Mara and Sudden Unexpected Death Syndrome

Mara is a demon who sits on a chest while you are sleeping causing you to experience nightmares, an incident that was said to originate from sleep paralysis or the old hag syndrome.   They are also often associated with the Incubus and the Succubus, a type of vampire that sexually assaults the sleeping individual while asleep.

The legend of the Mara can be traced back to as early as the 13th Century.  In Germany there are also some incantation believed to be a powerful tool to ward of the mare.  It says:

“Hier leg' ich mich schlafen,

Keine Nachtmahr soll mich plagen,

Bis sie schwemmen alle Wasser,

Die auf Erden fließen,

Und tellet alle Sterne,

Die am Firmament erscheinen!

[Dazu helfe mir Gott Vater, Sohn und heiliger Geist. Amen!]

Here I am lying down to sleep;

No night-mare shall plague me

until they have swum through all the waters

that flow upon the earth,

and counted all stars

that appear in the skies.

[Thus help me God Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen!]”

In Romania they are spirit of a beautiful woman that turned into an evil spirit and visited man on their sleep. They will torture the man in their dreams and suck the life out of them.  They will be trapped in the land of dreams and they will never wake up again.

Could this creature be the cause of a sudden unexpected syndrome?  In the Philippines where it is termed as bangungot, around 43 men died per year due to unexpected matters.  All victims never woke up again; the cause of the death is still unexplained up to this day.  Most of the victims are only young male.  It also happened in Thailand during the year 1982-1990 where healthy Thai men went to sleep and just die all of a sudden.