Dark Intrusions: An Investigation into the Paranormal Nature of Sleep Paralysis Experiences [Paperback]

Let me preface here that I am neither a skeptic nor am I a wooly eyed believer. What I am is an open minded agnostic seeker of knowledge...which is to say that I am in awe of the Boundless Unknown in which we live. Now we come to Louis Proud's brilliant & terrifying book- DARK INTRUSIONS. It really does shatter the limits on research on Sleep Paralysis. I will try not to give too much away as to the book's content as I think some of the other reviews have nicely summed it up & some of the content is so surprisingly strange it has to be read as if you were journeying with the author for it to have the jarring impact it did with me.

I have also had numerous episodes of Sleep Paralysis when I was growing up & they were of the horrifying sort where you wake up paralyzed & the shadowy 'presence' tries to smother you out like a candle. These episodes are the most frightening experiences I have ever had. Seeing this book mentioned online-I knew I had to read it-though I have to admit his premise that the cause of S.P. was paranormal wasn't something I wanted to entertain too much. I have spent many years trying to deny & rationally explain away my own S.P. experiences. But any misgivings I might have had about this book were soon smoothed over by Louis Proud's intensely fascinating & intelligently written explorations of S.P. & such diverse phenomenon as poltergeists-U.F.O.s-Whitley Streiber's Visitors & tying these threads together so that new avenues of research are opened & suddenly the 'world' seems to have been exposed as very much similar to H.P. Lovecraft's Weird Tale-"From Beyond" Once I finished I really did look at the 'world' with fresh eyes & it really did bring on the awe of the Boundless Unknown. Though to be honest while reading this I did start to entertain certain paranoid notions that some events in my life were manipulated starting with those S.P. episodes in the childhood-resulting in a devastating rite of passage in my twenties. I am hoping this will remain nothing but a paranoid notion or a plot for a weird tale rather than an alarming truth about our 'reality'.

While Sleep Paralysis can be frightening I have found that certain Spiritual practices have helped me to ward these attacks off. You see initially I hated having S.P. as a child but I do have to say that they did lead me into greater awareness & so does Louis Proud's book. His wide ranging knowledge & well written exciting work is a strong guide in the wild sea of Unexplained Phenomenon. I highly recommend it. It will have you second guessing what you thought you knew about life-the universe & 'reality'.

In the References section of my book, There's Something in the Woods, I briefly noted that: "In the early hours one morning in late 2002, I had a nightmarish encounter with a wolf-like, cloaked figure that manifested in our apartment while I was in the depths of a sleep-paralysis-style slumber. It took all my strength to wake up, at which point the foul beast vanished into the darkness."

Collectively, I think, I've had maybe 2 other experiences of a similar nature: one (around 2003) involving a cloudy, shadowy figure leaning over me and preventing me from rising from the bed, and the other of a presence (that I interpreted as malevolent) slowly climbing the staircase at one of my old abodes in England. I struggled to wake-up, knowing full well that its destination was my bedroom (and which occurred at some point in the early-to-mid 1990s).

As a result, I've always taken a keen interest in reports such as these - hence the review that follows!

A lot of words have been written about the strange and unnerving phenomenon (or, perhaps, phenomena would be a better and more accurate word to use) that has popularly become know as Sleep-Paralysis (SP).

Some of those words have been good and some of them have been bad. Others have been wholly skeptical; while many have been firmly pro-SP.

But, what has been lacking until now is a truly in-depth, book-length and definitive study of the mystery written by someone who has actually experienced repeated episodes of sleep-paralysis, first-hand - and in all their terrifying glory, no less.

That situation has now changed (and radically so, too), thanks to Australian author Louis Proud, whose title (just published by Anomalist Books) Dark Intrusions: An Investigation into the Paranormal Nature of Sleep Paralysis Experiences, makes for both remarkable and essential reading.

One might argue that anyone with an above-average knowledge of the paranormal and a keen writing talent could sit down and deeply research the subject of sleep-paralysis and then, as a result, write a paper, a report or a book on the subject.

Well, maybe that's possibly true. But what would be utterly lacking would be the sheer, intense and harrowing personal touch that Proud skilfully brings to his book time and time again.

