3 AM

3AM by Blaze
15 April, 2006, 1:50 pm
Filed under: Gothic, Occult, Spirituality & Religion
Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world: now could I drink hot blood,
And do such bitter business as the day
Would quake to look on.
– Shakespeare, Hamlet.

The Witching Hour… or is it? This is something I heard a little about a long time ago (almost 15 years now) and was recently reacquainted with after watching a film currently playing on screens. I must admit that it was interesting to say the least and while I do not subscribe to the associated religion that comes with this ‘unholy trinity’ I found myself looking into it a little more. My reasons for this was to see if there were any such occurrences within other mainstream faiths today or whether or not such activities could be traced back into the past.

Unfortunately, with the arrival of this aforementioned film it seems that the web has been swamped with accounts of strange behaviour regarding this time. As one would expect, the majority of these accounts are all based within the U.S.

For those unaware about the 3am phenomena it is presented by many Christians as being the true ‘Witching Hour’ or ‘Devil’s Hour’ when Demons and Spirits are strongest. This is apparently in mockery of the supposed hour of Christ’s death at 3pm. Since the majority of Western civilisation has at some point become saturated with the bloody symbolism of Christianity, it is understandable that many will think twice when glancing at their bedside alarm clocks late at night. Time Zones and seasonal variances are not applicable in determining this hour. To think that they are is overlooking the possible origins of such phenomena. Time is perceived in many different ways (whether fast or slow) and therefore whenever 3am rolls around for the person(s) in question then it doesn’t matter if it is two hours later in another city or lunch time around the other side of the world.

Of course, there are many problems with the 3am theory. Perhaps the most glaring of these is the idea that nothing ever happened at night before the death of Christ. If 3am mocks the supposed death of Christ at 3pm then what did the demons do before that? What about all the history leading up to the supposed time of Christ?

Other faiths have there demons too, however, they seem less inclined to leave their beds at such a prescribed time. 3am seems to be an exclusive part of Christianity — once more providing artists, authors, musicians and a host of others with some wonderful material of the gothic and macabre.

However, there is something to the idea whether you are or aren’t of any particular faith. I know a few people of different faiths (and none at all) that have told me of some odd experiences or sensations happening to them during the early hours of the morning, usually between 3am to 4am. Nothing so fantastic as the manifestation of demons or such but certainly a feeling of a presence being in the room with them or of doors that they felt they had shut having been found ajar. Others have declared a general occurrence of the singular, extending to those awake during those hours. Radio or TV shows playing music that triggers certain memories, electrical faults taking place, or even insightful understanding of previously confounding problems in their lives.

3am is a time sometimes associated with the deepest levels of sleep – the REM stage – whereupon we dream. Even staying up through the night we all tend to reach that threshold where we are about to succumb to sleep and turn to opening windows, having a shower, or drinking coffee in order to stay awake. The brain begins to process surroundings and events somewhat differently at this time which can lead to a sensation of something odd taking place or experiencing greater meaning from everyday items or sensory stimulants such as Radio and TV.

[It could be that at this awakened stage our tired minds relax their hold upon perceived reality and allow us to ‘open up’ to other perceptions. The opening of normally closed doorways within the mind that can lead to a greater self understanding or to answers to questions we do not normally know how to ask. It is also possible that we open doors to questions we are not yet ready to ask and those we consider threatening or terrifying.]

Sometimes during this deep stage of sleep people encounter what is known as the ‘Hag Phenomenon‘ or Sleep Paralysis (hypnogogic/hypnopompic paralysis). This condition is commonly referred to as the Hag Phenomenon because of the old beliefs that it was caused by evil spirits, demons, ghosts or hags sitting on the chest and attempting to hurt the sleeping person. Without going into too much detail, the phenomenon results in becoming alert mentally but finding an inability to move or vocalize after being asleep. The body shuts down certain motor signals during REM sleep to prevent us from acting out our dreams, yet occasionally as the mind moves through the stages of sleep and comes back to the lightest phase of sleep there is a brief moment when the mind gets to an aware stage before the body does. It is for these few seconds (that can feel much longer or even be prolonged) that the now lucid mind realizes that the body cannot move. There are a number of effects associated with this phenomena some of which I have listed below:

