Joe Marler was left 'paralysed and screaming' after England rugby hero's scary incident
It's a memory that still haunts the notorious prop forward.
After winning 95 caps for England and spending more than 15 years going through the wringer in professional rugby, you’d assume that very little would scare Joe Marler. The charismatic and often controversial prop called time on his international career last November but has since remained prevalent through his work in the media.
However, the 34-year-old dropped a revelation in his latest edition of the Marler’s Things People Do podcast. His guest was BBC Uncanny star Danny Robins, a renowned comedian and writer who appeared to discuss the supernatural. Marler has previously voiced his scepticism over the subject of ghosts but then surprised Robins by opening up on a past ordeal.
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"I am intrigued to know if some of the stuff I have experienced is due to a ghost or if there is an explanation,” he said. "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’.”
The former British & Irish Lion was even prepared to get violent to sort out his apparent intruder, adding: "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."
However, Robins explained that it wasn’t a ghoul at Marler’s house, and nor was it a robber. Instead, he told Marler that he actually went through an episode of sleep paralysis, which can occur when people think they have a supernatural being.
"Basically, your body locks you down so you don't act out your dreams,” he explained. "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.”
Assured that the condition can be “terrifying,” Marler then admitted he continued to keep a baseball bat by his bed at night. However, it’s not ghosts that he plans on targeting with it.
"I am scared of real people. I am scared of the prospect of someone coming into my room uninvited,” he admitted. "That they are trying to do me or my family harm or steal s*** off me.”
