• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Store
  • Lore
    • Supernatural Encyclopedia
  • Recommendations
    • Movies
      • Cosmic Horror Movies
      • Great Horror Movie Quotes
      • Horror Movies Based on True Events
    • Books
      • Cosmic Horror Books
  • Scary Stories
    • Short Horror Stories
  • About Us
    • Promote Your Horror
    • Collaborate
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Haunting Photos
Puzzle Box Horror Logo

Puzzle Box Horror

Mystery - Horror - Culture

" A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Nightmare

February 3, 2020 by Mary Farnstrom Leave a Comment

Date of Discovery

Linguistically speaking the etymology of the word Nightmare dates back to the 1300s, but the phenomenon has been under investigation as far back as the second century.

c. 1300, “an evil female spirit afflicting men (or horses) in their sleep with a feeling of suffocation,” compounded from night + mare (n.3) “goblin that causes nightmares, incubus.” The meaning shifted mid-16c. from the incubus to the suffocating sensation it causes. Sense of “any bad dream” is recorded by 1829; that of “very distressing experience” is from 1831. Cognate with Middle Dutch nachtmare, German Nachtmahr. An Old English word for it was niht-genga.

Etymonline.com – “Nightmare”

Name

The Nightmare is a type of demon that is also known as a Night Terror, Night Hag, and Old Hag. Unlike the named demons that make up the commanding force of demonic entities, these lesser demons are known only by their function.

Physical Description

Although there isn’t a consistent description of the Nightmare, the various descriptions throughout the history of the demonic entity suggest that it can take a variety of forms. In most cases, the demon presents as an invisible entity, although there are reports of it being a dark shadowy figure or an inhuman and demonic shape. Most reports indicate that its breath can be heard as a low rasp, it possesses glowing red eyes, as well as a strong revolting odor that fills the room in its presence.

Origin

The best guess on where the Nightmare originated is second-century Greece when Galen of Pergamon first investigated the phenomenon.

Mythology and Lore

As can be assumed by the name, the Nightmare attacks mostly at night but is known to do so at any given time during the day or night. Within the paranormal community, the Nightmare is often confused with poltergeist activity, and in rare cases has been associated with vampire attacks. The Nightmare is also related to the Mara (also known as a succubus), another type of demon that attacks humans at night, with the ultimate goal of sexually assaulting them.

As a typically nocturnal influence, the nightmare strikes people when they sleep, often causing the individual to experience strange smells, sounds, and images, then causes suffocation and a phenomenon known by the scientific community as sleep paralysis. Other characteristics are varied from case to case but remain a consistent variable when taking into consideration all of the reported attacks. These cases involve the individual waking from a deep sleep unexpectedly to the sensation of an unseen entity sitting upon their chest—the individual’s attempts to move, struggle, speak or scream are futile, which is understandably the most frightening aspect of the attack. It seems the Nightmare’s purpose is not to kill, as the attack ends just before the individual passes out. The victim typically recalls all details of the alleged attack the next day and demonstrates a prolonged sense of mental, emotional, and physical fatigue.

In some reported cases of a Nightmare attack, victims are awakened to audible footsteps approaching them as they lay in bed, while there is no figure to attach the footsteps to, they immediately feel the effect of being paralyzed, likely due to extreme fear.

Nearly 15% of the adult population worldwide has reported having at least one attack from a Nightmare within their life, according to modern research. Documented in second-century Greece, physician Galen of Pergamon analyzed several patients who reported having nightmares but attributed the phenomenon with indigestion. While it’s still often proposed as an explanation for individuals reporting such cases to their doctors there are a couple of other theories that have been developed since—commonly, sleep disorders such as narcolepsy, as well as the rare case of repressed sexual tensions. Suffice it to say, these explanations may be accurate for some of the cases, but it does not satisfy them all.

During the Middle Ages, when circumstances such as this were being investigated, it was normal for the explanation to be something supernatural, such as witchcraft to be the cause. In fact, the names, “Night Hag,” as well as, “Old Hag,” refer to an older term for witches, “hag.” Witches were believed to come into a victim’s house at night and then, “ride,” a person’s chest at night, causing the victim to feel as if they were being suffocated, then exhausted the next day. This is actually where the term, “hagridden,” was born, to indicate a feeling of being run down, or exhausted. It was also common for individuals to accuse witches of attacking them magically, by cursing them and sending a demon to attack them. It was a common belief that a religious object held close to the body, or an amulet worn around the neck would ward off any potential Old Hag encounters.

Modern Pop-Culture References

  • Slumber (2017)
  • Mara (2018)
  • After She Wakes (2019)

Related

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Horror Newsletter

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Atlas of Lore Issue 1 Now Available

Advertisements
Atlas of Lore Oregon Cover Small

Sponsored

Encyclopedia of Supernatural Horror

    Cryptids Demons Ghosts and Hauntings

More to See

Best of Supernatural Horror Comics

January 2, 2021 By Nick Torres

The Black Monday Murders Horror Comic Cover

Puzzle Box’s Best of Horror Comics

November 13, 2020 By Nick Torres

Scary Stories To Tell In the Dark Book Cover

The Best Horror Books About Urban Legends

November 7, 2020 By Carly Kazempoor

blank

Urban Legend – The Haunted Oxford Saloon – Snohomish, Washington

November 3, 2020 By Carly Kazempoor

Sponsored

Footer

Links

Terms and Conditions
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy
DMCA
Great Horror Quotes

Search

Recent

  • Night of the Living Dead: Social Commentary in Horror Cinema
  • 5 Ghost Ships Sighted on the West Coast
  • Puzzle Box Winter Horror Guide
  • The Horrific Truth of Folklore in Nazi Germany
  • Best of Supernatural Horror Comics

Encyclopedia of Supernatural Horror Recent Entries

  • Krampus
  • Qalupalik
  • Bayview Cemetery, Bellingham WA
  • Black Diamond Cemetery
  • The Monroe Street Bridge
  • St. Ignatius Hospital

Copyright Puzzle Box Horror © 2021 · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settings ACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non Necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

Save & Accept