The Strangest Things Our Bodies Do

Recently, during a long, four-hour wait in the ER (don’t worry, everything is all good), I had plenty of time to think about the strangeness of our bodies. These little mantras were, of course, guided by some of the conversations I overheard by happenstance.

As a writer, particularly a horror writer, medical mysteries or just anatomical weirdness have often inspired a haunting character quirk or the backbone of a spine-chilling plot. In fact, two of my short stories are set in hospitals for my upcoming Let These Scars Remain book.

For my first blog in this category, I wanted to showcase some bizarre things our bodies do. Maybe they’ll inspire your next horror story! It goes without saying that everything in this blog is for entertainment purposes only. If you are concerned about your health, please check with your doctor.

The Startling Power of Hypnic Jerks

We’ve likely all experienced this. You are finally settling into sleep when you suddenly jolt awake. It’s not uncommon for you to dream of falling off a building or even flying and then falling. These involuntary muscle spasms are known as hypnic jerks, and there are a lot of different theories as to why they occur, including:

• Caffeine

• Nicotine

• Stress

• Strenuous Activity

• Sleep Deprivation

What Happens When Your Body “Falls” Asleep

Speaking of falling asleep, has your arm or leg ever “fallen asleep?” In other words, your limb goes numb for a little while, but you get those uncomfortable tingles. This phenomenon is called paresthesia and is typically caused by pressure on a nerve, such as when you sit in a certain position for too long.

However, paresthesia can also be caused by nerve entrapment syndrome (like carpal tunnel), chronic nerve damage, Vitamin B12, or excess alcohol or drug consumption. Interestingly, you can get this sensation anywhere in your body.

The Chills of Music and Fear

Imagine you are taking out the trash in the middle of the night, and you hear metal scraping together. Or suppose you are on a night walk, and you hear an eerie melody playing from inside someone’s house. In both cases, you might get goosebumps and shivers.

The physical manifestation of sound in our emotions is known as frisson, based on the French word for “shiver” or “have chills.”

Myokymia is the Eyeball’s Natural Defense

Sadly, stress is a huge part of 21st-century life—or maybe all-century life if you think about it. Anyway, when this happens, or when you are exhausted, your eyelid involuntarily twitches. This autonomous movement is myokymia and can also be caused by tiredness or too much caffeine.

Myokymia is an excellent addition to your horror story because it can show a character under some kind of duress. Even simply adding, [character’s] eyebrow twitched will give the reader additional information about their state of mind.

The Mystery of Exploding Head Syndrome

Thankfully, exploding head syndrome does not refer to the possibility that your head will randomly burst open like the scene from The Scanners (1981). IYKYK. Exploding head syndrome refers to you hearing a random noise, like an explosion or gunshot, just when you are about to wake up or fall asleep.

The part of this phenomenon that might actually be scary is the fact that there is no sound. The sound is inside your head. Exploding head syndrome can be caused by several possible issues, for example, processing issues, ear issues, migraines, stress, anxiety, sleep disorders, and more.

The Unsettling Phenomenon of Sleep Paralysis

You are likely familiar with sleep paralysis because it is a common horror trope, especially when it comes to psychological horror. Sleep paralysis, true to its namesake, is the inability to move or speak when you awake from sleep. Often, you experience hallucinations, such as someone sitting on the edge of your bed, or you have a dream within a dream. Essentially, you know you are sleeping and dreaming, but you can’t force yourself to wake up.

Super scary stuff! Scientists do not know what explicitly causes sleep paralysis, but some of the running theories are PTSD, substance use, chronic pain, or grief.

The Creep of Capgras Delusion

Can you trust the people around you? If you have Capgras delusion, then probably not. Also known as a delusion of doubles, Capgras syndrome is considered a delusional misidentification syndrome characterized by the individual holding the false belief that the people around them are patients.

The delusion can be geared toward a specific friend or loved one or, as mentioned, toward a group of people. Capgras delusion is extremely rare, affecting only 0.12% of the general population, and can be caused by a traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s, or other structural or mental changes in the brain.

Phantom Limb Sensations

After limb amputation, it is not uncommon for a patient to experience sensations from the missing limb, such as pain, movement, or even pain. Phantom limb syndrome is directly caused by a mixed signal from the brain and can last, on average, during the first six months after the amputation.

One treatment option for phantom limb sensation is mirror therapy, which works because the mirror can “trick” the brain into processing the correct pain signals. Interesting stuff!

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

Do you remember the scene in Alice in Wonderland where Alice drinks the potions and becomes larger and then smaller? Alice’s experience is the basis for Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, in which an individual believes that their body parts or surrounding objects are changing in size. As you can imagine, this syndrome can be extremely disorienting.

Causes of Alice in Wonderland syndrome include head trauma, bacterial or viral infections, and central nervous system lesions, and it has also been linked to migraines and epilepsy.

The Fright of Syncope

Have you ever fainted when you were scared? I personally have not done this, but I have fainted for other reasons, and I’ve had plenty of characters faint from fear. The sudden drop in blood pressure from excitement or fear is known as syncope.

While you are unconscious when this happens, typically, syncope offers a quick recovery. If you want to increase the horror atmosphere in your spooky story, sprinkle in a syncope scene or two.

Yeah, Bodies Are Just Weird

Our bodies can be both strange and fascinating, and when it comes to horror, these intriguing functions can be the perfect fuel for storytelling. Hopefully, the disorders, syndromes, or weird phenomena of our bodies have inspired a great horror scene or your next novel.

DESCEND INTO THE UNKNOWN WITH MORE ARTICLES