h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Here is a suggested rewrite of what you have so far. Just changing a few run-on sentences, and adjusting for idiom.

I took the liberty of adding a few notes on possible areas for further research, and I added a couple of websites you might be interested in.

Hope you have only good dreams!


Nightmares- what is a mare?


Everyone has experienced a nightmare at least once in his/her life. People have found various ways to interpret the meaning of these dreams, but this is not the subject of this entry.
Have you ever wondered what the word nightmare means?
It is pretty obvious where the 'night' part comes from. This is quite easy; we usually sleep at night, so this is the time for a nightmare to occur.
But what is a mare? A horse? No, certainly not.
There are similar words in many languages, such as 'mara', 'mahrt' or 'mart' [NOTE: What languages do these words come from?]; even the German 'Albtraum' (Alb=elf; Traum=dream) is closely connected with it. The mare is one of the first spirits to appear in Germanic mythology, and equivalents can be found in legends all over the world. The mare is an evil creature which comes at night to torment sleeping people.
The mare enters the room through cracks or keyholes, sits down on the body of the sleeper and presses on his breast or throat, so that he can neither breath nor scream: this is called elf-pressure. To accomplish the same purpose, it may also put its tongue into the throat of the victim. The sleeper is frightened and tormented, and can even fall ill or die because of the mare.
>Animals such as horses can also be tormented by mares; they sweat and snort, their hair gets matted. Sometimes elves may ride these animals, or even humans, who are often turned into horses for this purpose. The nightmare is therefore also called the mare-ride. Plants or stones can be tormented by an elf, as well; the shaking leaves of a tree, or its stunted branches, show the elf's pressure.
The mare can leave a room only the way it came in. If somebody blocks the hole, it is caught. The same thing can happen if someone calls its name. Then it shows its real appearance in the morning.
The shape of the elf varies a great deal: it may take the form of an animal (a dog, cat or worm), a monster, or a human with the features of living or dead relatives, old women or young girls. The mare may cause terror one day, and be lovely the next.
Very important for legends is the idea of the mare as an elf who has sex with mortal people, men and women. These spirits come from their far-away home for a union with humans. Many legends of gods and mortals think for instance of Zeus and his mistresses or fair elves dancing in the woods at night for young men, or even Lohengrin son of Percival, the keeper of the Grail, who marries a mortal woman who is not allowed to ask for his name; of course she does and he has to go. are the descendants of mares.
If the sleeper finally awakes he gets rid of the mare. The mare could be banished by a sound from outside, an early morning call, the crowing of the rooster, a shaft of light, the arrival of dawn, or anything else which wakes sleeping people. Therefore mares often dislike light and disappear when other people enter the room. When the victim of a nightmare awakes with a cry, he may be holding a pillow or some straw in his hand; this led to the belief that elves can turn into straw, a feather or similar substance, and can be cought in this shape. If caught in this manner, the mare finally has to turn into its real shape again, and can be banned, punished and/or put out of action. The outcries of sleepers led to the legend that the elf has to leave when somebody calls its name. This is the reason why people who marry elves are not allowed to ask for their name or race.
From this legend evolved the belief in ghosts, and human imagination saw the faces of dead or living relatives in the mare. Thus, the mare was seen to be a lost soul. But if the mare was not known to the dreamer, its home was thought to be somewhere in nature: the woods, the fields or even on the wind. That's why ghosts can torment people, too; they are the descendants of mares.
The mare can also be the soul of of the sleeper himself. The soul may come out of the mouth of the sleeper in the form of a dark cloud, or an animal,such as a mouse, and then leave to torment another sleeping personIt can also leave the body without tormenting people and just wander around; after waking up the sleeper can remember where the soul has been.. But if someone tries to wake the soulless sleeper, he or she may die, and the soul may never return to the body. This led to the later belief that the soul can turn into the shape of various creatures, such as black dogs or horses, so that any animal you see might be a travelling soul or an ominous ghost. Odin's soul, for instance, could turn into a raven. In later mythology, he had two ravens called Hugin and Maninhugr = soulmannahugir = human soul.
The mythological aspects of nightmares are closely connected with two of the most important phenomena of human beliefs: ghosts and souls. They are the roots of many legends, although these roots are often hidden under the surface of a story.
I HAVEN'T FINISHED WRITING YET!



Ideas for further research:
1. Connection between elf-pressure and the phenomenon known as 'sleep paralysis'.
2. Countermeasures used against mares. Give examples.
3. Anecdotes about mares from old and more modern sources.
4. The incubus and succubus phenomenon; ghostly sexual encounters.
5. The 'demon lover'.
6. For possible inclusion: connection between these phenomena and modern accounts of 'alien abduction'.

Websites for your consideration:

http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/paralysis.html

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2386/is_2_114/ai_106981968

http://www.enctype.de/Daemonen/erotikincsuce.htm

http://theufoconnection.g-vision.com/hypnotherapy.shtml

I was inspired by your Guide entry to write one for the AWW (humour). It's A4227617. The chicken jokes are in honour of you and Malabarista.

Good luck with exams!

ok, thanks again, I've made the changes now, but have yet to work through the links and so
As I said I set you on the researcher list now. Only fair I think, you've already helped me a lot.