Inability to move legs, arms or even torso;
Inability to vocalize;
The feeling of pressure on chest, as if someone was sitting or pressing on it, even a strangling or attacked feeling;
Feeling of choking or inability to breath;
Reactions such as terror, dread, panic;
Auditory hallucination – such as ringing, whistling, breathing, rustling, scratching, buzzing, knocking, animal noises, music, moaning, laughing and even footsteps. Sometimes distinct voices or phrases are reported. Some sounds are very ‘natural’; some are extremely loud or piercing. It is notable that they are most often reported as very clearly “external” – not “in the head”;
Floating or out of body feeling, feeling of levitation or sinking;
Seeing or sensing a presence in the room. Often it is reported to be looking down or watching the person experiencing it, is usually dark, most often human shaped but can be vague or amorphous, or even animal shaped;
Clearly, it can be seen how such brain activity upon our bodies, when influenced by certain religious/social beliefs, can be thought of as a demonic attack or other such supernatural occurrence. This all goes some way into explaining those that report extraterrestrial encounters or abduction (in this case the demons are replaced by cultural imagery). Events such as these occurring before the supposed death of Christ would clearly be explained in ways that reflected the religion/folk lore of the time or region.

There is of course the argument that the spiritual in this has been overlooked. Could it not be that those people that are more emotionally fragile or empathic are more open to the world? Such states can often be induced when one is brought up in an excessively religious household, whereupon the world around them becomes easily distorted. Energy that exists within the word can take wide and varied forms and, under different conditions, can be shaped by ourselves. If we think of this energy, as humanity often does with the formless, in anthropomorphic terms as akin to an artist’s mannequin then we simply add the designs if you will, and shape it to fit that which we will.

Demons are what we will? Well, no, but the unfortunate aspect of mainstream faiths are the divisions they create in our psyche as regards good and evil. Many are afraid to look within themselves and embrace the whole of their being, the reconciliation of the ego and the shadow. The result of this is the creation of our own demons which our minds readily clothe with whatever imagery we associate with fear. By giving them a concept we give them belief and therefore power to act while attributing them to external forces thus dividing ourselves from the whole. We give names to our demons and there is great power in names.

3am – the ‘middle’ of the ‘night’ hours. A place where we face ourselves in the arena of our minds.

+ Blaze +

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Occult question..Is there some significance to 3:00 am?? Serious answers only please.?
Is there some occult significance to 3 am?? I’ve been told that it is accepted that Christ died on the cross at 3 pm, and as an insult to that belief, satanic forces are most active at 3 am. Anyone have any information to add to this??? I know someone who is really upset at this as he says he keeps waking in the middle of the night at 3 am. I think it’s a bit weird, what do you think??
4 years ago Report Abuse

Khaos
Best Answer – Chosen by Asker

A few years ago…I had the 3:33 phenomenon. Every time a clock hit it, I was getting receipts with the number 333, I had cd players stop on it….it went on for about 3 months. It was interesting. About that time I was going through some major changes, so , I used it as a tool for paying closer attention to what I had going on…..to this day my attention will immediately go to a clock when it strikes at times, or I will wake up at exactly 3:33 am….see how it fits in for you and use it as a tool. Its nothing to get upset over. Shape destiny…start willing control over it and have fun…it could change your life…
4 years ago Report Abuse
1 person rated this as good
Asker’s Rating:Asker’s Comment:
well said!
Other Answers (13)

♥Katie♥
After I watched The Exorcism of Emily Rose I woke up every night at 3 AM. I’m agnostic so I don’t believe any of it but I’ve heard also that 3AM is the time for satanic forces.
4 years ago Report Abuse
2 people rated this as good

Oracle Blackrose ( Pagan )
to some it is known as the Witching Hour (3am). 3 is the number of the Holy Trinity. to us Pagans that’s the maiden, mother, and crone aspect of the Goddess. to the Christians it would be
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit….
try looking up the history of Saint Patrick, he had some good ideas about the Holy Trinity…
4 years ago Report Abuse
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An Independent
3 is a powerful occult number. 3 am is apparently when our energy bodies are the most active. I don’t believe in “Satan” though. But occult energies are certainly pretty active around that time.
4 years ago Report Abuse
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santos
it’s the drowzy/wake up feeling when u pee.
4 years ago Report Abuse
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Point
That ghost hunter on A & E (Paranormal State) calls that Dead Time.
Something about the spirits being more active at that time.

