There are different degrees of frightening dreams, but the most terrifying cause sensations of suffocation and paralysis.
Literature best describes the sleeper’s sensation in the stories of Dracula, but there was also a common female demon known as “the night hag.”
Mare is an Old English term for demon and comes from the same root as murder.
Therefore the demon, or mare, who visits at night was called a “nightmare.”
A bad dream is often referred to as a nightmare.
Related Posts
-
Where does the word “Nightmare” come from and What does Nightmare mean?
The word nightmare is a relic of ancient superstition dating in England at least from the eighth century, but, under the name incubus, known to the Romans of Caesar's time. People thought this…
-
Where does the expression “Pipe Dream” come from and What does Pipe Dream mean?
A dream full of illusions such as results from the smoking of an opium pipe, which was the source of the term "Pipe Dream". As American slang heard just about at the beginning…
-
How Do Animals Dream, Do Cats and Dogs Sleepwalk, and Do Human Babies Dream?
The definition of dreaming can be quite different for animals, and obviously you cannot ask an animal if it has had a dream. But experts cite strong suggestive evidence that mammals like dogs…
-
Where Did the Term “Pipe Dream” For an Unrealistic Fantasy Originate and What Does the Phrase Mean?
Pipe dreams are often schemes that just won't work. Like daydreams, pipe dreams dissolve like smoke rising into the air, which is appropriate, because the metaphor comes from smoking opium. The phrase can…
-
Why Do You Dream?
Most dreams are based on events that happened to you that day. Others involve deep fears you might have had since you were very young. In still others, wishes you've had for a…
-
What is Huron Dream Guessing and How often is the Ononharoia ceremony held?
Hundreds of years before psychiatrists began analyzing their patient's dreams, the Huron people believed that nightmares held hidden clues to a person's innermost desires. Once a year, they held a ceremony called Ononharoia…
