Different cultures have different narratives, different names, different significances to the experience. Beliefs don’t merely provide a post-hoc label for what is happening. They literally influence what people think they are seeing, how they think they are feeling, and what they think they are remembering later. The contemporary examples are really fascinating too. Even in cultures that we know about REM sleep and the science around it, these beliefs have not disappeared. They have only evolved. Instead of witches and demons, there are now stories of shadow people at the foot of the bed, intruders in the room, or aliens. Movies and TV and stories online give people images to put themselves in line with what they’re feeling. A teenager watching horror movies late at night might wake up and see a dark shape at the room’s corner.
Conclusion