* In Mexico, it's believed that sleep paralysis is in fact the spirit of a dead person getting on the person and impeding movement, calling this "se me subió el muerto" (the dead person got on me).

* Southern United States, the phenomenon is known as a "hag", and the event is said to often be a sign of an approaching tragedy or accident

* Ogun Oru is a traditional explanation for nocturnal disturbances among the Yoruba of Southwest Nigeria; ogun oru (nocturnal warfare) involves an acute night-time disturbance that is culturally attributed to demonic infiltration of the body and psyche during dreaming. Ogun oru is characterized by its occurrence, a female preponderance, the perception of an underlying feud between the sufferer's earthly spouse and a 'spiritual' spouse, and the event of bewitchment through eating while dreaming. The condition is believed to be treatable through Christian prayers or elaborate traditional rituals designed to exorcise the imbibed demonic elements.
This is a strange one, a feud between the victims earthly spouse and spirtual spouse...ouch!

* In Greece and Cyprus, it is believed that sleep paralysis occurs when a ghost-like creature or Demon named Mora, Vrahnas or Varypnas tries to steal the victim's speech or sits on the victim's chest causing asphyxiation.

* In Zimbabwean Shona culture the word Madzikirira is used to refer something really pressing one down. This mostly refers to the spiritual world in which some spirit—especially an evil one—tries to use its victim for some evil purpose. The people believe that witches can only be people of close relations to be effective, and hence a witches often try to use one's spirit to bewitch one's relatives. Wow that stinks using someone's spirit to bewitch one of their relatives.

* In Ethiopian culture the word Dukak is used. Dukak is believed to be some form of evil spirit that possesses people during their sleep. This experience is also believed to be related to use of Khat. Most Khat users experience sleep paralysis when quitting after a long time of use.
****Khat (Catha edulis) is a flowering shrub native to northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Individuals chew khat leaves because of the stimulant effects, which are similar to but less intense than those caused by using cocaine or methamphetamine. Other names by which Khat is known include:
This is interesting so after stopping the use of a stimulant drug you get slammed by the Dukak evil spirit, wow you can't ask for any more motivation than that...

* In the Muslim culture of South Asia (Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian Muslims), sleep paralysis is considered an encounter with evil jinns and demons. It is also assumed that it is caused by the black magic performed by enemies and jealous persons. Spells and Curses could also result in a ghoul haunting a person. Some homes and locations are also alleged to be haunted by these satanic beings.

* In Tamil and Sri Lankan Culture, this particular phenomenon is referred to as 'Amuku Be" or 'Amuku Pei' meaning "the ghost that forces one down.

* In Malay of Malay Peninsula, sleep paralysis is known as 'kena tindih' (or 'ketindihan' in Indonesia), which means "being pressed Incidents are commonly considered to be the work of a malign agency; occurring in what are explained as blind spots in the field of vision, they are reported as demonic figures.

* In Newfoundland and Labrador, it is known as the 'Old Hag' In island folklore, the Hag can be summoned to attack a third party, like a curse. It is also believed in thier local culture the way to call the Hag is to recite the Lord's Prayer backwards.

* In Persian culture it is known as 'bakhtak' which is a ghost-like creature

* In Irish culture sleep paralysis is known as being "ar muin na muice" or "on the pigs back" and is thought to be a result of lying to someone the day before, or consuming a 'bad' batch of whiskey. I guess it is safe to say not to lie to someone, or drink bad whiskey in Ireland.