DARK INTRUSIONS: An Investigation into the Paranormal Nature of Sleep Paralysis Experiences

by Louis Proud

Since his late teens, Louis Proud has suffered from chronic sleep paralysis and has undergone hundreds of such episodes, many of them terrifying but ultimately transformational and eye-opening. These experiences, he believes, allow access to the “spirit realm” and could well hold the key to a whole host of paranormal phenomena, including poltergeist disturbances, out-of-body-experiences, mediumship, spirit possession, and succubi and incubi encounters.

Drawing on the work of Colin Wilson, Joe Fisher, Stan Gooch, Whitley Strieber, Robert Monroe, Dion Fortune, and a number of other paranormal experts, Proud lucidly demonstrates that many sleep paralysis experiences involve genuine contact and communication with incorporeal entities, some of them parasitic and potentially dangerous. In this comprehensive, open-minded exploration of the sleep paralysis phenomenon, filled with fascinating descriptions of his own experiences, as well as those of others, no stone is left unturned as Proud attempts to get to the bottom of the mystery.

“Louis Proud has demonstrated with this book that he is one of the most acute commentators on the paranormal to appear in recent years… It gives me immense pleasure to be allowed to introduce a writer who will, I suspect, become widely admired for his enviable brilliance and clarity.”
- Colin Wilson, author of "The Occult"

“This insider's account of his own sleep paralysis experiences, in detail, is of great value. Then for that insider to knowledgeably place the experience in the broad paranormal context is unique. It provides a badly needed view of the cultural/interpretive framework that this experience naturally suggests. Louis Proud has been bold and thoughtful in providing this.”
- David Hufford, Ph.D., author of "The Terror That Comes in the Night"

Genres: Nonfiction, Paranormal

281 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[finecat · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting take on sleep paralysis (SP). Mr. Proud writes about, and quotes extensively from, a plethora of different authors with various opinions regarding SP directly or non-directly - from the paranormal to the religious to the scientific. He pulls together those views in order to create his own hypotheses, and to point-out that more research, clearly, needs to be done regarding SP. I felt the only drawback of the book was that the author did not discuss his own SP experiences further and in more depth.

[Luciana Gerez · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book!

As a sleep paralysis suferer myself and having increasing attacks on October/13, I came to this book and for some reason I thought I would find techniques to over come SP or at least to get some control over it.

Instead what I found was a deep analysis of the phenomena and much more information that I could possibly imagine. Louis Proud made a big research on other phenomenas and studies to find a link between that and SP. That enabled him to dig for answers that we all are looking for.

During the reading my attacks started to get better and now I feel much more confident about it.

At the end I kind of became greatful for my SP, because if it weren't about it I wouldn't have learnt all I did from this book and I have now an interest to go even deeper.

I'm excited to discover more about this whole world that opened up to me.

[Kat Montemayor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before reading this, I had very little knowledge of sleep paralysis or SP. It certainly gave me some food for thought. The author draws some interesting and convincing parallels between SP states, ghosts, poltergeists, mediumship, channelling, some types of mental illness, out of body experiences, and even UFO abduction. I don't know if it convinced me of anything different from what I already believed. The author talks about lower astral beings as malevolent and portrays them as untrustworthy liars that give no meaningful information to the living. You can call them whatever you like, as far as I'm concerned they are demons. The main thing I came away with from this book is the knowledge that I do not want to explore the astral realm and I pray I never experience an SP attack.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have ever suffered from sleep paralysis (google it) then Read this Book ! I loved the straightforward, frank and humble manner in which he described his experiences with SP. The many case studies presented within the book resonated deeply with my own sleep paralysis attacks and I found my thoughts and beliefs about the 'possible' paranormal aspect of SP profoundly changed after reading this book.

[Stefanie Von Guest · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting because I myself suffer from this and have experienced so many weird and wonderful scenarios - lots of sexual encounters, woke up once with sensation of being gently pulled onto the floor and could see myself ON the floor but when I next opened my eyes I was back on the bed....also sensations of something climbing into bed and cuddling me, entities talking to me in my dreams and I have woken myself up by responding to them etc.

I did find that it rambled a little bit, but I guess there is only so much knowledge about this phenomenon that writing a whole book page to page about just SP is impossible, it kinda needed the 'filler'.

Gave me some food for thought and would recommend to anyone else who experiences it.

[Sarah🥀⛓️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone that’s dealt with Sleep Paralysis since I was a teenager, this book (obviously) drew me in. It was an intriguing read, that took from different sources, & studies to support examples throughout. With that said it discussed different points of view- Paranormal, Spiritual, Medical, etc. The author used his own personal experiences to give some context to the subject as well.
Not gonna lie, it was a huge info dump that was hard to read straight for extended periods of time. I had to take breaks from it, & take my time with this one. But there honestly was a lot of interesting information, & I learned a lot from it!
I would honestly recommend this one to a fellow SP friend! ❤️

[Louisa Watt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author always does thorough research and considers his topic very carefully. I like the way he examines something from multiple angles and as many sources as possible.

[Tmarc1986 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. I like that the author included his own personal stories along with his research.

[Aubree Deimler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and the author's deeper look into different paranormal ideas, based off the research of other writers. So it comes across more of a historical account of people in history who have shared their experiences and theories on the supernatural. There were plenty of parts that freaked me out and I must say that my perception of things beyond the eye has definitely changed.