Nightmares, Night Terrors & Sleep Paralysis: When Sleep Goes Wrong

What if the thing sitting on your chest in the middle of the night… wasn’t a demon?

For centuries, terrifying nighttime experiences were blamed on witches, demons, spirits, and creatures that supposedly climbed onto your chest and suffocated you. But what if these stories were actually attempts to explain something happening inside the sleeping brain?

In this episode of The Cadaver’s Lessons, we explore the strange world of nightmares, night terrors, and sleep paralysis—what they are, how they differ, and what happens physiologically when sleep and wakefulness collide.

We travel from ancient Sumerian and Greek beliefs to the medieval incubus, the Old Hag, Jinn, Kanashibari, and other cultural explanations for sleep paralysis. Then we follow the evolution of sleep science through the discovery of EEGs, REM sleep, and our modern understanding of parasomnias.

We’ll also break down:

• Why nightmares usually happen during REM sleep
• Why night terrors can look terrifying but are often forgotten by the person experiencing them
• How REM atonia can leave you awake but temporarily unable to move
• Why sleep deprivation, stress, shift work, and irregular sleep schedules can trigger sleep paralysis
• When these experiences become a medical disorder
• How nightmares are treated, including imagery rehearsal therapy
• Why you generally shouldn't try to wake someone during a night terror

And in our Ethics Autopsy, we ask some uncomfortable questions: What happens when a medical symptom becomes a moral judgment? And when medicine encounters a culturally specific explanation for a real physiological experience, should we correct the belief—or respect it?

Because maybe humanity hasn't stopped believing in demons.

Maybe we just gave them medical names.

Class is in session.

• Cox AM. J R Soc Med. 2015;6(7):2054270415598091.
• Vernon A. Demons or Nightmares? A History of Night Terrors. 2024.
• de Sá JFR, Mota-Rolim SA. Front Psychol. 2016;7:1294.
• Cleveland Clinic. Parasomnias. 2025.
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• Medscape. Parasomnias. Accessed September 6, 2026.
• Leung AKC, et al. Curr Pediatr Rev. 2020;16(3):176-182.
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• Medscape. Sleep Paralysis. Accessed September 6, 2026.

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At the height of America’s tuberculosis epidemic, thousands were sent to Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky. Patients faced isolation, experimental treatments, and the constant fear of death. But Waverly Hills has another story—one filled with ghosts, legends, a notorious body chute, Room 502, and the mysterious child known as Timmy. What really happened inside America’s most haunted hospital?

📚 References

1. Waverly Hills Sanatorium. Waverly Hills Sanatorium. Wikipedia. Accessed September 3, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waverly_Hills_Sanatorium
2. Kentucky Historic Institutions. WHS: Patient Death Index. Accessed September 3, 2026. Kentucky Historic Institutions — Waverly Hills Patient Death Index
3. Waverly Hills Sanatorium. About Us. Accessed September 3, 2026. Waverly Hills Sanatorium — About Us
4. Kentucky Historic Institutions. Waverly Hills Sanatorium. Accessed September 3, 2026. Kentucky Historic Institutions — Waverly Hills Sanatorium
5. Frazier Kentucky History Museum. Independent Spirits, a Brief History of Waverly Hills Sanatorium, Composer Rachel Grimes’s Film “Along the Way Forth,” and More. Published October 18, 2021. Accessed September 3, 2026. Frazier Kentucky History Museum — Waverly Hills Sanatorium
6. US Ghost Adventures. Hauntings of Waverly Hills Sanatorium. Published December 30, 2024. Accessed September 3, 2026. US Ghost Adventures — Hauntings of Waverly Hills Sanatorium
7. Rhoden G. Meet one of the few living patients from Waverly Hills Sanatorium's segregated ward. Louisville Public Media. Published March 2, 2026. Accessed September 3, 2026. Louisville Public Media — Waverly Hills' Segregated Ward
8. Fanelli F. A Study of Forty-Three Patients Who Left Waverly Hills Sanatorium Against the Doctor's Advice During the Period September 1 Through December 31, 1942. University of Louisville; 1944. Master's thesis. University of Louisville Electronic Theses and Dissertations
9. Adams MQ. Louisville's Dark Tourist: Liminality, Legend, and the Macabre. University of Louisville; 2020. Master's thesis. Paper 4255. doi:10.18297/etd/4255. University of Louisville Electronic Theses and Dissertations

🔗 Check out all our links, sources, and socials:https://linktr.ee/thecadaverslessons

TB gets weird in Part 2.

We’re diving into the disastrous history of tuberculin, the evolution of the TB skin test, and some truly brutal treatments—including collapsed lungs, rib removal, and Lucite balls stuffed into the chest.

