Mara - A creature that sits on your chest as you sleep?

[DerAlleinTiger]

I was just watching this video on YouTube about weird mythological creatures. One of them, a "Bahktak", is some creepy thing that sits on your chest and causes nightmares and sleep paralysis. In Scandinavia, it's known as "Mara". Goddess of love my ♥♥♥!

Here's a link to the video, if you're interested. It's #6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xirOPMEqsng

[TheCainPack]

Sounds more like Vaermina... I think it's supposed to be 'mare' though. I've heard of that creature before but it was called 'mare' said to be where we got the word 'nightmare' from in the first place.

[Ash]

yeah, in Germany it is known as a Nachtmahr (though Alptraum is more common), so it all comes from the same root.
Looks like not only the Daedra are branching out, hm? :)

[Ash]

Major Moolah: people in the middle ages pretty much said the Succubus or Incubus seduced them in their sleep. It was the explanation for dreams of a certain nature, because those pious, god-fearing people would never have anything like that on their own! It had to be demonic influence! ;)

(I thought that particular thing was under Dibellas Influence, though? Something you want to tell us, Mara?)

[Prophet]

Had a Warhammer Demonologist that had bound a Succubus to be his sex slave. It turned him on knowing she would rather eat his heart than do his bidding. He was a sick freak but I suppose someone that becomes a Demonologist isnt all there to begin with.

[DerAlleinTiger]

Sorry for not responding earlier. I just woke up.

From the video and several other sites I visited, it's name has been listed as "Mara" for almost all of them. But it's possible that "Mare" is merely another pronunciation or perhaps another language or culture. "Bahktak", for example, is the Iranian name of it. And Major Moolah mentioned the names Succubus and Incubus, which were the Greek names of the creature. Of course, since Greece had a very profound impact on western civilization, I'd imagine that their name likely spread into central Europe.

I just find it kind of odd since the Divines are part of the lore and canon from the very beginning of the series, yet we're only just now getting deep into the Nordic culture and here it appears that one of the Divines has the Norse name of... this thing.