The Sleep Paralysis Demon

Education Log: Sleep Paralysis 
「Written by: M.E.G. Senior Somnologists, Dr. Svetlana C. Dunayevsky-Zykin」
「Date: classified」
「Time: classified」
「Requester: classified」
As your body enters REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, your respiration, blood pressure, heart rate, and brain activity elevate. However, your body becomes temporarily paralyzed.You do not want to injure yourself while dreaming... do you?Then... there is sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis places the individual between being awake and asleep. In this state of limbo, the individual becomes aware of their surroundings while their muscles are still paralyzed. The paralysis, technically, lasts for a few seconds to several minutes (despite this state feeling like eons). This state of awareness and muscular paralysis is accompanied by sleep-related hallucinations. These hallucinations may be simple and stationary, consisting only of the surroundings, the liberation and ignorance of bliss, and vague, familiar, and distant echoes. These hallucinations may be complex and traumatic, consisting of intense vibrations and the violent surge of electricity; a menacing, lurking intruder; or a vicious assailant.The good news concerning this sleep-related phenomenon is that its lifetime prevalence is 7.6%. Which means... most people will never have to experience this sleep disturbance in their lifetime. The 7.6% that has to cope with this sleep disturbance has the opportunity to wake up. The dreamer might have to deal with some residual fright, disorientation, confusion, and fatigue, but these sensations will fade away as one gets on with the day. But... these statistics are only reserved for those who have not become prisoners of The Backrooms.Here in The Backrooms... our pain, our suffering, our traumas, our primal fears, and our irrational phobias are given life.
==> Description== 
Entity 58, 'The Sleep Paralysis Demon', or even 'The Demon' is considered one of the least understood entities within The Backrooms as it is a relatively harmless yet disturbing sleep phenomenon experienced by a small percentage of people in The Frontrooms. Entity 58 is best described as a sleep disturbance of The Frontrooms brought to life in (and potentially by) The Backrooms. How and why this sleep-related hallucination became corporeal and sentient in The Backrooms is unknown. 
Entity 58 will attack you if you are sleeping on any hard surfaces. It is strongly recommended to avoid sleeping on hard surfaces while traversing The Backrooms (if and when possible) to reduce the likelihood of being attacked. (F.Y.I. Falling asleep on a hard surface is often unavoidable in The Backrooms as most comfortable and conventional sleep apparatuses are not readily available, unless you happen to bring or have a sleeping bag on your person.) 
==> Behaviors== 
As mentioned before and unlikely the 'Sleep Beast' of The Frontrooms, Entity 58 targets explorers who attempt to go to asleep on any hard surface. Why the surface you fall asleep on matters is still under investigation. Most sleep researchers argue that sleeping on a hard surface makes it difficult for one to fall asleep which would contribute to insomnia. Insomnia increases your risk of experiencing sleep paralysis. The reason for this is because you will not be able to achieve a state of true, deep, and restful REM sleep because you are uncomfortable while attempting to go to sleep. While this explanation is plausible for the manifestation of a sleep paralysis incident, why this 'sleep-being' can take 'corporeal form' in The Backrooms is still unclear. Nevertheless, researchers studying brain waves of volunteers and victims using the electroencephalography (EEG) reveals that the EEG initially detects a few bursts of alpha waves before becoming predominantly theta waves. The electromyography (EMG) reveals muscle paralysis with occasional and light muscle twitch activity. These results suggest, like 'traditional' sleep paralysis, Entity 58 appears when your mind is awake and aware, and your body is in a state of paralysis. In summary, Entity 58 will approach their paralyzed and vulnerable victim once they enter 'subconscious limbo'.
Entity 58 will manifest in the place their victim has fallen asleep. This entity will (usually) appear 5 to 7 yards (~4.6 - 6.4 m) away from their target once their victim has entered the state between being asleep and wake. There have been some rare cases where this monster has reportedly been only a few inches away from their victims. In these cases, death by this entity is a 90% possibility. Regardless of the distance, you must maintain intense eye contact with this entity to prevent predation. How long you must stare down this creature has yet to be confirmed. What is known is that blinking or looking away does not (always) result in an instant death, but you will notice that this entity is closing the distance between you and it. After consulting and questioning survivors, the general consensus concerning how quickly this entity can advance upon you because of blinking or breaking eye contact depends on your level of fear. In cases of close proximity, survivors reported the following:
*The entity will jumpscare you and take you to an unknown place for an undetermined amount of time. This behavioral pattern is rare and is a clear indicator that this entity harbors sadistic tendencies as it seems like this creature (for whatever reason) wants to 'play with its food'.
