Sleep paralysis and night terrors are two completely different things.

I've experienced both many times.

Night terrors are a state of consciousness that I'm not really sure how to describe. You're partially conscious, partially dreaming, neurochemistry is completely out of whack. Parts of your brain are active and other parts are inactive, in a combination that never happens otherwise.

A night terror involves an overwhelming sense of terror, hence the name. Terror, by definition, is anticipation of pure horror and dread. Nothing is inherently scary in the moment of terror, but the anticipation is far more harrowing than any other emotion.

I remember experiencing extremely vivid dreams, they weren't by themselves horrifying, but for some reason I had that immense sense of overwhelming panic.

One night terror I remember in particular I remember being in some sort of underground industrial factory. I was facing a wall that was the size at least the size of a few football fields. It consisted of nothing but an absurdly laughable number of gears. Thousands of gear systems across the entire wall, the noise of the gears creaking and churning, of rusty metal being manipulated in a way that seemed completely unnatural.

I remember brief flashes of consciousness, as this was happening, but I had no idea what was going on. I don't think I had the mental capacity to have any idea what was going on, as I was just a child. I don't know how long it lasted, nor do I know how much I screamed or what I was doing. I haven't really discussed it with my parents much because they seemed even more disturbed by it than I was.

I can remember at least 6 seperate occasions, the last one I had I was around 12 or 13, and because I had so many before it, I was able to handle it on my own.

I've never met anyone who has experienced night terrors like this, and I do wonder if my experiences match the OPs.

I'm not trying to one-up you here, but I just want to elaborate that sleep paralysis is not at all the same as a night terror.