Are nightmares merely bad dreams or are they something more? Many cultures attribute these 'dreams' not to the subconscious but to a terrible creature. 

The 'symptoms' of the nightmare include intense pressure on the chest, paralysis, inability to speak / scream, sensation &/or appearance of a figure sitting on one's chest or in the room and the feeling of suffocation. 

The Nightmare

by: Henry Fuseli (1781)

The medical field has come up with a variety of explanations over the years, the latest being sleep paralysis with hypnogogic hallucinations.  One of the early theories thought the symptoms were caused by a digestive disorder.  However it is the folklore of the nightmare which I am most interested in. 

The topics on the left present you with various tales of the nightmare from around the world.  It will also expand to include modern research into the phenomena.   

This page was updated on:  10/10/2006 01:10 PM