Sitting on your chest and crushing you in your sleep, the Alp of Germanic Folklore was considered a vampiric creature, modeled after the life force of humans. But where did this creature come from?
It is said that in the dim hours between dusk and dawn, when restless dreams haunt the minds of sleepers, a malevolent creature from vintage German folklore descends on its victims. Known as Alp, this malevolent supernatural entity does not haunt abandoned castles or foggy cemeteries – instead, it attacks the delicate land of sleep itself, leaving terror and suffocation in its wake.
Alp, a figure of nightmares dating back to medieval Europe, exists in a dim intersection of ghost, demon and vampire. A sometimes seductive man, a butterfly, a pig in a magic hat – it has long served as a terrifying explanation of our most intimate fears: what happens to us when we are most vulnerable, in our beds, under the cover of darkness.
Creature of the Night
But what was Alp? There are many variations of this legend, but it is usually a male being, often the spirit of a recently deceased man. It can also be seen in association with the Germanic elf or creatures from another world or the underworld.
It may also be the spirit of a woman who died a sinner and was pregnant. It was also believed that he could create an Alp if he ate something unclean or something that a dwarf spat on. She could also create Alp if she made inappropriate gestures or scared a dog or horse while pregnant.
Unlike the powerful monsters of other myths, the Alp is an insidious tormentor, striking unseen and undetected until the victim is gripped by unnatural fear in the middle of sleep. It is traditionally described as a malevolent spirit or goblin-like creature, often hidden, although sometimes appearing in grotesque, human forms, or even taking the shape of a cat, dog, snake, or butterfly.
However, the most terrifying ability of the Alps is their power to induce terrifying sleep paralysis – what folklore once called a “nightmare” (the term originally did not refer to a bad dream, but to the demon itself).
Victims woke up, unable to move or scream, an hidden weight pressing down on their chests as suffocating fear filled the room. They can hear the Alps breathing, feel its clawed fingers on their throat, or see shadowy shapes moving just beyond the limits of reason.
Appetite for blood and breath
It was believed that the Alp fed on both the life essence and blood of its victims, much like a vampire. It was said that the milk of breastfeeding women was drunk, and sometimes, disturbingly, the blood from their nipples. Farm animals were also unsafe – night visits to the Alps were often blamed on cows that had mysteriously been deprived of milk.
Another chilling feature of the Alpine legend is its association with dreams themselves. The creature was believed to control the dreams of the sleeper, making them dim and violent, and manipulating the victim's mind to feed on his fear.
His favorite targets were said to be emotionally disturbed, infirmed and defenseless people. Sometimes he would even focus on specific people, tormenting them night after night, sometimes even sexually, like the Succubus and the Incubus.
Defense against the Alps
German folklore offered a variety of protective measures against the predators of the Alps. One common method was to place a broom under the pillow, place a shoe on the side of the bed with the toes pointing toward the door, or hang an iron horseshoe nearby – symbols intended to confuse or repel the spirit.
It was also believed that naming Alps by name could banish him, although due to his invisibility and mysterious nature, discovering Alps' true identity was often impossible.
Another captivating belief was that tying one's hair before going to bed or keeping the bedroom door slightly ajar would prevent the creature from entering, because the Alp was a creature of rules and compulsions and easily deterred by basic tricks or obstacles.
Echoes in the up-to-date world
Many up-to-date scholars and folklorists see the Alpine stories as early cultural interpretations of sleep paralysis, a phenomenon still experienced around the world. The suffocating weight, inability to move, hallucinations, and overwhelming terror described in the Alp Encounters mirror the astonishingly detailed descriptions of sleep paralysis episodes.
But even with the benefits of up-to-date science, the age-old fear persists. There is something uniquely unsettling about the idea of being helpless in your own home, in your own bed – and perhaps that is why the legend of the Alps continues to cast a long, dim shadow over Europe's collective memory.
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Alp: the night terrors of German folklore
Sitting on your chest and crushing you in your sleep, the Alp of Germanic Folklore was considered a vampiric creature, modeled after the life force of humans. But where did this creature come from?
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