Dreams and Nightmares--

"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream."

...Edgar Allan Poe

We all have them--even animals seem capable of dreaming. They are, after all, merely electrical impulses firing off multiple synapses as they travel across our brain. Some of these dreams can be decidedly good, while others are, well, visions that can cause a grown man to wake up covered in sweat and screaming in helplessness.

But, where does the boundary lie, between what may be called a 'dream' and that which is considered a nightmare? I suppose the answer may depend on the individual dreamer. One person may think dreaming of snakes or spiders would be a serious nightmare, while others might consider quite different things as nightmarish. I myself think any dream wherein the dreamer is forced to wake up screaming in terror, frustration or even anger sufficient to be classified as a nightmare.

These visions in the night produce the same 'fight or flight' reaction within us that a similar waking situation would produce--an adrenalin surge which leads to an elevated heart rate, rapid breathing and flushed skin. You want to flee, to run from this horror, but you are trapped within your own mind. Frequently, the only method of escape from this nightmare is to literally scream yourself awake.

I have written a number of stories based on my dreams and a few that came directly from nightmares. Occasionally, a story will combine elements of both a sleeping nightmare, as well as incidents that have occurred in the nightmarish waking world. Such a story is, 'All that we see or Seem', from, "Dreams of Darkness, Dreams of Night."

The basis for this story is a recurring dream/nightmare that has plagued me for most of my life. And, while the character in this story does enter the house in 'his' nightmare, I have thus far been able to avoid that result in my own dreams.

What happens to the protagonist within the house is taken from yet another episode in my life--actually, from one of those 'waking nightmares' I mentioned, earlier. I obviously survived my encounter with the creature described in this story, but the physical and emotional scars are still very much in evidence, and this will hopefully serve as a warning for others to avoid similar encounters with people (or like creatures) who desire to draw from us everything which we hold dear.

Beyond that, I trust your own 'dreams' may stay away from that which we call Nightmares--for the most part, at least. And in conclusion, I wish you all, "Sweet Dreams."