Witching hour
The witching hour—a concept steeped in ancient folklore and chilling superstitions—has long been a time when the veil between worlds seems thinnest. But beneath its eerie reputation lies a fascinating interplay of human physiology and psychological phenomena. Let's delve into the mysterious hours when shadows lengthen, and reality itself seems to shift. Historically, the witching hour was believed to be a peak time for supernatural activity, deeply rooted in literary and spiritual traditions. Modern science suggests that specific physiological processes during deep sleep can mimic or explain many of the eerie sensations traditionally attributed to this hour. Beyond its spooky origins, the term has evolved to describe predictable periods of heightened activity or challenge in diverse contexts, from finance to parenting.
AI Summary
The witching hour—a concept steeped in ancient folklore and chilling superstitions—has long been a time when the veil between worlds seems thinnest. But beneath its eerie reputation lies a fascinating interplay of human physiology and psychological phenomena. Let's delve into the mysterious hours when shadows lengthen, and reality itself seems to shift.
- Historically, the witching hour was believed to be a peak time for supernatural activity, deeply rooted in literary and spiritual traditions.
- Modern science suggests that specific physiological processes during deep sleep can mimic or explain many of the eerie sensations traditionally attributed to this hour.
- Beyond its spooky origins, the term has evolved to describe predictable periods of heightened activity or challenge in diverse contexts, from finance to parenting.
The Midnight Mystery
In folklore, the witching hour, sometimes called the devil's hour, is a span of night deeply associated with supernatural events. It's when witches, demons, and ghosts are thought to be at their most powerful, roaming freely and causing mischief.
A Shakespearean Origin
The phrase itself began appearing in print around 1762, but its eerie essence harks back much further—to William Shakespeare. In 'Hamlet,' the prince declares, '’Tis now the very witching time of night, When Churchyards yawne, and hell it selfe breakes out Contagion to this world,' painting a vivid picture of midnight dread.
What Time Is It, Exactly?
While midnight often springs to mind, the precise timing of the witching hour has varied through history and cultures. Some traditions specify the period immediately after midnight, from 1:00 am to 2:00 am, while others point to the darker hours between 3:00 am and 4:00 am.
When Night Was Different
Before artificial light transformed our lives, many people followed a 'bimodal' sleep pattern, waking for an hour or two in the middle of the night before returning to sleep. This meant more individuals were awake and aware during these hushed, dark hours, perhaps making them more susceptible to eerie perceptions.
Science Enters the Shadows
Intriguingly, modern psychological research offers a scientific lens on why these nocturnal hours might feel so unsettling. Studies suggest that 'apparitional experiences'—feelings of a sensed presence or phantom sightings—are most common between 2:00 am and 4:00 am.
The Melatonin Peak
This peak in perceived supernatural activity correlates with a fascinating physiological event: the body's natural melatonin cycle. Levels of this sleep-regulating hormone typically peak around 3:00 am, deeply influencing our sleep architecture and consciousness.
The REM Realm
The witching hour also aligns with a crucial part of our sleep cycle: REM sleep. During this phase, our heart rate slows, body temperature drops, and breathing and blood pressure become irregular. It's a time of intense brain activity, yet profound physical relaxation.
If you're suddenly jolted awake from a deep REM cycle, the transition can be jarring. This abrupt awakening often leads to feelings of disorientation, agitation, and even intense fear, blurring the lines between dream and reality.
Night's Terrors and Troubles
Many common sleep disturbances, known as parasomnias, frequently occur during REM sleep. These include vivid nightmares, terrifying night terrors, sleepwalking, and the profoundly unsettling experience of sleep paralysis, where you wake up unable to move.
When Illness Worsens
Beyond spooky sensations, the witching hour can also be a time when the symptoms of common illnesses seem to worsen. Conditions like asthma, flu, and the common cold often feel more severe late at night and into the early morning.
This is partly due to fluctuating hormone levels. As cortisol, an anti-inflammatory hormone, naturally decreases during sleep, our immune system becomes more active, intensely fighting infections. This heightened immune response can exacerbate symptoms like fever, congestion, cough, and chills.
