Demons or nightmares? A history of night terrors | Alice Vernon | TEDxAberystwyth

How did you sleep last night? Perhaps you slept strangely. Sleepwalking, sleep paralysis, night terrors and hypnopompic hallucinations are among sleep disorders known as ‘parasomnias’, and they’re far more common than we think. This talk Alice explores the presentation of parasomnias in history and culture, and will emphasise how important it is to talk about them. Dr Alice Vernon is Lecturer in Creative Writing at Aberystwyth University, where she teaches students the fundamentals of storytelling. Her research specialises in the history of medicine and Victorian parapsychology, and her debut non-fiction book, Night Terrors, was published by Icon Books in October 2022. She received her PhD from Aberystwyth University in 2018. Alice’s research primarily involves the history of medicine, with a focus on Renaissance anatomy and Victorian parapsychology. She is particularly interested in the cultural and scientific depictions of sleep disorders such as sleep paralysis, lucid dreams, and hypnopompic hallucinations. TEDxAberystwyth is an independently organized non-profit TED-like event, find out more: This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at