Nightmare Archetypes

For as long as people have slept they have experienced nightmares. It was a common thought in the 18th century and before that the dream anxiety attack or nightmare was caused by a demon pressing on the chest of a person during sleep. (Anch et al.) Nightmares have even been considered to be signs of black magic, evil affiliation, or possession. Nightmares mainly consist of being chased, hunted, or threatened by dark characters that we …

…t just make our thoughts go away. The thoughts are real, just like the child’s fear is real; but as adults, influenced by society, we choose to deny our irrational thoughts and fears. Denying them doesn’t make them go away nor does repressing them; they are still there looking for a way to get out and the only acceptable way for us to allow them to emerge is to watch the horror movie.