From the perspective of cognitive psychology and clinical neuroscience, when it comes to treatment, a good nightmare is a dead nightmare. Since the days of Freud, we have been hell-bent on eliminating all varieties of bad dreams equally without discrimination and as a result, we know surprisingly little about ordinary nightmares. That’s a problem that…
Author: Ryan Hurd
Ryan Hurd is is founder of DreamStudies.org. He is also a frequent contributor to Business Insider and Reality Sandwich. His books include LUCID IMMERSION GUIDEBOOK: A HOLISTIC BLUEPRINT FOR DREAMING (2012) and SLEEP PARALYSIS: A GUIDE TO HYPNAGOGIC VISIONS AND VISITORS OF THE NIGHT (2011). He has lectured at Stanford University, the Institute of Buddhist Studies, and the Rhine Institute, and has presented and published papers on sleep paralysis, lucid nightmares, and the application of dreaming for uncovering researcher bias and novelty. He has a MA in Consciousness Studies from John F. Kennedy University and a bachelor's degree with a specialization in archaeology, and is a board member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams and a member of the American Anthropological Association and the Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness.
Real Succubus Tales: Sleep Paralysis and the Genesis of Erotic Horror
I was struck by Richard Gavin’s recent commentary in which he observed that most horror fiction is rarely horrifying, but rather tends to focus on peripheral unpleasantness, such as nausea, gore, or bloodlust. As I read this, spontaneous images immediately welled up in my mind from some of the most horrifying moments of my life…
Horror for the Holidays: Santa, Krampus, and the Dark Divine
[EDITOR’S NOTE: For a kind of companion piece to this one, see Ryan’s “Have a Very Scary Christmas!” over at Dreamstudies.org.] This Christmas Eve as you lay the children down to sleep and lock the doors, you will have the chance once again to notice that feeling of holiday vulnerability creeping on up. You may…