IT WAS A NIGHTMARE: Refuting "23 Minutes in Hell" by Bill Wiese

WIESE'S SLEEP PARALYSIS CONFIRMED

The evidence that Wiese had a nightmare brought on by sleep paralysis and known to invoke out-of-body experiences and hallucinations is overwhelming. But this explanation is not going to go down well with the over million people who have purchased his book. This is understandable. To be duped in reading somebody's nightmare and believing it to be more than what it is will be extremely embarrassing, to say the least. But I ask you to think this through, and open your mind to the truth.

If you find yourself in this situation, perhaps the comments of scientists Julia Santomauro and Christopher C. French writing in the journal "The Psychologist" of the British Psychological Society might help to persuade you that what Wiese really experienced was sleep paralysis. I am convinced that when you read what they have to say on this phenomenon and see the similarity between Wiese's experience and their analysis, you will see things through different eyes.

In their study, the two scientists give a list of hallucinations that are typically associated with sleep paralysis, including the following symptoms, which I have interspersed with Wiese's own. Keep in mind that these researchers have not read "23 Minutes in Hell," thus their explanations of symptoms are all their own based upon their observations.

Proprioceptive Hallucinations: Sensations of floating, flying, out-of-body experiences; feelings of being lifted up, of spinning and turning; and sensations similar to those felt when going up or down in a lift.
Wiese: "I found myself being hurled through the air", "catapulted out of my bed", " I had left my body" (Divine Revelations), "So I know for sure it was an out of body experience." (Divine Revelations) "I began ascending up through the tunnel", "God lifted me up until I was looking down upon that uncountable multitude of humankind."

Tactile Hallucinations: Sensations of pressure; touching or pulling on the chest, limbs or head; pressure on the bed; feeling the bedclothes moving; and feelings of tingling, vibrating, shaking, pain, smothering or choking.
Wiese: "I noticed that I had absolutely no strength in my body. I could barely move", "However, every move to get up took great effort", "I felt extremely weak", "As it pressed me into its chest", "another creature quickly grabbed my head and began to crush it." "Then all four of the creatures were on top of me, each grabbing a leg or an arm", "The creatures seemed to derive pleasure in the pain and terror they inflicted upon me", "If the Lord had not taken the horror of those memories with the pain and suffering from me, I know I would have died", "I could barely breathe", "It was exhausting even to try to get just one breath", "I was screaming. I was in agony" (Divine Revelations)

Visual Hallucinations: Seeing smoke-like substances or areas of intense darkness; seeing a humans, animals or monsters and possibly interacting with them.
Wiese: "The air was filled with smoke", "smoke-filled atmosphere" ,"As I ascended into the darkness", "It became absolutely pitch black", "I had no idea why the sudden and intense darkness had begun", "I was lying in the cell and it went dark, pitch, pitch black. I mean a darkness I have never ever felt before" (Divine Revelations), "The darkness was so heavy; it just eats up any light" (Divine Revelations), "I could see the outlines of people through the flames", "I heard was screams, billions of people screaming in this place" (Divine Revelations), "I saw many people reaching out of the pit of fire", "Each giant beast resembled a reptile in appearance", "Two more creatures came", "Horrible creatures surrounded the perimeter",
"As I looked at the walls, I saw that they were covered with thousands of hideous creatures", "This cavern was lined with evil creatures of every shape and size", "There were also gigantic rats and huge spiders", "I also saw snakes and worms","then grabbed me from behind in a bear hug", "grabbed me and carried me back into the cell. It threw me on the floor.
"

Auditory Hallucinations: Hearing footsteps, knocking, shuffling, breathing, talking, indecipherable whispering, mechanical sounds (e.g. humming) and other noises.
Wiese: "I could hear the creatures speaking to each other. Although I could not identify what language it was", "Through the panic and the deafening noise", people in the fire screaming, screaming for mercy", "In addition, the screams I heard were not the screams of children; they were mature voices." Olfactory Hallucinations: You detect smells that aren't really present in your environment. The odors detected vary from person to person and may be foul or pleasant. They can occur in one or both nostrils.
Wiese: "The smell of these demons and the smell in Hell were so atrocious" (Divine Revelations), "foul stench coming from these creatures. It was absolutely disgusting, foul, and rotten", "There was a smell of burning flesh, of sulfur" (Divine Revelations)

Gustatory Hallucinations: Similar to olfactory hallucinations, but they involve your sense of taste instead of smell. These tastes are often strange or unpleasant. [8]
Wiese: "I could see, hear, touch, smell, and taste", "My mouth was so dry it felt as if I had been running through the desert for days"

The two scientists who work in the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths University of London also say that sleep paralysis often involves feelings of intense fear, terror, bliss, joy, anger, and feelings of dying or imminent death. [9]

Intense Feelings: Feelings of intense fear, terror, bliss, joy, anger, and feelings of dying or imminent death.
Wiese: "completely paralyzed me with fear", "A sense of absolute terror gripped my being", "My terror mounted until I was ready to collapse into utter hopelessness, crushing despair, abysmal loneliness", "I felt helpless, trapped, and frozen with fear", "fear continued to bind itself around me as a snake constricting its prey", "The fear was so intense I couldn't bear it", "the fear of those horrific beasts was all encompassing", "Momentary relief hit my soul", "I felt utterly panicked", "I felt helpless, trapped, and frozen with fear", "I felt so defenseless", "I was relieved and comforted", "was so,so grateful that He had rescued me", "I found Bill in a fetal position with his hands grasping at the sides of his head. His breathing was erratic, and he was screaming, "I feel like I'm going to die!"

If you are one of the million or so people who have read "23 Minutes in Hell", can you not see that all the things that Wiese heard, felt, and saw in his alleged visit to hell fit the hallucinatory symptoms of sleep paralysis perfectly?