I always wondered why haunted hot spots always took place after 10:30 at night.
Guess they’re in a different time zone………
4 years ago Report Abuse
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wigginsr…
bar close?
4 years ago Report Abuse
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CarbonDa…
I vaguely recall that it is when the ‘wall’ between spirit world and this world is the thinnest. Hollywood is what started the old ‘midnight’ gimmick.

Funny story for you. After I had my brain injury, for roughly the first year or so, I kept waking up at 3 a.m. It was really annoying. No occult happenings to report however.
4 years ago Report Abuse
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Cody
The theory of an insult to Christianity is unfounded: if Christ DID die on the cross at 3 PM, why be more active at 3 AM?

I think 3 AM is simply the time that the body is most affected by its surroundings, and it is perfectly natural, not something ‘holy’ or ‘unholy’.

Also, true Satanists do not worship the Christian devil.
4 years ago Report Abuse
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hedgewit…
As a young student nurse, I was told that if people were dying it was usually at 3am that they died. I found this to be true though I never did find out why. The theory was that that is the time when the body is at its lowest ebb.
4 years ago Report Abuse
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rickcas0…
Interesting, but I have never heard of this theory? I am curious to see what some of the other responders have to say about this?
4 years ago Report Abuse
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moonhave…
Hi, in numerology the number three is the number of joy and energy. It is vibrational energy that is very excitable so I am sure the significance of the 3 am waking is because his spiritual energy is especially high at that time.
I am a nurse and as someone else answered the 3 am time is often when the body is at its lowest physical ebb but its highest spiritual level. This is evidant when you look at the bodies biorhythms as well. I do not believe in Satan so feel that this has no significance.
4 years ago Report Abuse
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.
Have you seen exorcism of emily rose? Well, 3am is supposed to be the time where spirits are most active. Ive seen it in other shows too.Ghost Hunters
4 years ago Report Abuse
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Tahuti
3…. The Mystic Number of Chokmah
300…. Khabs am Pekht
Vide Beth
Elhim. Dissert II. Cp. I.
Formation
Profundities
God of Chesed, and of Hod
of Briah; Temura of YHVH
Incircumcisus
Separation
The Spirit of God
4 years ago Report Abuse
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The hours between 3am and 4am is when the veil between the physical world and spiritual world is the thinnest?
Is this true…what are your views on this?
I wake up a lot around exactly at 2 am and 3 am…but tell myslef its just the sleep cycle..
Holding that during this time the veil is actually ‘thin’..what actually does happen during this time?
3 years ago Report Abuse

◄♥ Witchy Mel ♥►
Best Answer – Chosen by Asker

The only relevance that human’s concept of time holds (to the spirit world) is that between 3am and 4am there tends to be the least amount of physical activity in any given place. If the other side has any kind of concept of time, it is probably circular time, not linear. Our time zones are not relevant. The veil doesn’t thin across the board for everywhere at once. It thins in places at certain times.

The veil is not an actual physical thing, that is why it can become thin or thick. It’s more like a mass of energy. Almost like a curtain.

During 3 and 4am, our awareness of the other side is much more pronounced, astral travel and lucid dreaming is at it’s peak and spiritual activity in the physical world is more prominent.

It’s funny that you bring this up because a friend and I were talking about this last night and she mentioned that the pineal gland is most active at this time. I haven’t researched that yet so I don’t know how true it is but it does explain why people lucid dream and astral project a lot around that time.

I have been waking up a lot more often around 3am, I actually did last night and I was lucid dreaming. When you wake up during that time, do you see anything in your room? Lately I have been seeing a lot of static in the air. If I actually get up, I can observe it. I am becoming more curious about it. I used to just go right back to sleep but lately I really want to know what’s going on.

In my opinion there is a heck of a lot going on in the spiritual realms right now. The activity is extremely heightened. Why this is isn’t known to me at this time but I do know that it is effecting the physical realm and the people in it more than it normally does.