Then we follow TB into the modern era: X-rays, the BCG vaccine, antibiotics, drug resistance, diagnosis, treatment, and why curing TB can still take six months.

And in this episode’s Ethics Autopsy, we ask:

How much evidence is enough before we intentionally hurt a patient to try to save them?

From questionable cures to evidence-based medicine, this is the story of how we learned to fight one of humanity’s oldest killers.

🎧 Listen now—and prepare to never look at a TB skin test the same way.

📚 References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Clinical overview of tuberculosis disease. Updated April 17, 2025. CDC Tuberculosis Clinical Overview
2. Croix M. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB). Merck Manual Professional Edition. Updated February 2026. Merck Manual: Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis
3. [Author(s)]. History of tuberculosis. Part 2—the sanatoria and the discoveries of the tubercle bacillus. J Mil Veterans Health. Journal of Military and Veterans' Health
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. History of World TB Day. CDC: History of World TB Day
5. [Author(s)]. Miliary tuberculosis. StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. NCBI Bookshelf: Miliary Tuberculosis
6. Tuberculous spondylitis (Pott disease). StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing; NCBI Bookshelf: Tuberculous Spondylitis

What happens when an entire family begins wasting away from the same mysterious illness—and no one understands why?

In 19th-century New England, the answer wasn't always medicine.

It was vampires.

In this Case File, we head into the dark world of New England vampire hysteria, where tuberculosis—or “consumption”—was blamed on the dead returning to prey upon their living relatives. As families suffered death after death, desperate communities began exhuming bodies, removing hearts and organs, and burning them in an attempt to stop the disease.

We’ll explore some of the most infamous cases, including Rachel Harris Burton, Frederick Ransom, the Ray family of Jewett City, and the case that became the most famous of them all: Mercy Brown.

In 1892, nearly a century after her mother and sister had died from consumption, 19-year-old Mercy Brown was exhumed by her neighbors. Her body appeared unusually well preserved, which convinced the townspeople that she was the source of her family's illness.

Her heart and lungs were removed and burned.

The vampire hysteria wasn't simply a story about superstition. It was a glimpse into what happens when people are confronted with a terrifying disease they don't understand. Tuberculosis could spread silently, affect multiple members of a household, and remain dormant before suddenly becoming fatal—making it easy to believe that the dead were somehow responsible for the living becoming sick.

Before germ theory, sometimes the explanation was supernatural.

🩸 In this Case File:

• Why tuberculosis became associated with vampires
• The New England communities where vampire beliefs took hold
• Bodies that were exhumed and organs that were burned
• The tragic story of Mercy Brown
• Why Mercy's body appeared “fresh” months after her death
• The connection between TB and multiple deaths within a family
• How New England vampire folklore differed from traditional European vampires
• And the surprising connection between Mercy Brown and Dracula

This is The Cadaver’s Lessons—where history, medicine, ethics, and the macabre meet.

Class is dismissed. Stay safe. Stay curious. And don’t try this at home… unless you own a bone saw.

Have an idea for a future episode or Case File? DM us on social media and let us know.

Listen, follow, review, and share The Cadaver’s Lessons wherever you get your podcasts.

1. Ponti C. When New Englanders blamed vampires for tuberculosis deaths. HISTORY. Published October 25, 2019. Updated July 30, 2026. Accessed August 27, 2026.
2. New England Today. The vampire Mercy Brown of Rhode Island. New England Today. Accessed August 27, 2026.
3. Galpern JL. Have Mercy… Rhode Island Historical Society. Published October 31, 2016. Accessed August 27, 2026.
4. Bell ME. Vampires and death in New England, 1784 to 1892. Anthropol Humanism. 2006;31(2):124-140.
5. Tucker A. The great New England vampire panic. Smithsonian Magazine. Published October 2012. Accessed August 27, 2026.

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Before COVID-19, tuberculosis was the most prevalent infectious disease in the world—and throughout history, it has claimed more human lives than any other infectious disease.

Known by names like Consumption, Phthisis, the Wasting Disease, the White Plague, and the Robber of Youth, tuberculosis has haunted humanity for thousands of years.

In this episode of The Cadaver’s Lessons, we trace TB from ancient civilizations to modern medicine, exploring how physicians slowly went from superstition and royal healing rituals to identifying the bacterium responsible for one of history's deadliest diseases.

📚 References

1. Barberis I, Bragazzi NL, Galluzzo L, Martini M. The history of tuberculosis: from the first historical records to the isolation of Koch's bacillus. J Prev Med Hyg. 2017;58(1). Source
2. Croix M. Tuberculosis (TB). Merck Manual Professional Edition. Updated May 2026. Accessed August 23, 2026. Source
3. Tobin EH, Tristram D. Tuberculosis overview. StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing; updated December 22, 2024. Accessed August 23, 2026. Source
4. Rutgers Global Tuberculosis Institute. History of tuberculosis. Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Accessed August 23, 2026. Source
5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. History of World TB Day. Updated December 5, 2024. Accessed August 23, 2026. Source
6. World Health Organization. Reduce the burden of TB among people living with HIV. In: WHO Consolidated Guidelines on Tuberculosis. National Center for Biotechnology Information; accessed August 23, 2026. Source

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In 1817, Princess Charlotte of Wales was the future of the British monarchy—and one of the most beloved women in Britain.

