David J. Hufford is an American folklorist and ethnographer known for his research on paranormal phenomena and sleep paralysis.
He later went to study at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, where he became fascinated with the local belief in the "Old Hag", which mirrored his earlier sleep paralysis experience.
"[3] His research in the 1970s reassessed previous positions on sleep paralysis and explored its relation to reported paranormal phenomenon.
[7][8] 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.