*The entity will inch closer toward you while progressively widening and stretching its mouth open in front you. Two survivors reported seeing a soft, glowing blue light down this beast's throat and experiencing the sensation of relief, tranquility, bliss and a heavy drowsiness washing over them. 
Those would win their deadly staring contest with this entity, will wake up in the place they fell asleep. There will be no traces of this entity unless the entity made physical contact with you. 
==> Biology== 
It cannot be confirmed if Entity 58 can invade the mind of their victim or it is invisible to bystanders. During an assault, bystanders can't see, hear, or engage Entity 58 but they can see wounds and injuries inflicted by Entity 58 appearing on the victim. No one, but this entity's target can see, hear and/or engage them.
This entity takes many forms, all described as unsettling with the most common forms listed below:
*Shapeshift #1: Survivors claim whatever unholy form this beast has chosen to take is enough to induce insanity. However, this being purposely lurks just outside your peripheral... daring you to look away so you will not be consumed by madness... taunting you to look upon it so you will not risk this beast advancing closer towards you. (Extremely rare form)
*Shapeshift #2: A vague expansive darkness. (Rare form)
*Shapeshift #3: Shadowy and hairless humanoid figure that stands ~11.5 ft (3.5 m) tall. This form possesses 5 to 13 long, bony fingers and toes. This form reportedly lacks facial features with the exception to having a mouth that extends to open a third way down its chest. (Uncommon form)
*Shapeshift #4: Shadowy and slimy octopus whose body violates Euclidean geometry and has legs that extend into higher dimensions. (Fairly Common form)
*Shapeshift #5: Blurry figure who features and appearances can't be determined or described. (Common form)
==> Discovery==
Before the discovery of Entity 58, most people assumed any mutilated corpse found discarded in The Backrooms was the doing of a Smiler, Hound, Sanguine Festivus, etc. As mentioned previously, Entity 58 can only be seen by this entity's target for reasons unknown. Most reports concerning any 'traumatic and sometimes violent' experience of sleep paralysis were not deemed a concerned because of the following reasons:
*Sleep paralysis is an unfortunate but fairly common sleep disturbance experienced by individuals in The Backrooms and The Frontrooms. No one believed that a sleep-related disturbance could become a literal threat.
*Researchers assumed that the rates of sleep paralysis would increase amongst explorers of The Backrooms because of the emotional and psychological trauma explorers must endure because of isolation and being lost in The Backrooms. 
The only indicators of Entity 58's existence was the following:
*Witnesses would watch helplessly as the victim would get assaulted, mutilated and killed by an invisible force while the victim slept.
*Survivors would file reports concerning getting approached, attacked or taken by this entity in their sleep and returning with corroborating wounds and injuries.
*Investigators and researchers monitoring and examining sleep patterns, behaviors, and experiences reported by explorers in an attempt to find any evidence of this elusive entity.
==> Theories== 
All of these theories are popular among wanderers. 
===> Theory I: "The Demon is a Puppet"===
This theory suggests that Entity 58 is controlled by an entity of immense power and superior intelligence in The Backrooms. This is the most popular theory, as some gods and reality benders of The Backrooms claim they control the Demon and there is no other plausible explanation how this sleep-disturbance became an actual threat to human lives. 
===> Theory II: "Failed Experiment"=== 
This theory suggests that this entity came from a failed experiment conducted by the M.E.G.. People say that while the M.E.G. was doing an experiment on a Faceling, they accidentally gave the Faceling anomalous powers which turned it into the Demon. 
===> Theory III: "It's all a dream"=== 
Others say that the sleep paralysis is all a dream and that those who went missing were killed by an entity, and the paralysis is all a nightmare.
==> Do's & Don'ts== 
===> Do:=== 
* Keep eye contact. 
* Stay still. The Malveillant, Tuwile, was summoned and asked about this creature. He insists that staying still might trick this beast into thinking you are dead. He insisted that this creature likes their meat fresh. Still equals dead. Dead is not fresh.
===> Don't:===
* Fall asleep on any hard surfaces. Again... having a sleeping bag or finding a conventional bed might be difficult while traversing The Backrooms. One recommendation is to find abandoned clothing and cloth to sleep on. This tactic reduces Entity 58 attacks by 75%.
* Look away or blink. In most cases... you will not get killed or 'spirited away' because you broke eye contact for a split second but do not press your luck.
* Move. It is not like you can move anyway but struggling excites it.
* Give in to fear. 
__NOTOC__
Category:Entities
Category:Dangerous
Category:The Behavioral Suite