Every single one of us has had bad dreams at one time or another, and the universality of this very human experience means that there are fascinating legends and bits of folklore surrounding the causes of nightmares and sleep paralysis. Probably the best known is that of the mare, a sort of demon or goblin that gives people terrible dreams (but has nothing much to do with a horse), and there’s also the old story of being “hag-ridden,” or having a witch or succubus creature sitting on your chest and making you have horrible visions. On this nightmarish episode, Tom and Jenny will discuss a number of different folkloric tales surrounding nightmares, and also get into the most common themes and imagery in human nightmares and what they might mean.

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Channel art and audio & video editing by Jenny Ashford. Music & sound effects courtesy of freesound.org users jamespotterboy, corsica-s, enjoypa, capturedlv, luffy, kiddpark, and justkiddink. Video clips courtesy of Videezy & Videvo.