11 Mythical Sleep Creatures from Around the World

Across the world, people are afraid to go to bed. Creatures like the Batibat, the Night Hag and the Lidérc could visit them in the dark. These beasts are the stuff that nightmares are made of, literally: the word nightmare has its roots in an Anglo-Saxon term for nighttime visits from shadowy monsters.

The creatures change from culture to culture, but they share characteristics and behavior. They are often female and like to perch on their victims’ chests as they sleep. They are known to kill, with their preferred fatality crushing the wind out of a dreaming body.

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