It's clear to me, at least, that the writing of Dark Intrusions was very much a cathartic experience for the author. And that's a good thing, taking into consideration some of the nightmarish events that he chronicles within the pages of his book - and with refreshing openness and clarity, no less. Indeed, Proud is not at all afraid to dig into his personal life, experiences, beliefs and ideas pertaining to the world of the paranormal as he searches for the answers relative to SP.

And, I suspect, possibly as a result of the fact that he has - in his 25-years - experienced numerous SP episodes, Proud displays the zeal, drive, inquiring-mind and enthusiasm that are needed when addressing such an emotive topic.

So, as a result of not just wanting to get an answer to what lies at the heart of SP, but also to understand, appreciate and reconcile how the mystery impacts upon his own life, Proud brings to the table a vast array of data that is thought-provoking, unsettling, creepy, ominous and...well, you get the idea!

Thankfully, Proud does not fall foul of the mistake that many authors make when writing about such anomalous phenomena: namely, simply reeling off case-after-case in mind-numbing and yawn-inducing fashion. Rather, he also provides the reader with a variety of theories to explain what may well be afoot with respect to SP, and what its relationship to us may be.

It must be said that there is much in the pages of Dark Intrusions that readers of a nervous disposition (or those who have experienced SP) may find unnerving. But for those of you who may be of that particular mind-set, I would say do not avoid Proud's book. In fact, I would actually urge you to digest its pages very carefully: you may very well come away from it profoundly changed and informed - and in a positive fashion, too.

But, that doesn't take away the ominous nature of SP: "Defiled" and "Unclean" are just two of the words that Proud uses to describe at least some of his SP experiences, a number of which have been very sexual in nature.

And, they are highly appropriate words, too - and not just in Proud's case, either. "You knew that I would come" are the bone-chilling words that one victim of SP reportedly heard uttered by an icy, female intruder from the outer-edge.

So, who - or what - are these uninvited guests who have, for countless generations, tormented probably millions of people all around the world in the middle of the night? From where do they come? What is their motivation? Can they be stopped?

These (and many more) questions are carefully addressed by Proud as he takes us on a wild-ride that includes such matters as: the Old-Hag controversy; Incubus and Succubus encounters; poltergeist activity (such as that relative to the famous Enfield Poltergeist saga of 1977; out-of-body experiences; Buddhist teachings and beliefs; the nature of the human-soul; the afterlife; altered states of mind and body; and much more.

Certainly, for me at least, one of the most fascinating aspects of Dark Intrusions was the material that focuses upon Alien-Abductions. If you read this chapter, and come away still thinking that AA's are merely the result of genetic experimentation undertaken by bug-eyed scientists from Alpha-Centauri, then there's absolutely no hope for you.

Proud demonstrates (and in a way that a number of AA researchers and writers are now beginning to suspect and understand) that the AA puzzle is one that also has major bearings upon questions relative to the after-life and the human life-force - and, of course, SP.

Those acquainted (or even unacquainted) with the studies of Dion Fortune, Stan Gooch and Trevor James Constable will find much of an enthralling and captivating, too.

But, for absolute downright creepiness, there is the story of the late Joe Fisher, author of The Siren Call of Hungry Ghosts, which is as cautionary as it is mind-bending.

Equally fascinating is the story of how Proud himself deliberately tried to place himself into SP mode - with startling and notable results.

In other words, this is a truly excellent and wide study of a phenomenon undertaken by a man who has not only been touched and changed by SP himself, but who has had the courage to seek out the answers to this mystery, and who ultimately triumphs, rather than merely playing the role of victim to the menacing entities that invade our slumber.

As Proud states: "...the SP state puts you in direct contact with your soul."

This book is a page turning exploration of the phenomenom known as sleep paralysis, where the sleeper feels awake, can see his/her bedroom, but cannot move or cry out at all, is totally paralysed and oftern experiences terrifying hallucinations of witches, demons or aliens. Young Mr Proud brings an interesting perspective to this phenomenom as he has suffered from chronic sleep paralysis throughout his life. I must say, I am still not totally convinced these experiences are paranormal-for example, I once had a sleep paralysis experience where a possum was crawling up my body! Now, what is the more likely explanation- a paranormal possum, or (much more likely)simply a half awake/ half asleep mind playing tricks. Nonetheless, Mr Proud does a commendable and thorough job of arguing for a paranormal/supernatural interpretation of these strange sleep experiences, and there is plenty of interesting food for thought here. A good book!