poemranker ::Night Terrors by princesszoe

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Free verse № 59300

Night Terrors

by princesszoe

Member since 2003 · Posted 4 Aug 2003 · Edited 4 Aug 2003 · 15 comments

Depths of persuasion Unfathomed cruelty Spiralling Out of control The first cut Not the deepest Each slice Another layer Of humanity Stripped to the stench of raw bone

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15 comments

[7] http://mulberryfairy 4-Aug-03/6:21 PM Reply
Did you intentionally use the name of the phenomenon of "night terrors"- which is like a sleepwalking nightmare? I was looking for a relationship to the phenomenon in your poem.
According to Dr. Spock, 3-6 year olds have them- they seem to be due to some temporary disturbance in the nervous system during deep sleep, they tend to run in families, all children who have the grow out of them within a few years, at most. When a child has a night terror, he/she wakes up screaming and even though his/her eyes are wide open s/he doesn't respond when you talk to him and it seems that he isn't even awaare of your presence. The night terror stops spontaneously after lasting as long as 30-40 minutes, the child falls asleep, and he never remembers anything about the episode in the morning.

[n/a] princesszoe › http://mulberryfairy 4-Aug-03/6:25 PM Reply
yes i did use it intentionally. i used to suffer from them. i once accused my mother of being a witch coming to dig my grave, open eyed, at the age of three.
[n/a] <~> › princesszoe 4-Aug-03/6:28 PM Reply
but raw bone does not stink, after the first cut. a few days in the sun, or hours in august, and yes, it will. but not so quickly as you would metaphor-ize, here.
[7] http://mulberryfairy › princesszoe 4-Aug-03/7:17 PM Reply
Okay, I can see how it fits better with the background info. My daughter had them from ages 2-5. It was almost like she could see into some world of torture in those long nights (they really did last 45 minutes, too). I had them, too, and I am still a sleepwalker/talker/etc., are you? Makes for an interesting sex life (see poem "I, Ann Boleyn").
[n/a] princesszoe › http://mulberryfairy 4-Aug-03/7:46 PM Reply
i actually suffer very little these days, but have been left with a very active imagination, particularly when it comes to all things 'horror'. i often have almost waking dreams of very scary content.
[7] http://mulberryfairy › princesszoe 4-Aug-03/7:54 PM Reply
I would stay away from hallucinogens if I were you. I feel like my dreamy state of being awake and waken state of being asleep leaves me vulnerable to even light drugs (which is very cost effective, but also seems dangerous). Do you have a strategy for stopping the waking dreams when they get too frightening?
[n/a] princesszoe › http://mulberryfairy 4-Aug-03/8:01 PM Reply
well, not really. i do get sleep paralysis (which is terrifying) and the only strategy is try and move physically. my waking dreams; i try and stay rational - turn the lights on and read a book. like you i avoid any hallucinogens, as i know that i would react badly.
[7] http://mulberryfairy › princesszoe 4-Aug-03/8:14 PM Reply
What is the sleep paralysis like? My sleeping/sleepwalking dreams are more terrifying than any awake experience, I can't read scary books or watch scary movies at all anymore. The last scary thing I read was Uncle Tom's Children by Richard Wright and every night I dreamed I was being lynched in the Jim Crow South, that was about 5 years ago when I put that book down and never picked it back up. I also have these sort of half asleep hallucinations that there are bugs or snakes all over my bed at night, and I have to turn on the light and wake myself (and my partner) all the way up before I can be sure there aren't bugs in the bed. I am sure this stuff is all related somehow, but I have never done any real research about it, except to ask around when my daughter started having night terrors, too.
[n/a] princesszoe › http://mulberryfairy 4-Aug-03/8:29 PM Reply
Sleep paralysis is like having a lucid dream but being unable to move out of the dream. To explain further, I know I am dreaming and to some extent can control what happens in the dream. However, I usually begin to feel a sense of menace pretty quickly and the dream will turn scary. At this point I cannot get out of the dream and my body is physically paralysed. I know all I have to do is move an arm or open my eyes to get out of it, but it takes a huge amount of will to do so. I usually return to a scary dream after this happens, or like you have sort of awake hallucinations. I have actually been suffering from all these phenomenon much more recently. I agree they are probably all related. I also have to be very careful with scary books/films, although sometimes I am perfectly fine. I generally manage to scare myself far more than anyone else could!
[7] http://mulberryfairy › princesszoe 5-Aug-03/9:38 AM Reply
They sound terrifying. Do you have any theories for where these things originate? Birth trauma, sexual abuse, neurological sensitivity, etc.? How would you account for your increased susceptibility to these phenomenon? I think mine increase with stress. You are right about the being able to scare oneself more than any horror movie, that is why books that are scary are harder for me than movies.
[n/a] princesszoe › http://mulberryfairy 6-Aug-03/11:40 PM Reply
No, don't have any theories. Except at the time they started we were living in a house with a 'bad atmosphere' according to my mother. She is not the sort to believe in nonsense so I regard her opinion on this well. I am generally an emotional person prone to stress and anxiety,and you are right, it definitely increases with stress. And any mind altering substance, of course.

Books are always scarier than movies, our imaginations are unlimited whereas the ability of filmmakers to make their imagination into film is.
[n/a] princesszoe › http://mulberryfairy 4-Aug-03/8:12 PM Reply
I have just read the poem .. enjoyed very much.
[n/a] princesszoe › princesszoe 4-Aug-03/9:12 PM Reply
yours that is (i,ann boleyn) not mine!
[7] http://mulberryfairy › princesszoe 5-Aug-03/9:33 AM Reply
oh, thanks. My best of recent.
[n/a] *Lyrisick* 13-Oct-03/10:54 PM Reply
Wow! If i am impressed i am to the fullest!