"Terror is something human beings need to experience, at least in fantasy, as if seeking to test their reactions by pitting themselves against it. When that terror is externalized for out entertainment---and admiration---we thrill to it, knowing it can be brought to a swift conclusion, explained away, or scoffed at.
The nightmare is quite different. It threatens to overwhelm and refuses to be harnessed or tamed. Despite its univesality it remains a strictly experience. Each of use confronts it in the total isolation of our own sleep. We cannot walk out, close it up, or nudge our companions for reassurance. Our brush with it can be shared only after we have survived. That the nightmare is able to creep in and attack us in those surroundings when we feel safest underlies our innate vulnerability and the nightmare's apparent mastery."---Sandra Shulman, Nightmare
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Introduction |