“I’ve been acting ever since I came out of the womb,” says the young actress Abigail Cowen, known for her roles in the series Stranger Things, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Witch Hunt, etc. Having developed a portfolio of characters linked to the occult, it is no wonder Cowen is drawn to anything to do with the furthest reaches of the imagination. “That’s a part of acting,” she adds.
But the realms of the unknown have affected the actress off screen as well. In an interview with the online magazine NYLON, Abigail spoke about her personal experience of sleep paralysis – a state in which a person, often to their horror, feels like they are awake but cannot move. This phenomenon can happen to anyone, but is particularly well-known among practitioners of phase states (by which we mean lucid dreams and out-of-body experiences). Often, sleep paralysis is accompanied by various visions. The actress describes these experiences as otherworldly: “People call it sleep paralysis, but I feel like I literally have woken up to someone at the foot of my bed. It’s happened a few times. I feel that a sleep paralysis is a ghost.”
Cowen’s latest role as the fire fairy Bloom in Fate: The Winx Saga – a new Netflix project – also belongs to the fantasy genre. Her character learns to use her powers at a Hogwarts-esque boarding school. Together with her friends – other students at the school of magic – she engages in a battle with the Burned Ones, who return with threats to harm the students.
The first season, consisting of 6 episodes, is available on Netflix.
