinion) Odin's post is as close to your "many reports that have been noted" as you may ever get. Or perhaps your last post in this thread just set me off into an irritating and irritated mood. :s07

Of course, if you still have the capability of sharing some evidence or facts with us, in oppose to mine, I'll be more than happy to check it out (and please dear, be a bit more specific), but as long as you keep me posted with replies like "You like quotes then? Is there anything else you want to talk about or is that it?" you can consider me your #1 skeptic regarding the "claims." :s6

And by the way, yes, I guess you could say I like quotes. ::)

Halo_Jones, keep us posted about your search.  :st  

  I dont think night terrors and demons have any recognition. Most people ask what the hell they are. Maybe if it were looked into one day by some investigators?

Hmm...,

I am looking at the poll right now, and it surprises me that there have so few votes for hell. You have to assume that all of the answers are real, so hell must be the worst! It has all negative things in it...

Odin S. :s9

I think you're wrong, charleroi, the Bible is one place which gives demons and other evils plenty of recognition--so does show biz, and (for the last time) fiction novels. And night terrors have been a subject that has kept (and still does) scientisits and psychologists occupied with studies, theories, and analysis regarding questions about the mind they are not yet capable providing explainations to.

For some reason, an error occurs whenever I try to submit a vote in a poll, but I think I'd vote for ghosts and spirits (not witches, though ;)) because as Athalus said about the "unknown," I say about the supernatural (which is a part of the unkown, of course): the existance of a force that is around us, so mysterious, and so bizarre, but out of our reach and understanding seems very frightening. But it's a kind of fear you just can't qualify into description.  :s5

[blue]Odin, I think that people aren't voting for Hell as such because most people have outgrown the notion of Hell as a place where we are tortured in perpetuity for our heinous crimes during the course of our 80 year lives. So in that respect, Hell is not a real thing and therefore not to be voted on.

I don't think that paranormal things are that scary. Yes, if you get infested by a poltergeist it is a bit scary, or if you get a ghost showing itself to you, it may be a bit scary, and my encounter with a bigfoot might send me nuts etc. but there are far scarier things than paranormal things.
[/blue] :s02

maybe someone nearly died after having a night terror.(you can read about this following story in the sightings reports and experiences section in the ghost sightings post by me.)i once woke up choking in my bed.i didn't remember the dream,but i sure as hell thought I was gonna die!i never heard of night terrors before,but now i won't be able to sleep at night!oh and have you ever had those dreams inside dreams?where you wake up form a dream,but are still in a dream.if you have a night terror there,what would happen?it's very scary to think about.

I think I read an article about this somewhere... that if in your dream you are dreaming of something, the dream that you are dreaming about will come true. A little confusing, but I don't think it's happened to me very often.  :s01

Hmmm, well i voted for hell but i don't believe in it - my thinking is that seeing something you don't believe in my well be scarier still.

On the subject of scary, this thread has reminded me of i programme i saw ages ago, a discussion panel on horror. Two of the panel were John Carpenter and Clive Barker - I think one of the questions was what scares them - John Carpenter saying that he wouldn't be scared of an Angel,  and Clive Barker saying that if an Angel manifested in front of him he would be scared witless.

         You forgot to put MOTHMEN!
      One of them swooping down on me with those big bat wings and red eyes...I would be terrified!   :o

QUOTE

John Carpenter saying that he wouldn't be scared of an Angel,  and Clive Barker saying that if an Angel manifested in front of him he would be scared witless.

::) I think ole CB wouldn't be as scared witless if Pinhead mainfested in front of him.......he'd probably be pleased! (to finally know that something like hin exixts ;D)

Ohhhhh*shudder* Mothman yeap definatly one would not like to see :o

I got this book that is years old and it has loads of ways of telling the future. I know ouija is dangerous and when checkin your dreams you have to make sure it wasn't about something recent ie school. It's a shame cos all i dream about is the day before.