It’s not just the sleep cycle that is waking you up. If you wake up and can’t go back to sleep, try meditating and see if you get any information. Write down any thoughts that you may have. I plan on getting myself a journal specifically for this purpose.
3 years ago Report Abuse
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thx…actaully all ans are good..since i just wanted viewpoints..all except wild man of borneo who mostly spoke only to himself
Other Answers (12)

Elmbeard
Under a normal 24-hour sleep cycle, awake during the day, this time is about the time when our systems are at their least active. Released from having to do work, or digest food, or all the other distractions of the daytime, our brains can get to work sorting out whatever is troubling us.

As in a state of trance, this is therefore the time when we are most amenable to spiritual influences. Sometimes our greatest flashes of insight happen at this time, and it is a race to get to a pen before they are so rapidly forgotten.

It is also the time when we are most vulnerable to the demons of anxiety.
3 years ago Report Abuse
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Peter D
How do those in the spiritual world know what time it is? Since it’s always 3-4am somewhere on Earth, how do they get any rest?

I believe that when it’s dark out people are more insecure and are more likely to both notice a “bump in the night” and be in a state to think there’s something fishy going on. If a person heard a “bump in the day” he’d probably think nothing of it or would actually go investigate. Also, people are more likely to hallucinate right before, during, or right after sleep.
3 years ago Report Abuse
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wushuboy…
I disagree with this. I don’t think the “veil” thins or thickens anymore than width ever changes in respect with height or depth in our 3 dimensional plane. Its just there, bang. Does this veil really pay attention to time zones and daylights savings? No, of course not.
What is really happening is that these are the hours when most people would be entering a state of REM sleep. Because of this, these hours are the times when people are prone to sleep-related events that are confused with paranormal events, such as sleep paralysis, hypnogogia, night terrors….etc.
So, people are more inclined to experience something that they interpet as paranormal, making it appear to someone looking at a statistical chart that paranormal activity is heightened. However, I doubt there is any more actual paranormal activity at this time than between 3pm – 4pm.
3 years ago Report Abuse
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inteleye…

It appears around 3am is a very active time. But I have notice it is strong between midnight to about 5ish AM, usually the times I have seen spirit activity. I have woke up many times to see them more near 3am although my third eye opens many times while still asleep when they come near, if I don’t completely awake.

They usually take off fast, most of the times you wouldn’t even see them, they are that fast. I have seen them at times take off fast to very slow, or they just stand or float there in that spot. Sometimes all you see is a flash or like a spark.
Source(s):
My experiences~
3 years ago Report Abuse
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John

No, actually I think this idea quickly leads to absurdities. Spiritual activity becomes dependent on the time zone you live in, as if spirits wear wristwatches. And then do spirits “spring forward” and “fall back” with daylight saving time as well?

I think the only significance is that this time is in the middle of the night when it’s dark, things are still, and people are sleepy. This is a good combination for producing fear and hypnagogic hallucination, or waking dreams.
3 years ago Report Abuse
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Dr.Nice Guy
It depends what time zone you’re in. If for instance, you’re in Eastern Standard Time It’s between 2-3 AM. In central it’s between 1-2 AM. Follow this around the world and in some places the veil is thinnest in daylight. You could be sitting having lunch and boom, that old veil just thins right out.
3 years ago Report Abuse
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The Paranormal
yup
so they say anyway

as for you waking up that time, it could be coincidence, or your sleep cycle like you suspect, but depending on your age (EX. teens sleep almost exactly 8 hours) it would depend on how much and when you sleep
3 years ago Report Abuse

Mimroro
This is known as the Witching Hour… It’s when witches do their spells and demons come out. But most people know the Witching Hour as the Ghost Hour, because that is when the spirit world awakes. Hope this helped!!! =]
Source(s):
me.
3 years ago Report Abuse
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illadelphia kid
It is not true at all. It can however be said that after an electrical storm the spiritual world can be easily contacted. That must be why it rains so much in scary movies. 😛
3 years ago Report Abuse
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Justg
Ya, it’s during the period known as the witching hour.
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witching_ho…
3 years ago Report Abuse
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Gary Y
Veil? Spiritual world? Do you have any supporting evidence for these concepts?
3 years ago Report Abuse