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Any of you Louisiana folks ever had an encounter with a Cauchemar?
Posted on 10/15/20 at 10:09 am
Posted on 10/15/20 at 10:09 am
Or even heard tales of it?
I recently listened to a podcast about this, and had never heard of it before. I guess the modern, scientific explanation is basically sleep paralysis. But, back in the old days in certain parts of LA, they believed there was more to it:
Anyone know any old timers who believed or talked about the Cauchemar?
I recently listened to a podcast about this, and had never heard of it before. I guess the modern, scientific explanation is basically sleep paralysis. But, back in the old days in certain parts of LA, they believed there was more to it:
quote:
As part of a Louisiana Folklore Fieldwork class in 1995, I began collecting first and second-hand personal experience narratives about a supernatural assault tradition commonly called cauchemar or witch-riding in southwest Louisiana. In modern French, the word cauchemar has come to mean nightmare. Le Petit Robert Dictionnaire de la Langue Française gives a brief etymology of the word, tracing its roots back to 1564 when it was written quauquemaire. The verb cauquer comes from the Picard dialect in northeastern France, meaning "to press." And the noun mare comes from the Dutch for "phantom." This image of a pressing phantom closely mirrors the active folk definition of cauchemar among people of African descent with French language traditions in Southwest Louisiana.
quote:
In brief—although it is difficult to be brief about cauchemar experiences because they are so multi-faceted—it is an experience during which someone who is sleeping is visited by a presence which is called cauchemar (also called the devil, an evil spirit, a ghost, and a witch by my informants). The person awakens and senses, or sometimes actually sees, cauchemar in the room. Often cauchemar is on top of his or her body. The person feels frightened but is unable to move or cry out for protection.
Anyone know any old timers who believed or talked about the Cauchemar?
25
Posted on 10/15/20 at 10:14 am to LegendInMyMind
Yep...
It probed me in the bayou
It probed me in the bayou
Posted on 10/15/20 at 10:16 am to LegendInMyMind
quote:
also called the devil, an evil spirit, a ghost, and a witch
Every night I go to bed with my wife.
Posted on 10/15/20 at 10:16 am to LegendInMyMind
Yeh this transcends just the french
Its in all cultures, and is very real. I know a few people with sleep paralysis, and they have had similar experiences to what is talked about in the OP
Its in all cultures, and is very real. I know a few people with sleep paralysis, and they have had similar experiences to what is talked about in the OP
This post was edited on 10/15/20 at 10:17 am
Posted on 10/15/20 at 10:17 am to LegendInMyMind
I had one try to peg me.
Posted on 10/15/20 at 10:18 am to LegendInMyMind
I had several encounters back in my college days.
In the end, I usually gave her someone else's phone number and hoped to never run into her at the bar again.
quote:
The person awakens and senses, or sometimes actually sees, cauchemar in the room. Often cauchemar is on top of his or her body. The person feels frightened but is unable to move or cry out for protection.
In the end, I usually gave her someone else's phone number and hoped to never run into her at the bar again.
Posted on 10/15/20 at 10:18 am to LegendInMyMind
quote:
Often cauchemar is on top of his or her body.
This post was edited on 10/15/20 at 10:22 am
Posted on 10/15/20 at 10:19 am to LegendInMyMind
Wikipedia calls them incubi (incubus).
So this probably happens in Alabama a lot.
quote:
Victims may have been experiencing waking dreams or sleep paralysis. The phenomenon of sleep paralysis is well-established. During the fourth phase of sleep (also known as REM sleep), motor centers in the brain are inhibited, producing paralysis. The reason for this is ultimately unknown but the most common explanation is that this prevents one from acting out one's dreams. Malfunctions of this process can either result in somnambulism (sleepwalking) or, conversely, sleep paralysis—where one remains partially or wholly paralysed for a short time after waking.
Additional to sleep paralysis is hypnagogia. In a near-dream state, it is common to experience auditory and visual hallucinations. Mostly these are forgotten upon fully waking or soon afterwards, in the same manner as dreams. However, most people remember the phenomenon of hearing music or seeing things in near-sleep states at some point in their lives. Typical examples include a feeling of being crushed or suffocated, electric "tingles" or "vibrations", imagined speech and other noises, the imagined presence of a visible or invisible entity, and sometimes intense emotions of fear or euphoria and orgasmic feelings. These often appear quite real and vivid; especially auditory hallucinations of music which can be quite loud, indistinguishable from music being played in the same room. Humanoid and animal figures, often shadowy or blurry, are often present in hypnagogic hallucinations, more so than other hallucinogenic states. This may be a relic of an ancient instinct to detect predatory animals.
The combination of sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucination could easily cause someone to believe that a "demon was holding them down". Nocturnal arousal etc. could be explained away by creatures causing otherwise guilt-producing behavior. Add to this the common phenomena of nocturnal arousal and nocturnal emission, and all the elements required to believe in an incubus are present.[12]
On the other hand, some victims of incubi may have been the victims of real sexual assault. Some authors speculate that rapists may have attributed the rapes of sleeping women to demons in order to escape punishment. Robert Masello asserts that a friend or relative is at the top of the list in such cases and would be kept secret by the intervention of "spirits".
So this probably happens in Alabama a lot.
Posted on 10/15/20 at 10:19 am to LegendInMyMind
Cauchemar sounds just like the experience of sleep paralysis.
Posted on 10/15/20 at 10:21 am to LegendInMyMind
1. It's called sleep paralysis or scissor lock.
2. In Canada, they call it "The Hag."
3. It's prevalent in most Western societies, just has different names.
2. In Canada, they call it "The Hag."
3. It's prevalent in most Western societies, just has different names.
Posted on 10/15/20 at 10:21 am to LegendInMyMind
I’d never heard of it til I listened to the scared to death that had a story about it. You listen to that one too?
Posted on 10/15/20 at 10:22 am to Galactic Inquisitor
quote:
scissor lock.
Posted on 10/15/20 at 10:23 am to LegendInMyMind
Posted on 10/15/20 at 10:25 am to LegendInMyMind
No, but i was attacked by the rougarou
Posted on 10/15/20 at 10:46 am to LegendInMyMind
It's no cauchemar, it's jus Ol' Papaw comin' to pull your toes at night.
Posted on 10/15/20 at 10:59 am to lsupride87
NSFViewing
quote:
Posted on 10/15/20 at 11:08 am to LegendInMyMind
Fr33 knows about this
Dont they call this "the old hag"
Dont they call this "the old hag"
Posted on 10/15/20 at 11:13 am to LegendInMyMind
I’ve had sleep paralysis multiple times. I usually try to scream so my girlfriend can shake me awake, but I don’t have a voice
This post was edited on 10/15/20 at 11:13 am
Posted on 10/15/20 at 11:25 am to Aspercel
quote:
I’d never heard of it til I listened to the scared to death that had a story about it. You listen to that one too?
Yep. That's why I had to ask the experts of the OT/TD if they had heard it called that.
Posted on 10/15/20 at 11:33 am to LegendInMyMind
quote:
The person awakens and senses, or sometimes actually sees, cauchemar in the room. Often cauchemar is on top of his or her body. The person feels frightened but is unable to move or cry out for protection.
This happens to me after every surgery I’ve had and on post surgical Demerol. It’s freaky
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