Modern Interpretations
Today, the term 'witching hour' has expanded far beyond its spooky origins, entering common colloquial usage. It's often used metaphorically to describe any period of bad luck or a time when negative events are perceived to be more likely to occur.
Wall Street's Witching Hour
In the world of finance, the 'witching hour' takes on a very specific meaning. It refers to the final hour of stock trading, typically between 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm EST, a period notorious for above-average market volatility as investors close out positions.
The Infant's Cry
Parents of newborns know their own version of the witching hour. This term is often used to describe the perplexing phenomenon where infants or young children become inexplicably irritable, fussy, and cry for extended periods, usually in the hour or two leading up to bedtime.
Crime and the 'Switching Hour'
Even crime statistics align with a form of nocturnal peak. In some areas, like Washington D.C., curfews have been implemented, dubbed the 'switching hour,' between 11:00 pm and midnight to reduce juvenile gun violence. Data also shows that violent crimes like rape and sexual assault often peak around midnight, with DUI incidents tending to occur around 2:00 am.
Article
Witching hour
Witches' Sabbath, illustrated by Émile Bayard, 1870
Medieval portrayal of an unclean spirit
In folklore, the witching hour or devil's hour is a time of night that is associated with supernatural events, whereby witches, demons and ghosts are thought to appear and be at their most powerful. Definitions vary, and include the hour immediately after midnight and the period from 3:00 am to 4:00 am. The term now has a widespread colloquial and idiomatic usage that is associated with human physiology and behaviour to more superstitious phenomena, such as luck.
Origins
Witching hour
The phrase "witching hour" began at least as early as 1762, when it appeared in Elizabeth Carolina Keene's Miscellaneous Poems. It alludes to Hamlet's line "Tis now the very witching time of night, When Churchyards yawne, and hell it selfe breakes out Contagion to this world."
Time
Witching hour
There are multiple times that can be considered the witching hour. Some claim the period from midnight to 1:00 am, while others claim there is increased supernatural activity from dusk to dawn. The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary identifies midnight as the time when witches are supposedly active.
During the time in which this term originated, many people had sleeping schedules that meant they were awake during the middle of the night. Nonetheless, there is psychological literature suggesting that apparitional experiences and sensed presences are most common between the hours of 2:00 am and 4:00 am, corresponding with a 3:00 am peak in the amount of melatonin in the body.
Physiology
Witching hour
A 19th-century version of Henry Füssli's The Nightmare (1781)
The idea of the witching hour may stem from the human sleep cycle and circadian rhythm – the body is going through REM sleep at that time, where the heart rate is slower, body temperature reduced, breathing pattern and blood pressure irregular. Sudden awakening from REM sleep could cause agitation, fear and disorientation in an individual.
During REM sleep, which usually occurs within the witching hour, unpleasant and frightful sleep disturbances such as parasomnias can be experienced, which include nightmares, rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, night terrors, sleepwalking, homicidal sleepwalking and sleep paralysis.
During the night and well into the witching hour, symptoms of illnesses and conditions such as lung disease, asthma, flu and common cold seem to exacerbate because there is less cortisol in the blood late at night and especially during sleep. As such, the immune system becomes very active and white blood cells fight infections in the body during sleep, and this would thereby worsen the symptoms of fever, nasal congestion, cough, chills and sweating.
Colloquial usage
Witching hour
The term may be used colloquially to refer to any period of bad luck, or in which something bad is seen as having a greater likelihood of occurring.
In investing, it is the last hour of stock trading between 3:00 pm (when the U.S. bond market closes) and 4:00 pm EST (when the U.S. stock market closes), a period of above-average volatility.
The term can also refer to a phenomenon where infants or young children cry for an extended period of time during the hour (or two) before their bedtime, becoming irritable and unwieldy with no known cause.
To reduce gun violence, curfew hours in Washington D.C. have been in force between 11:00 pm and midnight to lower juvenile gunfire incidents. Influenced by the idea of "witching hour", this occurs between 11:00 pm and 11:59 pm on weekdays and is referred to as the "switching hour". Furthermore, violent crimes like rape and sexual assault would peak at midnight on average and DUI police incidents would usually tend to occur at around 2:00 am.