Hag: Encyclopedia - Hag

Hag

A hag (or crone) is a kind of malevolent, wizened old woman often found in folklore and children's tales such as Hansel and Gretel. The term appears in Middle English, and might be short for hægtesse, an Old English term for witch. [1].

Hag - Hag in folkore

More specifically, a hag or "the Old Hag" was a nightmare spirit in British and also Anglophone North American folklore which is essentially identical to the Anglo-Saxon mæra – a being with roots in ancient Germanic superstition, and closely related to the Scandinavian mara. According to folklore, the Old Hag sat on a sleeper's chest and sent nightmares to him or her. When the subject awoke, he or she would be unable to breathe or even move for a short period of time. Currently this state is called sleep paralysis, but in the old belief the subject had been hagridden. [2] It is still frequently discussed as if it were a para-normal state. [3]

In Irish and Scottish mythology Cailleach was a goddess concerned with creation, harvest, and the underworld. The Three Fates (particularly Atropos) are often depicted as hags.

Within Wiccan and other Neo-pagan communities the term crone is reserved for honored elder women. It is a term of respect, acknowledging the wisdom and strength that comes with age.

Hag - In neurobiology

The expression Old Hag Attack refers to a hypnagogic state in which paralysis is present and, quite often, it is accompanied by terrifying hallucinations. When excessively recurrent, some consider them to be a disorder while many populations treat them as part of their culture as discussed in the sections dealing with the folkloric and mythologic interpretations.

For neurobiological correlates of these attacks see, among others, the references given below.

Hag - In popular culture

In the Dungeons & Dragons game, "hags" are three races of female creatures, sort of female counterparts to ogres. They are the annis (named from an analogous creature from the British folklore), the green hag (a green-skinned version of the Slavic Baba Yaga), and the sea hag (sort of a sea witch, not a mermaid). All three sorts are evil, but not overly powerful.

See also

• Nightmare
• Sleep paralysis

Hag - External link

• Henry Fuseli's painting of a hag - (From the MET collection)

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Hag", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki