Have You Seen the Lumberjack Man?

Good Morning, ATS.

While reading a very entertaining and thoroughly creepy thread yesterday (strange happenings in Louisiana read thread here)
I came across several accounts by different members describing similar events.
Since I myself have also experienced something similar, this intrigued me and I went searching for answers.

The experiences I'm referring to seem to be a form of sleep paralysis, which has been discussed numerous times on ATS. For those of you who aren't familiar with sleep paralysis, here is a great article explaining the science behind the phenomenon. The Guardian The really fascinating aspect of sleep paralysis involves the supposed paranormal or supernatural side to the event. Across different cultures, this has been described as "The Old Hag", devils/demons, alien abductions, etc.

Now to the purpose of this thread. I'm interested in trying to determine if background knowledge or experiences shapes our interpretation of the sleep paralysis event. I've sufferred with this since my childhood; when I was younger (around 7-13) I associated the event with demonic oppression. I believe this was because I was raised Christian and, like every child, took the Bible quite literally with regards to devils and demons. As I've grown older and my spiritual beliefs have changed, so has the manifestations of the concurrent 'hallucinations'. By far, the most intense and terrifying experience occurred during my college years, when I saw what I call the Lumberjack Man.

I was a junior in college, commuting from home and enjoying sleeping late. Both of my parents had already left for work, and I had been up a couple of times in the morning to get a drink of water, use the bathroom, etc. After one such expedition, I returned to my room and snuggled under my covers, content to lay and doze for another few minutes.

As I was slipping back into sleep, something suddenly changed. The atmosphere in the room seemed charged with energy. I was wide awake, quite lucid, yet completely paralyzed. It felt as if I were suffocating, or as if tight bands were wrapped around my chest. The blood pounded in my head, and a feeling of overwhelming fear engulfed me.

Normally I can bring myself out of the paralysis by the conscious moving of a limb, but it wasn't working this morning. I did manage to turn my head, at which point I noticed the man standing in my bedroom doorway.

He wasn't extremely tall, but very stocky with a barrel chest and large arms. I don't remember his pants, but he wore a red flannel plaid shirt, the kind with the checkered black print. On his head he had a knit cap, what we in the south call a toboggan. He looked exactly like the quissential pictures of a lumberjack, hence my reference to him as the Lumberjack Man.

His position in the doorway cast him into shadow, but there was plenty of light for me to make eye contact with him. He stood with his head lowered and thrust out, with his eyes glaring up at me from underneath his brow. It was an extremely malevolent look, and to say I was terrified would be quite an understatement.

What is odd is my next behavior. I tried to dismiss what was happening as just another sleep paralysis episode, although I had never had a visual hallucination before (just the other symptoms). I consciously closed my eyes and attempted to will myself back to sleep.

For the next several minutes (or seconds, determing time during one of these episodes is impossible because it feels like forever), I battled with myself. I told myself I had to get up, had to move, because there was a stranger in the house and I couldn't just lay there and wait to be slaughtered, or what have you. Yet I could not break the hold of the paralysis. And the man continued to stand in my doorway, watching me intently.

Towards the end I managed to move my arms and the terror eased. Normally when leaving a paralysis state, I "snap" right out of it, but not this time. Although I could now move, I still felt the suffocating fear. I tried to assure myself it was over, and to prove it I glanced back at the doorway.

The Lumberjack Man now stood closer to my bed, and he was grinning. I'll never forget that grin. Evil incarnate.

We locked eyes as I sat up. Then he just stepped backwards, still staring, and moved further into the shadows of the hallway and eventually out of sight.

I was convinced there was a stranger in my house. I got out of bed, called my father, grabbed the shotgun, and while sobbing into the phone with Dad went searching through the house (the gun wasn't even loaded, lol, but just carrying it made me feel like a bada&&). I found nothing.

I'm not 100% sure how to classify this event. It certainly had all the aspects of my typical sleep paralysis, bar the man in the room, the movement not breaking the paralysis, and the strange fading effect. However, if the man was merely a hallucination, why did I hallucinate a lumberjack? To the best of my recollection, I hadn't been thinking about lumberjacks, watching shows or movies with them, etc. Was it just some random firing of neurons, or something else?

If you've experienced something similar, please share. I'm interested in knowing your background (such as religious beliefs, etc) and if you think that shaped your interpretation of the event.

Thanks for sharing.

Perhaps these sightings are do to a recent plethora of new lumberjack reality tv shows.

reply to post by jibeho


Possible if it happened recently. However, this occurred about 15 years ago, and I'm not much of a television watcher. Anyway, thanks for responding!

reply to post by smyleegrl


This was an important siting of "the lumberjack".



The evidence suggests that night time sightings should be dismissed, as "the lumberjack" clearly states
" I'm a lumberjack and Im o.k.
sleep all night and I work all day!"

reply to post by atlasastro


LOL!!!!!!!

I just KNEW someone would post Monty Python in response to this.....figured it was a given and honestly thought it would be the first post.

I love this song, and while I can't watch the video from this computer, I can't wait to see it tonight. Thanks so much for the laugh!

I have had a very similar experience, only mine was a viking.

A giant man with long blond hair in full viking leather and armor. It was truly terrifying. I thought there was a crazy man in the house but after I thought about it for a few minutes and calmed down I just assumed it was the leftovers of a dream especially given the mans strange attire.

I did however a few nights later go to bed, lay there dozing for about half an hour then realize I needed to pee. The dog had been wide awake when I went to sleep so it really hadn't been long enough for him to be truly sound asleep.

When I stepped into the hallway my dog went nuts, backed up from me growling and barking with full hackles raised.
I didn't know if it was me he was after or someone in the house.

I screamed for my husband and backed against the wall as the dog went by me and was still acting like he was going to kill someone in our back room.

Hubby got up and searched the house and yard and there was no one there or any sign of anyone.

This is a truly gentle soul of a dog, kittens and babies are two of his favorite things, I have never seen any dog get upset like that much less ours.

He even let off that awful smell of fear, and was hard to calm down afterwards.

I have had a very similar experience, only mine was a viking.

reply to post by gluetrap


Now that was interesting. Do you normally have sleep paralysis, would you classify this as sleep paralysis or something different? If it was sleep paralysis, any idea why you might have hallucinated a Viking?

Although the dog's behavior makes me think perhaps this wasn't a paralysis event, but something actually there in your home.

Anyway, thanks for responding. S from me!

as a child, you found demons to be the scariest thing you could imagine and you associated these terrifying incidents with them, maybe, in your 20's, the scariest thing you could come up with were muscular men with a big axe and no taste in clothes!!

in your 20's, the scariest thing you could come up with were muscular men with a big axe and no taste in clothes!!

reply to post by pieman


LOL again....I'm loving these responses. It's great to see humor on ATS.

Now the previous poster's Viking might have made the event go a much different way....

But I don't think I've ever had a phobia of lumberjacks. I certainly don't know. And I would think clowns would be far more scary.

thanks for posting, S from me!

reply to post by smyleegrl



Couldn't help myself.
Had to be done.
Glad you got a giggle.

When I originally read your OP I thought that if I had an experience with a lumberjack I would probably burt into this song.

For the next several minutes (or seconds, determing time during one of these episodes is impossible because it feels like forever), I battled with myself. I told myself I had to get up, had to move, because there was a stranger in the house and I couldn't just lay there and wait to be slaughtered, or what have you. Yet I could not break the hold of the paralysis. And the man continued to stand in my doorway, watching me intently.

But re-reading the OP, and in particular the above, has changed my mind. That seems terrifying.
I have looked at Alien Abduction experiences from many angles and sleep paralysis is such a powerful experience.
Another experience which is not considered is sleep apnea, at least I rarely see it discussed here. There are similar reports from sleep apnea sufferers of being entombed, suffocating or stuck unable to move or yell for help etc. Which is similar to sleep paralysis. I think there is a natural "alarm" that causes that sense of fear and dread within a REM experience that is linked to sleep apnea that triggers all that terror due to the interruption of the breathing process in sleep. This forces us to fight to wake from the REM sleep. A REM sleep that may be detailing the sleep apnea as a nightmare.
Many people report waking from these episodes with rapid heat beats, deep breathing etc.
Many people may think this is the effect of the REM dream experiences and not even consider that the rapid heart beat, shortness of breath is actually sleep apnea, and this is what may have inspired the actual dream and sense of fear etc rather than the other way around.

Or to put it more technically, REM sleep is fragmented by dramatic arousals and awakenings to get your body to breath again and this is the brain's defense mechanisms doing their job.

It is a different angle and one that you could consider.



[edit on 3/3/10 by atlasastro]

I have never had any experience with a lumberjack, nor anything else that is strange like that (other than ghostly type things in a couple of houses i lived in as a child, confirmed by others who lived there at different times). The only strange things like this that i have happen are these moments of insight. Sometimes they are incredible, sometimes not. I have many concepts that i consider, but am completely unable to put into words. I don't think it is that i don't have the vocabulary (i have an extensive vocabulary). It is more like a "block" in my head that keeps me from being able to fully grasp it while trying to verbalize it. Strange, hard to explain.

But onto your topic...have you ever heard of Morlocks? If not, look into it. That is exactly what you describe.

Being related to "inner earth" stories, etc, they are a strange factor in several stories about underground tunnels, etc. They are normally described just as you described them physically, and are often described as "evil", etc.

What part of the country are you in? The stories i have read are often in the southeast (Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee) where therea re extensive underground passages and caves.

It is a different angle and one that you could consider.

reply to post by atlasastro


Thanks for the suggestion.

I've actually had sleep studies done, testing for sleep apnea. My father has it, as does my husband; they both have to wear masks attatched to machines during the night. Makes me feel like I'm sleeping next to the elephant man.

According to the doctor, however, the time I had the study done there was no sign of apnea. I believe he wants to repeat the test later, but its a lot of $$$ so it may have to wait awhile.

And as anyone who's experienced the paralysis can tell you, it is extremely terrifying.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


I've never heard of morlocks (outside of the obvious reference to literature) but will look into this. Thanks.

This occurred in East Tennessee. Interstingly enough, the house is near Forbidden Caverns, a very extensive cave system. There are numerous other caves nearby as well.

the diference between the figure of a lumberjack and a viking is quite small.

what we "see" is quite subjective, our eyes feed our brains information, our subconscious brains filter and file this information and, finally, our conscious minds decide what we are observing.

everybody who suffers from paralysis seems to sense a terrifying, negative presence hovering over them. i think that the form the presence takes might depend on how our brains filter an unfathomable observation.

reply to post by smyleegrl


Yeah, because of the pop culture references, finding something on it took me quite a bit.

Here is one story: Underground Bases

i think that the form the presence takes might depend on how our brains filter an unfathomable observation

reply to post by pieman


Agreed. Which is why I believe i classified it as demonic oppression during my religious years. But why in the world a lumberjack? Was it just a brain fart? Synaptic twitch?

I'd be interested in seeing a study done with regards to background and experience interpretation.

Originally posted by smyleegrl
I'd be interested in seeing a study done with regards to background and experience interpretation.

i think it's going to be difficult to find a good one. everyone has a unique background and a unique perspective. there isn't really any way to say X made you see Y in a certain way.

the closest i can think of is stuff about the subjectiveness of observation, like the basketball passes study, and some stuff about the impact religious belief has on NDE's and the likelihood of remembering past life experiences.

Some nice fiction here.

Seriously though, you dont have to really worry untill you start seeing lumberjacks pushing baby carriages throught the park, or in downtown NY or something walking small fluffy house dogs, with axes over the soulder, when you'er wide awake. You pick the gig. Wake up dumb ass. Jack shows up in an apron and ax, baby in pack on back with little lumber guy cap, tiny little baby ax, sucking on bottle, as the modern day cultural hermaphrodite is flippin you off, taking all you got, belching, and asking you if thats all you got.

A guy I knew said he was hunting deep in the forest when suddenly the place was filled with pirouetteing ballerinas with sawed off shotguns and combat boots, spinning to the music of What a Wounderfull World.

Originally posted by Logarock
Some nice fiction here.

metaphysics

Philosophy. The branch of philosophy that examines the nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter, substance and attribute, fact and value.

source


when you clicked on a thread in a metaphysics forum, what exactly was it you expected to read? i'm just trying to figure out if you're ignorant because you're an idiot or because you're a jerk!!

reply to post by pieman



You misuderstand. I simply dont know if this op is on the level. Besides I thought I was being very metaphysical.