In high school, Catucci himself
went through a period in which he
suffered from sleep paralysis - a
period (which generally happens
when falling asleep or waking up)
when a person feels a presence in
the room. This is followed by au-
ditory or visual hallucinations for
a period that can last moments to
several minutes in which the vic-
tim is essentially paralyzed. When
it’s over the person can move and
discovers that no one is in the
room. “It’s kind of this strange
moment when the dream world
almost bleeds into the real world,”
said Catucci.
When Catucci got to college he
discovered the artwork of Henry
Fuseli and especially “The Night-
mare,” a 1781 painting that de-
picts a woman in bed with a small
demon on her chest and a horse’s
head floating in the background.
Many believe the painting depicts
a sleep paralysis event taking
place.
“As I went down the rabbit hole,
I started learning more about the
science of dreams and looked at
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