JOE MARLER has revealed a terrifying condition that he suffers from that leads to scary episodes.
The former England rugby star made the revelation while interviewing BBC Uncanny star Danny Robins.
Joe Marler revealed he sometimes sees a figure standing in his bedroom doorway[/caption]
Robins, 49, appeared on Marler’s Things People Do podcast to discuss the supernatural.
He has made his name by investigating real-life stories of people’s paranormal and supernatural experiences.
Despite being a self-confessed sceptic of ghosts, Marler did open up on a recurring experience that has haunted him.
The 34-year-old admitted that he often has experiences of seeing a figure in his bedroom doorway at night.
Marler said: “I am intrigued to know if some of the stuff I have experienced is due to a ghost or if there is an explanation.
“I always have this recurring moment that there is this figure in my doorway and it is not me or one of the four kids.
“It is bigger, a figure in the doorway. It is like I can feel him staring at me and I am s***ing myself and I can’t move.
“I am paralysed and screaming at the top of my voice ‘f*** off get out of here what do you want’.
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“I want to reach for my baseball bat but I can’t and then that happens so many times but there is this perverse thing in me that kind of enjoys it.”
But Robins was able to explain that it was not a ghost that was haunting the Harlequins legend.
What causes sleep paralysis?
Often there is no known cause for sleep paralysis.
Sleep paralysis is more common in people with the following conditions:
- Insomnia – when people have a difficult time falling asleep and are therefore always tired
- Narcolepsy – a long-term condition that causes a person to suddenly fall asleep
- Sleep apnoea – a condition that restricts the airways as a person sleeps, causing snoring among other symptoms
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or people who have been sezually abused as a child or have other types of trauma
- General anxiety disorder
- Panic disorder
- Stopping antidepressants
You may also be more likely to have it if a family member has it.
Many sleep disorders are linked to sleep paralysis, and even just having a disrupted sleeping pattern – for example, because of shift work or jet lag – can bring it on.
The writer and podcaster suggested that it is more than likely that Marler was experiencing sleep paralysis.
He explained: “I can tell you what is happening here, it is called sleep paralysis and many people who think they have seen a ghost have just experienced this.
“Basically your body locks you down so you don’t act out your dreams.
“It paralysed you so you don’t get up and jump out of a window.
“But sometimes it goes wrong and you are stuck in a state when you are awake and your body is locking you down and you are seeing sleep imagery in front of you.
“The classic is seeing a dark shadowy figure in your room and sometimes you hear people calling your name.
“But it is a weird state and it can be terrifying. Often you can feel this pressure on your chest and people often speak about feeling a demon or witch sitting on your chest.”
Robins then asked Marler if he wished that, instead of that, it was actually a ghoul.
To which Marler joked: “Yeah I did.”
Sleep paralysis is estimated to affect one in 12 people at least once in their life.
Marler then explained why he kept a baseball bat by his bed every night.
He said: “I am scared of real people. I am scared of the prospect of someone coming into my room uninvited.
“That they are trying to do me or my family harm or steal s*** off me.
“So I will end them with my baseball bat, not to the head because I don’t risk killing them because it is not like America.
“End their visit to my house. I don’t want to turn them into a ghost.
“I don’t want them to have to go to the underground and learn how to push a penny.”
Marler retired from playing in November 2024 after collecting 95 caps for England.
He won three Six Nations titles – in 2016, 2017 and 2020 – and was part of the Red Rose squad that reached the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, losing to South Africa.
Marler retired from playing back in November[/caption]
He spent his whole club career at Harlequins[/caption]
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