Thanks for all the voting! I'm sure you're worth the computer you use..........

since we're speaking about dreams/night terrors, i onced had a dream that a snake was coiled around my little finger. the snake started squeezing my finger really and i woke up from fright and then when i woke up my little finger started hurting - it was all numb. that kind of freaked me out.  :s01
i thought i just slept on my little finger but i doubt that because none of my other fingers were numb.

all i know about night terrors is that nightmare of elm street was based on them:

“The original A Nightmare on Elm Street was inspired by an extraordinary series of unnoticed stories in the Los Angeles Times. A young immigrant male, early 20’s, usually from Southeast Asia, a son, would have a severe nightmare where he would wake up screaming. The next day, he would tell his family it was the worst nightmare he’d ever had, and he had been terribly shaken by it. The next night when he went to sleep—he died. Six months later I looked in the paper and there was a very similar story. I clipped it out and put it with the other one. Then the third appeared about a year and a half from the first one, this time in Northern California. And the elements were the basis for the film. The rest is horror history.”—Wes Craven, Director of A Nightmare on Elm Street.

:st

[blue]I take it that these events were all pre-1984 when the film was made?[/blue]
:s9

I wouldn't so much say I've had night terrors, more really vivid nightmares. There was a dream I had where our spook called me a witch outside my dream state. I was sleeping and we, being my boyfriend, my friend steve and our housemate dave and this faceless guy in a suit appeared, whilst i spoke to him he disappeared then reappeared next to dave (my boyfriend and steve had gone somewhere at this point), anyways, this guy disappeared again which left Dave and I screaming and running into our home which was different inside. It was full of cobwebs and all the furniture was someone elses which was covered in dusty cloths. So we check around the house for the other 2 guys and cant find them and as we walk down the garden to a house at the bottom we walk in between 2 hedges when i heard "WITCH!" in my left ear, but came from my right side (im deaf in my right ear) I also felt a breath on my face so in my dream we ran screaming to this house and found the other guys cowering in a corner, then I woke up. After looking into the history of the house there was indeed another house further away from our home. Our house was a stable and the other house was the manor.

A couple of nights ago in another dream I was in some futuristic childrens home or hotel, it was hard to tell, and after many manotinous things happening there was a scene where my sister was in a chair to my right and my boyfriend was in a chair opposite me, he was playing with a hand gun with the safety off and all i remember is this gun going off and the feeling of the bullet enter the left side of my forehead. then every thing went black and i head my sister scream. So I'm not sure if thats what death feels like but it sure was believable.

The most terrifying thing to happen to me was watching my bedroom door and bathroom door open themselves one night alone in my room during last summer. We had a girl staying with us for a few weeks until student accomodation became avaliable and she was sleeping downstairs in another bedroom.
In order to get to that room its a very noisy trip and takes a good 2 minutes. Anyway, I was in bed reading a book and heard her go downstairs to the bedroom. I turned over and turned off the lamp and settled down to sleep then about 5 seconds later something heavy comes running up the hallway and smacks straight into my bedroom door. This freaks me out to start with so i watch the door thinking this girl was playing silly buggers. On this door is a garden gate latch which is heavy and stiff to open. All of a sudden after banging on the door a few times the latch lifts and the door opens. I look in the hallway and nothing is there. so i slip under the covers and watch the door shut. I manage fall to sleep some hours later. After another hour I get woken up my hearing my hair straightner rattle. they hang on another door leading to the bathroom opposite my bed. I look into the bathroom and the other bathroom door is locked so no one could get in or out without walking through my room (plus we have a bathroom downstairs so merian could use that one). Becuase of my sleepy state I think nothing of it until i watch this door slam shut too. The next day i woke up shaking like a leaf and my housemate alex comes home. To prove a point he sayd "boo" to me which has me jump out of my skin and clinging to the ceiling. He realised that i didnt make it up and told me to call my boyfriend who was skeptical until now so im wondering if something has happened to him.

But yeah, that was the most terrifying thing to happen to me.