Quiet Dreams: Nightmares

Why am I fascinated with nightmares, more specifically fictionalized, horror-driven dreams. I have long been drawn to mythology and folklore creatures. There is an implied menace in the tales that are fuel for an over-active imagination. Faeries are usually depicted as beautiful creatures with gossamer wings, not the creatures of legend who were respected and feared. Mischief and occasionally malice could be the reward for offense. The duality of kindness and vicious natures leave much to be a worry. The redcaps were almost always depicted as savage murderers, eating those they kill, grinding meat and bone with thick, hard teeth. My imagination hears the cracking of the bones, the mastication of flesh. I don’t need to watch horror movies. I’m disturbed enough already.

The last nightmare I recall was some years back. I might have mentioned it before, but I’m too lazy to go looking. It had an impact on me that lasted for days. I often shake these days and my teeth chatter regardless of the heat. Then, though, I was shakey, both physically and mentally, by the fear inherent to the dream. For some reason I was the only person closing in on a murderer, but there a frantic urgency to stop him and I was lost on how. This wasn’t an idealized version of myself, but regular, real-life me. Perhaps it my eternal anxieties that were leaking into the subconscious.

I have been restrained in approaching my writing in The Nightmare Plague. How much is too much? The Malignant Copse was far less disturbed than I hab envisioned. Will people judge me for unleashing my imagination? Would I even care? Probably not, but quite possibly feeling ashamed at creating something so noisome. This is a further oddity because I’m not a horror fan, per se. The Lady in Black is more my speed than A Nightmare on Elm Street. I haven’t seen all his work, but Guillermo del Toro tends to meet my needs, particularly Mimic.

I think I will revisit this later. My attention is wandering and concentration is getting difficult. Thank you for stopping by, I truly appreciate you. Take care, darlings, and be kind to yourselves.