David J. Hufford is an American folklorist and ethnographer known for his research on paranormal phenomena and
sleep paralysis. He is professor emeritus of Humanities and Psychiatry at
Penn State University College of Medicine, and the former chair of Medical Humanities.
Career
Hufford attributed his interest in
sleep paralysis to a personal experience he had with it as a student in 1963. He later went to study at the
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...
, where he became fascinated with the local belief in the "
Old Hag", which mirrored his earlier sleep paralysis experience. This led him to question whether the folkloric belief was based solely in cultural beliefs, or whether it was informed by personal experiences. In 1974, he joined the faculty of
Penn State University College of Medicine.
Hufford is credited with pioneering "an experience-centered approach to supernatural belief" in ethnographic study. He took the position that the dismissal of folkloric traditions as inherently irrational was
ethnocentric. He was a proponent of the idea that any distinction between objective knowledge and subjective "beliefs" should be understood as a value judgement. He described this bias towards folklore in the formula: "What I know I know, what you know you only believe."
His research in the 1970s reassessed previous positions on sleep paralysis and explored its relation to reported paranormal phenomenon. He theorized that the "Old Hag" archetype common to folklore around the world was based on common experiences of sleep paralysis, which tended to manifest in similar ways. In 1983, he published ''The Terror that Comes in the Night: An Experience-Centered Study of Supernatural Assault Traditions''. The book was well received, with praise for Hufford's approach to the ethnography of folklore.
At Penn State, Hufford became chair of Medical Humanities, and professor of Neural & Behavioral Science, and Family & Community Medicine. He left this position in 2007, becoming professor emeritus of Humanities and Psychiatry at Penn State College of Medicine. He is also director of the Doctors Kienle Center for Humanistic Medicine. Hufford is a fellow of the
American Folklore Society
The American Folklore Society (AFS) is the US-based professional association for folklorists, with members from the US, Canada, and around the world, which aims to encourage research, aid in disseminating that research, promote the responsible ...
.
List of works
Books
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Pamphlets and book chapters
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References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hufford, David
American folklorists
American ethnographers
Pennsylvania State University alumni
Pennsylvania State University faculty
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people