The Gothic

When I think of the Gothic I think of this painting by Henri Fuseli - 'The Nightmare' (1781):

The reason I think of this is because what this painting depicts is a natural phenomenon that I have personally experienced many times in life and it is very creepy.

The Gothic to me is the uncanny, the terrifying, the horrific. However, my association is the mental horrors and terrors we may experience - what can the mind do to us? Our thoughts alone can make our hearts race and our palms sweaty. Our fears and anxieties can be traumatic... and so can our dreams...

I dream every night and mostly these are unpleasant, and, I remember my dreams. Sometimes I have a weird kind of awake nightmare where I can't move or speak but I am awake, and I feel like something physical is pushing down on my chest, trapping me and preventing me from moving.

Growing up I was lead to believe that this may be some sort of 'devil' or evil spirit attacking me (yes, I know, terrifying!) but as an adult I decided to research what was happening to me.

Turns out this happens to many people and is actually a type of sleeping disorder - sleep paralysis.

The early meaning of the word 'nightmare' included the sleeper's experience of weight on the chest, combined with sleep paralysis, dyspnea or a feeling of dread. The painting incorporates a variety of imagery associated with these ideas and feelings, depicting a mare's head and a demon crouched on top of the woman.

So, it turns out, this phenomenon is what is depicted here in this painting (quite accurately in fact) and I was pleased to find out that my very own terrors have been the subject of a fantastic and famous piece of Gothic art. I was also comforted to know that other people have experienced this traumatic occurrence (even people from way in the past).