The current study examines cultural explanations regarding sleep paralysis (SP) in Italy. The study explores (1) whether the phenomenology of SP generates culturally specific interpretations and causal explanations and (2) what are the beliefs and local traditions associated with such cultural explanations. The participants were Italian nationals from the general population (n = 68) recruited in the region of Abruzzo, Italy. All participants had experienced at least one lifetime episode of SP. The sleep paralysis experiences and phenomenology questionnaire were orally administered to participants. We found a multilayered cultural interpretation of SP, namely the Pandafeche attack, associated with various supernatural beliefs. Thirty-eight percent of participants believed that this supernatural being, the Pandafeche-often referred to as an evil witch, sometimes as a ghost-like spirit or a terrifying humanoid cat-might have caused their SP. Twenty-four percent of all participants sensed the Pandafeche was present during their SP. Strategies to prevent Pandafeche attack included sleeping in supine position, placing a broom by the bedroom door, or putting a pile of sand by the bed. Case studies are presented to illustrate the study findings. The Pandafeche attack thus constitutes a culturally specific, supernatural interpretation of the phenomenology of SP in the Abruzzo region of Italy.

Previous research has found supernatural beliefs about sleep paralysis (SP) to be very prevalent in Italy, with over one third of SP sufferers believing that their SP might have been caused by a supernatural creature known locally as the Pandafeche. The current study further examined features of SP in Italy. All participants had experienced SP at least once in their lifetime. Participants were recruited from the general population ( N =  67) in the region of Abruzzo. The Sleep Paralysis Experiences and Phenomenology Questionnaire (SP-EPQ) was orally administered to participants. As hypothesized, we found that Italians from the general population reported high lifetime rates of SP, prolonged duration of immobility during the event, and great fear of the experience (with as many as 42% of SP sufferers fearing that they could die from the experience), all of which were particularly elevated as compared to cultures where there are no such elaborate traditions of SP (e.g., Denmark). In addition, 78% of participants experienced some type of hallucination during their SP. The results we present here suggest that cultural beliefs about SP in Italy (e.g., as being caused by the Pandafeche, as reported elsewhere) potentially can profoundly shape certain aspects of the experience – a type of mind-body interaction.

A recent study found that over a third of Italians (in Abruzzo) believe their sleep paralysis (SP) might be caused by the Pandafeche – a supernatural creature (Jalal et al., 2015). Research also suggests that SP in Italy has been shaped by local cultural beliefs, which have worsened the experience (e.g. longer paralysis and excessive fear) and made it more frequent; a mind-body interaction. In the present study (N = 67) conducted in Italy, we found that fear during SP was associated with trauma and symptoms of depression. These findings support the idea that SP has been radically shaped by cultural beliefs.