Sleep Paralysis

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For many years I have been suffering from sleep paralysis... not knowing what it was. Basically, sleep paralysis is a sleep disorder where you wake up when your body is still asleep - kind of like the opposite of sleep walking. During REM sleep, our bodies are paralyzed as a defensive mechanism to prevent us from acting out our dreams. But for those who experience sleep paralyis, the paralysis sets in too soon (while you're just starting to fall asleep) or lasts longer than it should (after waking up at the end of a sleep cycle). Sleep paralysis is often accompanied by what are called "hypnagogic" hallucinations, basically, although people with sleep paralysis are concious and often have their eyes open, they can still dream. Almost all people who experience sleep paralysis are surged with overwhelming emotions of fear and evil. It is now believed that most people who experience things like out of body experiences, demon attacks, visions of ghost, and alien abductions are actually suffering from sleep paralysis. After years of believing that I was under attack by demons, it was quite empowering to learn about sleep paralysis. It even explains the levitation experience I had before - many people with sleep paralysis experience feelings and hallucinations of levitation. I'm still not sure that sleep paralysis is strictly a scientific phenomena, but it's nice to know that I'm not crazy. Has anyone else ever experience sleep paralysis? Have you ever heard of it?