What do you think?
Rate this book
Nighttouch: Journeying Into the Realms of Nightmare
What is Nighttouch? The spectator at a horror movie who covers his eyes. The lover who cannot give himself for fear of losing himself. The whistler in the graveyard. The sleeper tormented, waking up more tired than when he went to sleep.
In the 'nighttouch' of dreams, particularly in those most disturbing messages from the unconscious, nightmares, we meet the hidden, repressed side of our nature which must be experienced if we are to achieve wholeness. The five chapters of this book follow the sequence of stages through which the dreamer of the nightmare passes: "Typically, the dreamer is plunged into an extremely threatening situation, feels overwhelmed by agonizing dread, makes futile attempts to escape, finds every avenue closed, becomes helplessly paralysed, develops a mounting sense of oppression, and awakens in a cold sweat." (Dr. Robert Goldenson, The Encyclopedia of Human Behavior, 1970).
Each chapter is framed by quotations from Bram Stoker's Dracula. The characters who appear in these quotations represent the range of possible responses to "nighttouch" as embodied by Dracula. At one extreme is Jonathan Harker who seeks to escape from Dracula or to destroy him; at the other, Lucy Westenra, who succumbs to his power and is destroyed. Only one character in the novel comes to terms with him: Mina Harker's powers of perception and self-knowledge are expanded by her experience with Dracula. And, while she is the principal agent of his destruction, she is the only one to appreciate what has been lost through his death.
The chemistry of Nighttouch has affected, consciously or unconsciously, the life of everyone. It is a catalyst for our creativity, for our search for self, for glimpses of the beyond. Unable to see, we perceive with more 'primitive' senses messages which elude our waking vision.
Sections include: Transylvania, The Castle, The Prisoner, Possession, Release.
HORROR, THE STAGES OF NIGHTMARES WITH QUOTES FROM BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA IN CONTEXT FOR EACH SECTION. INTERESTING, RARE PIECE LOADED WITH HORRIFIC REPROS.OVERSIZED , SOFT COVER
In the 'nighttouch' of dreams, particularly in those most disturbing messages from the unconscious, nightmares, we meet the hidden, repressed side of our nature which must be experienced if we are to achieve wholeness. The five chapters of this book follow the sequence of stages through which the dreamer of the nightmare passes: "Typically, the dreamer is plunged into an extremely threatening situation, feels overwhelmed by agonizing dread, makes futile attempts to escape, finds every avenue closed, becomes helplessly paralysed, develops a mounting sense of oppression, and awakens in a cold sweat." (Dr. Robert Goldenson, The Encyclopedia of Human Behavior, 1970).
Each chapter is framed by quotations from Bram Stoker's Dracula. The characters who appear in these quotations represent the range of possible responses to "nighttouch" as embodied by Dracula. At one extreme is Jonathan Harker who seeks to escape from Dracula or to destroy him; at the other, Lucy Westenra, who succumbs to his power and is destroyed. Only one character in the novel comes to terms with him: Mina Harker's powers of perception and self-knowledge are expanded by her experience with Dracula. And, while she is the principal agent of his destruction, she is the only one to appreciate what has been lost through his death.
The chemistry of Nighttouch has affected, consciously or unconsciously, the life of everyone. It is a catalyst for our creativity, for our search for self, for glimpses of the beyond. Unable to see, we perceive with more 'primitive' senses messages which elude our waking vision.
Sections include: Transylvania, The Castle, The Prisoner, Possession, Release.
HORROR, THE STAGES OF NIGHTMARES WITH QUOTES FROM BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA IN CONTEXT FOR EACH SECTION. INTERESTING, RARE PIECE LOADED WITH HORRIFIC REPROS.OVERSIZED , SOFT COVER
- GenresHorror
156 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
57 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 2, 2019
One of the first anthologies that really changed my thinking about horror, possibly because of the way it drew in elements from history, philosophy, film and poetry to show how horror as a spectrum of effects and elements weaves itself through almost every sort of story.
Read
December 17, 2025PLACEHOLDER REVIEWS
"Old Mansion", a poem by John Crowe Ransom, sketches an evocative picture of a decaying manse.
"The Wolves" by Allen Tate is a meditation on man's inescapable animal nature.
"Old Mansion", a poem by John Crowe Ransom, sketches an evocative picture of a decaying manse.
"The Wolves" by Allen Tate is a meditation on man's inescapable animal nature.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews