AI Experiment 02

So, on January 6th, 2026, I had sleep paralysis [SP] again. I went into detail about my last experience in a past blog and this time around was similar. The [SP] lasted around twenty minutes and I broke from it ten minutes before my alarm for work. Waking up at 3am and not being able to go back to sleep for two hours, only to fall into [SP] a half an hour before getting up for work, is fun 🙄

Here is a link to my last episode of [SP]:

https://www.buckbloombooks.com/post/update-2025-22-1

The usual symptoms of [SP] happened this time around. I could not move my body, my eyes and brain were active, it’s dark and I am beyond terrified about nothing, I’m screaming without a voice. You know, a hellish experience that makes your heart race and all that good jazz. And there were red eyes.

Thankfully, no tightness in my chest and no real horrors besides the red eyes in the dark. So, I got lucky again. But I was also a bit disappointed. I still had not seen a proper Sleep Paralysis Demon. So, I had decided to go to Colorify and make a few demons using the AI generator.

And the only input would be “Sleep Paralysis Demon”.

One thing I wanted to do was to try out all 11 styles available:

Cartoon, Realistic, Anime, Ghibli, Fantasy & Sci-Fi, Sketch, Pixel, Chibi, Comic, Pixar, and Oil Painting.

And I challenged myself, no matter what the result was, that I would keep the first one made by the AI. So . . .

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AI Experiment 02: The Different Styles of Sleep Paralysis Demon [SPD]

Goal: Produce 11 covers, one of each Style, and keep the first result. And inputting only the three words: “Sleep Paralysis Demon”.

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And I got some really good results. Some are off the mark but some are just perfect. So how to rank these? Honestly, the rank really does not matter. However, I did line these up in order of how nightmarish and weird they are. Also, I am in the search for what my [SPD] would look like. And the higher rank, the closer and closer to that discovery.

Ready for some nightmare fuel?

Number 11

Chibi Sleep Paralysis Demon

No surprise that the Chibi style produced the most adorable demon. Seriously, this is like a Goth artist’s doodle in the middle of art history class. And what is with that speedo? It looks like a torture device. That is the real horror with this little guy. He will make you wear . . . that speedo! 😱

Number 10

Ghibli Sleep Paralysis Demon

Okay, this guy is a step up but only a couple. Points for having the red eyes but again, he is very adorable. Adorable in that “trying to be dark and weird while also being cute and enduring”. And is he holding a stick with his pinkie while the stick is behind his hand? That looks painful. My guess is that the AI planned to give him a pitchfork but budget cuts scrapped that idea.

And at least he is not wearing a tormenting speedo. Though, the shorts he is rocking look more like diapers. And now that I am looking in that direction, is his tail in a loop? Okay, that has got to be painful if it gets caught on anything. 😖

Number 9

Cartoon Sleep Paralysis Demon

So, I am laughing internally right now. Not laugh-out-loud but this guy is hilarious to look at. He looks like a demon from a saturday morning kids special. I can also see this guy in a comedic slice-of-life anime where he tries to be some middle schooler’s [SPD] and fails. At first glance, he looks threatening but any second that menacing exterior will drop and he will get stage fright.

He is not cute like the past two but he definitely is adorable in her own special way. Like how his hand is growing out of his elbow. And is that a cape below the hand that is not connected to anything? Got to love how the AI will have a brain fart with comical results.

Number 8

Sketch Sleep Paralysis Demon

I feel nostalgic looking at this guy. Probably because he reminds me of old school black and white comic book covers. I’m not thinking of terror when I look upon this fellow. I am thinking back to the fun I had collecting comics and finding random indie stuff in a long box. This guy belongs on the cover of some underground cult classic that no one but hardcore fans have heard of. You will not be seeing this guy on the cover of any mainstream series.

And is he a lost soul from DOOM that stole an imp’s arms. The lack of a body makes him a bit surreal and off. Imagine only having a head and arms coming out of the neck. Or he is bursting out of the cover and can only get his head and arms through. You know what, yes, let’s go with that last choice. That just makes him even more of a character on the cover of an old school comic book 👍

Number 7

Pixel Sleep Paralysis Demon

I am loving this design. I grew up with the NES and the 8-bit era of gaming. This looks like something off the front cover of an NES game. Although, it does have that modern retro-pixel art flare to it. A lot of indie games for the last decade have been obsessed with retro-pixels.

Note that I am more in awe of the style of the cover than the actual demon. He is cool looking but he’s got that final boss look of [maybe] level 5. He is not the final, final boss, not at all. But he will provide a memorable boss fight at least. Points for the red eyes too.

I have had plenty of 8-bit nightmares in the past. Maybe he will show up in my dreams in the future while lost in some Metroidvania.

Number 6

Oil Painting Sleep Paralysis Demon

Now that is more like it! We have moved past the half that is cute and charming. Now we are in the realm of nightmare fuel. This is terrifying. The skeletal face, the clawed hands, the wings that are colored like dart frogs. This poisonous demonic fellow is ready to bite. And his bites will not kill you but make you see things more horrific than him.

The thing that detracts from the fear factor is that he is leaning towards the reader. Like his back has gone out and he is trying to save face. Or we have another case of a demon that is all head and the arms are coming out of the neck. And behind him is another demon trying not to laugh.

I have no idea who Sealid is but they did a great job producing something that is [SPD] worthy.

Number 5

Anime Sleep Paralysis Demon

There are red eyes. Nice demonic smile. Nice big horns and wings. Some kind of hellish tattoos on his forehead. So far, we have a decent creepy fellow. But here is the thing. I think it is just a head again. The wings are not attached to the body. They are coming out of the head. It is almost as if the demon is just the head and it is attached to a decaying body.

And I have to say, not very anime. I have seen plenty of anime but this guy looks more like something out of an adult western animated show. There is something comedic about this guy in that dark-irony-humor American animators seem to gravitate towards.

The only reason this guy managed to get so high on the list is that the competition was less scary than him. Honestly, I would have ranked the Oil Painting [SPD] here but this guy’s red eyes elevated him just enough to be in the top five.

I am seeing a pattern of the AI interpreting a demon as a head with arms and wings. Maybe that is part of the programming? Maybe it is just the luck of the draw? I am starting to see a theme amongst the different styles. But maybe that is just my imagination.

Number 4

Fantasy & Sci-Fi Sleep Paralysis Demon

Man, I had my hopes up with this style. It is so far my favorite to use. But I feel like it let me down. This is a silhouette of a rather generic demon. It is by far more eerie and intimidating than any that had been shown thus far. But it looks more like a cover to a dark romance novel.

“He crawled out of hell just to be with her!”

Don’t get me wrong, he is badass and he looks like a proper hell knight. Now, I will admit to ignoring the word salad so far because it has been irrelevant. I tried to let the odd addition of words not affect how I ranked these [SPD]. But the way those words are arranged uplifts this cover and [SPD] higher than the others.

I have no idea what “Sleep Paralism” is or who “Sleep Devon” is. But it all looks so cool with the demon and the fog with the lighting. This would be an awesome cover to any horror novel. Or a horror romance cover with the tag line:

“He’ll move heaven and hell to find her!”

Number 3

Realistic Sleep Paralysis Demon

Finally! Something that is not a generic demon! A vampire is the perfect [SPD]. Hell, I would argue that Dracula is the most famous [SPD]. I like the mustache and dark circles under his eyes. He kind of reminds me of Gary Oldman as a blend of Commissioner Gordon and Dracula. That cape is so boss 😎

I got to say, minus the word salad above, this is a sweet cover and the vampire is properly creepy. I would not want to see this fellow while having a [SP] episode. Not really much to say because the vampire has nothing really negative or positive to elaborate on. I just put this guy high on the list because he stood out from all the generic demons.

Number 2

Comic Sleep Paralysis Demon

Holy crap! That is horrifying! Legit! That has to be the most terrifying demon in the line up. I have seen plenty of comic book covers with demons on them. This one could stand against many of the hardcore indie comics.

Blue usually is a neutral and calming color. But the blue skin on this guy makes him stand out from the dark. And the blue eyes are a nice touch. An eerie and welcoming change from the standard red.

But the most horrifying thing of all is the fact that this guy is covered by a blanket. And that could only mean one thing. This demon has possessed someone. Possession is one of those things that really creeps me out. When I was younger, I lost sleep over thinking I might get possessed. And after experiencing [SP], the thought that something might take over my body while in my most vulnerable and terrified state is . . . unsettling.

This guy deserves the number 2 spot. I would never have thought the Comic style would measure up higher then Fantasy/Sci-fi or Realistic. Hell, I have seen some creepy animes and the Anime style could have delivered something close to this. This blue demon dude is right out of a centuries old folk lore tale. He could have been number one.

But . . .

So, if you have been keeping track, the Pixar Style is the last one. And yes, this [SPD] is well deserving of the number one spot. But why, you ask? I know what you are thinking right now:

“Pixar is all about family friendly fun and sometimes things get scary but nothing that goes above PG. How could this be number one?”

Well, trust me, I was shocked when I looked upon this. Never would have thought my first time using the Pixar Style would have given me the most terrifying cover of the [SPD] lot.

Are you ready?

I don’t know? Are you sure you're ready for this? Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you . . .

Number 1

Pixar Sleep Paralysis Demon

So, you know what I think is more horrifying than possession and red eyes and floating demon heads?

The uncanny valley.

This guy should be charming and adorable and be at the bottom. But there is this ultimate unsettling factor, like there is something wrong with his . . . everything. He just does not look right to me. And that feeling adds to the eeriness.

And it does not help that there is a disembodied head hanging around with him. And that head has this dead eye and cold smile on its face. Like a NPC glitching and losing all expression.

CGI is really hard to do right. Yes, the craft has gotten really impressive over the last twenty years. But still. It is super easy for CGI to turn creepy and uncanny and . . . worthy of goosebumps. Ever watch an early Pixar short before Toy Story was released? Or any kind of really old CGI?

Lawnmower Man comes to mind. Yeah.

And this little demon guy is right up there with an avatar from digital hell. But the biggest factor of all that pushed this guy to be number one is very obvious. This little black demon is actually being a [SPD].

He is sitting on a bed menacing some poor guy. And that look on the guy’s face is one hundred percent screaming without having a voice. The poor guy is paralyzed. This is a perfect representation of sleep paralysis. Succubus and incubus were invented during medieval times to represent accounts of [SP] hallucinations. Look them up, there are plenty of wicked drawings of demons terrorizing people in bed.

And to finally have a cover and [SPD] that comes close to calling back to old school portraits of [SP]s is brilliant.

For the last couple of fun lists with Colorify, I said that I would put number one on my wall. This number one though? This horror is not leaving my PC and hanging on any walls. I’ll put it on the website but that is the only wall this monstrosity will be gracing.

Well, that was fun. I had fun once again with Colorify. And I was able to make another article with all that fun. This is becoming an addiction. A good and productive one. I will admit that I wanted to work on my personal writing projects today. But I ended up making another AI Cover blog for the website, which is just as good!

After having another episode of [SP], I had to do something fun to cheer myself up. And this was a fun little exercise to exorcise some demons. To think, this whole AI thing has been something really special and interesting.

I look forward to the next experiment.

Good Luck and don’t stare directly into the red eyes,

—BUCK