Wikipedia:WikiProject Paranormal

Night hag

Night hag (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View AfD | edits since nomination)

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I propose merging to Sleep paralysis. Specifically, the "Folklore" subheading there should be structured as the bullet points we see here (with added sourcing, or pared down). The all-encompassing "night hag" served as a pre-scientific explanation for the phenomenon which is still being studied. Currently, many similar redirects are split between these two articles... for example "old hag" and "the old hag" should point to the same article, and the discrepancy would be avoided by merging this article into the subheading at Sleep paralysis. TNstingray (talk) 12:59, 31 October 2026 (UTC)

• Note: this discussion has been included in the AfD sorting lists for the following topics: Health and fitness, Paranormal, and Mythology. Spiderone^{(Talk to Spider)} 13:06, 31 October 2026 (UTC)
• Keep but rename Sleep paralysis in folklore. It seems like too much content to just dump on the sleep paralysis page. It can probably stand to be rewritten to be less of a list, but it seems like the topic is more than notable with just how many explanations there are for it in folklore. ᴢxᴄᴠʙɴᴍ (ᴛ) 14:28, 31 October 2026 (UTC)
• Rename as suggested - the subject is well-defined, but the current title is too narrow. --Altenmann >talk 16:11, 31 October 2026 (UTC)
• Comment by nominator, regarding the "rename" suggestion, night hag in its current state is mostly unsourced and lacks clear inclusion criteria. Most of these entries can be layered on top of the existing categories at Sleep paralysis#Folklore while perhaps making that subheading its own heading. In other words, it is redundant. I am happy to do the work of consolidating. We still have the issue of overlapping redirects that would not be solved by simply renaming the article. Because the topic is poorly studied I think it would strengthen our coverage to have everything on one page to emphasize the diverse folkloric explanations in contrast to modern medical research. TNstingray (talk) 22:16, 31 October 2026 (UTC)
  • Sleep paralysis and night hag are both long articles with rather nonoverlapping content. In such cases it is asvisable to follow WP:Summary style and merge in opposite way: Sleep paralysis#Folklore into night hag (or renamed). The current unreferenced content of night hag (or its non-evident cases) may be moved into its talk page, because they will be a goos starting point for searc of sources. --Altenmann >talk 22:24, 31 October 2026 (UTC)

    I disagree. As written, night hag is entirely overlapping and inseparable from the broader discussion of sleep paralysis; thus, the rename is unnecessary and maintains the problem with inconsistent redirect targets. Keeping the status quo is also inappropriate because the term "night hag" itself is not discussed in the article and thus the article operates as a catch-all for any folkloric creature associated with sleep paralysis. Due to its sporadic nature, it would be best to take a step back and see how this information (once properly sourced) looks in the larger context of sleep paralysis. A good starting point of searching for sources is the draft stage of an article and that is not what I am suggesting. TNstingray (talk) 19:43, 1 November 2026 (UTC)

    Oh yes, almost non-overlapping and easily separable: section Night hag#Sleep paralysis is a two-sentence blurb, perfectly fitting Wikipedia:Summary style and the rest, fits the title "Sleep paralysis in folklore", with per-culture sections starting with, like, In Scandinavian folklore, sleep paralysis is caused by a mare, etc. --Altenmann >talk 19:58, 1 November 2026 (UTC)

Oppose merging, this has very little overlap. PARAKANYAA (talk) 23:16, 1 November 2026 (UTC)

• Redirect Night hag and the existing redirects old hag, Old Hag attack and The Old Hag to the parent article Hag, where the subject is sufficiently discussed, sourced, and pictured in its Folklore section and where there is already a link to Sleep paralysis as an explanation. Second, check for hatnote usage to mention other uses at Night hag (disambiguation). Third, only consider content from this overly off-topic Night hag article for merging into the Sleep paralysis folklore subsection if it is not already included there and has a source confirming a connection to sleep paralysis. There are other possibilities for some of the phenomena that do not involve paralysis, such as dreams and hypnagogic hallucinations in folklore. 5Q5|^✉ 12:41, 2 November 2026 (UTC)
  • The article Hag is a fantasma WP:SYNTH. --Altenmann >talk 14:37, 2 November 2026 (UTC)

  I like this suggestion. We basically have 3 articles (Sleep paralysis, Hag, and Night hag) where only 2 are currently needed. This suggestion addresses the redirect concerns and neatly organizes the material with clear inclusion criteria in a more refined way than my original proposal. TNstingray (talk) 14:50, 2 November 2026 (UTC)

  And it does not preclude the option of splitting Sleep paralysis in folklore. --Altenmann >talk 14:55, 2 November 2026 (UTC)

• Keep and rename to Sleep paralysis in folklore as suggested by Zxcvbnm. This is currently more a list of alternative figures appearing in folklore in the context of sleep paralysis than those actually called night hag. And as Altenmann has already pointed out, the Sleep paralysis article itself is already pretty long, so keeping this separate seems better despite the connection via Sleep paralysis#Folklore. Daranios (talk) 15:48, 2 November 2026 (UTC)
• Keep per PARAKANYAA. Dylan Reed (Ping me) 04:03, 3 November 2026 (UTC)
• Comment: I have no objection to a rename as proposed, but once done the content will be subject to verification to prove an actual connection to sleep paralysis and is not OR. Every entity listed is likely already covered in the voluminous Lists of legendary creatures. Regardless of a rename or merge is that afterward Night hag and the other hag redirects should point to the parent Hag article, where more material on the topic could be added in the future, unlike the paralysis articles where brevity would more likely be practiced. 5Q5|^✉ 12:52, 4 November 2026 (UTC)
• Keep and rename as above. There are lots of sources on the subject of how different cultures have described sleep paralysis; see for instance the scholarly results for the term in Japanese (I am offering the first three hits there, not the results per se). This is within scope for the parent article, but is far too much information, and as such the spinoff is valid. Vanamonde93 (talk) 20:16, 8 November 2026 (UTC)

Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Spartaz ^Humbug! 22:55, 8 November 2026 (UTC)