Mare (folklore)
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A mare is a malicious entity in Germanic and Slavic folklore that sits, walks, or "rides" on people's chests while they sleep, bringing on nightmares. When placed on the victim's chest, it is said to
Illustration of mare in cat shape by Kasia Walentynowicz
The Nightmare, by Henry Fuseli, 1781, depicts an alp sitting on the sleeper's chest, with a mare (female horse) staring through the background
The same motif (Nachtmahr, "Nightmare"), by Johann Heinrich Füssli (1802)
The Mare as a 'nasty older lady', according to Scandinavian folklore, "riding" a sleeping person (by Joakim Skovgaard, c. 1890)
The Nightmare
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The Nightmare is a 1781 oil painting by the Swiss artist Henry Fuseli. It shows a woman with her arms thrown below her, in deep sleep as she undergoes a nightmare as an almost hidden horse looks on as
Mare (folklore)
…example of Geirrid, below). These included animals such as frogs, cats, horses, hares, dogs, oxen, birds and often bees and wasps. German folklore The Nightmare, by Henry Fuseli, 1781, depicts an alp sitting on the sleeper's chest, with a mare (female horse) staring through the background The same motif (Nachtmahr…
Johann Heinrich Füssli The Nightmare 55.5.A d 1 2019 04 15
Thomas Burke's 1783 engraving
The unfinished painting on the back of The Nightmare's canvas