Every culture around the world has tales of spooky creatures or forces, likely created to explain life’s mysteries or scare kids from wandering around at night. These stories often get twisted into some less-than-stellar Hollywood horror flicks. Sweden and the Nordic countries have their share of these creepy legends, and one of the most bone-chilling is the creature known as the mare. This ghostly figure sneaks up on you while you sleep, a spooky representation of what we now understand as sleep paralysis.

The mare, known as “Maran” in Swedish, has been haunting folklore for centuries. This creature is even mentioned in ancient texts like Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda from the 12th century, though the stories probably date back even further. The name “mare” has stuck across history, and it’s also where the word “nightmare” comes from. Essentially, the mare specializes in sleep and bedroom antics. She’s said to creep into your room at night, sit on your chest, and make it hard to breathe—creepy, right?

The mare can take many forms, from a human woman dressed in black to a cat, dog, or owl. Regardless of her appearance, her mission remains the same: to terrorize you in your sleep. Some tales say a mare was a cursed woman who lived a normal life by day but turned malevolent by night. Others suggest she was simply an evil soul who chose to haunt people. Even animals weren’t safe; horses would sometimes appear tired and sweaty in the morning, with braided manes believed to be mare braids, after a night of being tormented.

Some legends dive into more adult themes, with the mare being depicted as driven by jealousy, particularly targeting men. In southern Sweden, she was often thought to be the spirit of an unmarried dead woman. There are even stories where people, rather bizarrely, ended up marrying a mare. One tale recounts a man trapping the mare in his house and forcing her to marry him—definitely not advisable behavior!

Experiences with the mare typically center around trouble breathing and a feeling of paralysis, closely paralleling what modern science recognizes as sleep paralysis. Many people, myself included, have woken up in the middle of the night, unable to move or breathe properly, often witnessing eerie hallucinations.

These unsettling experiences make it easy to see how the tales of the mare could arise. Attempting to cope with unexplained nocturnal phenomena, people gave them a supernatural face. Consequently, almost any bad dream or bout of sleep paralysis was blamed on a visit from the mare, solidifying the term “nightmare.”

Accounts from the 19th century and even earlier describe encounters with the mare. One woman in eastern Sweden in 1873 reported that the mare, believed to be a jealous neighbor, would float into her room and sit on her chest, making it hard to breathe. Other tales speak of both humans and animals being plagued by this hairy, oppressive spirit.

Despite her scary nature, folklore also offers various protective measures against the mare. In Christian times, hanging a crucifix over the bed or keeping a Bible nearby were common practices. People might also sing protective songs or place horseshoes under their beds. One unique method involved asking the mare to count something difficult, like the trees in a forest, banking on her supposed poor math skills to delay her attack until morning.

Curing a mare was another concept, particularly when she was believed to be a living cursed woman. Folklore suggested that confronting the mare as she returned to her body in the morning could free her from her cursed state.

While regional differences in mare tales exist, the core creeps stay the same: she visits at night, messes with your sleep, and sits on your chest. Knowing these eerie stories stem from real experiences with sleep paralysis doesn’t make them any less spine-chilling.

As part of our annual Shocktober series, delving into myths like the mare is a perfect fit. So, brace yourselves for more dark and spooky journeys into folklore, mythology, and history in the coming weeks. I promise some thrilling tales ahead—just don’t let the mare get you!