She was young, popular, newly married, and pregnant with what everyone hoped would be the next heir to the throne.

Instead, after a prolonged and difficult labor, Princess Charlotte and her newborn son both died within hours of one another.

Her death sent Britain into mourning, devastated the royal family, and triggered a wave of public criticism against the physicians who had cared for her. But perhaps most fascinating of all, more than 200 years later, historians and medical experts still debate exactly what killed her.

📚 References

1. Royal Collection Trust. Princess Charlotte of Wales. Royal Archives. https://www.rct.uk/collection/royal-archives/georgian-papers-in-the-royal-archives/george-iv/princess-charlotte-of-wales
2. Flantzer S. Death of Princess Charlotte of Wales in childbirth and its impact on the British succession. Unofficial Royalty. Published November 5, 2013. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/november-6-1817-death-of-princess-charlotte-of-wales-in-childbirth-and-its-impact-on-the-succession-to-the-british-throne/
3. National Trust. The history of Princess Charlotte. Claremont Landscape Garden. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/surrey/claremont-landscape-garden/the-history-of-princess-charlotte
4. Brighton Museums. Princess Charlotte: George’s forgotten daughter. https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/discovery/history-stories/princess-charlotte-georges-forgotten-daughter/
5. [Medical attendants]. The authentic medical statement of the case of H.R.H. the late Princess Charlotte of Wales. 1817. Internet Archive/Wikimedia Commons. The authentic medical statement of the case of H.R.H. the late Princess Charlotte of Wales

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For centuries, when a baby became stuck during labor, physicians and midwives had very few options. Hooks, knives, saws, forceps, and eventually vacuum extractors were developed to help manage some of the most dangerous complications of childbirth. Some were revolutionary. Others caused devastating injuries. And some were kept secret for generations because their inventors knew just how valuable—and controversial—they could be.

In this episode of The Cadaver’s Lessons, we take a deep dive into the brutal, bizarre, and surprisingly fascinating history of obstetric instruments.

📚 References

1. Efficacy of obstetrics forceps and vacuum extractor to assist during vaginal delivery: systematic review and meta-analysis. 2025. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12671670/
2. Hook CD, Damos JR. Vacuum-assisted vaginal delivery. Am Fam Physician. 2008;78(8):953-960. American Family Physician
3. Merck Manual Professional Edition. Operative vaginal delivery. Merck Manual
4. StatPearls. [Clinical reference]. StatPearls Publishing. NCBI Bookshelf
5. Patel RR, Murphy DJ. Forceps delivery in modern obstetric practice. BMJ. 2004. PubMed Central
6. History.com Editors. The chainsaw was originally invented to assist with childbirth. History. History.com
7. Sheikh S, Ganesaratnam I, Jan H. The birth of forceps. JRSM Short Rep. 2013;4(7):1-4. doi:10.1177/2042533313478412. PubMed Central
8. Dittrick Medical History Center. Mystery instruments: forceps in myth and history. Case Western Reserve University. Dittrick Medical History Center
9. Motherhood in Prehistory. Embryotomy/fetotomy. 2016. Motherhood in Prehistory

SEE LINK TREE FOR FULL LIST OF RESOURCES

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Breech presentation occurs in roughly 3–4% of full-term pregnancies. For decades, obstetricians debated a deceptively simple question:

Is it safer to deliver a term breech baby vaginally—or by planned cesarean section?

In this episode of The Cadaver’s Files, we dive into one of the most influential—and controversial—studies in modern obstetrics: the Term Breech Trial.

Conducted across 121 centers in 26 countries, the trial enrolled more than 2,000 women between 1997 and 2000. Its goal was to determine whether a policy of planned cesarean delivery resulted in better outcomes than planned vaginal breech birth.

And the results were striking.

📚 References

1. Hannah ME, et al. Planned caesarean section versus planned vaginal birth for breech presentation at term: a randomised multicentre trial. Lancet. 2000;356(9239):1375-1383. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(00)02840-3.
2. Murray H. Term Breech Trial. O&G Magazine. 2012;14(2).
3. Hannah ME, et al. Maternal outcomes at 2 years after planned cesarean versus planned vaginal birth for breech presentation at term. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2004;191(3):864-871.
4. CREOGS Over Coffee. The Term Breech Trial. May 29, 2022.