For this project, I decided to go with the idea of a Nightmare, since we had to start with waking up and end with going back to sleep. While analyzing the concepts of a nightmare further, I found myself discovering that all my nightmares were usually based off senseless things; sequence that did not make sense, or things that were mundane yet should not happen at all in reality. I wanted to create the same kind of distortion in my work, where the main character cannot comprehend what is going on, yet automatically embraces the situation and somehow knew what to do about it. It is as if his dream is lucid. The environment was meant to be dark, acting as though it is a void. This suffocates the dreamer, and creates more tension and loss in his feelings. This is in reference to my own nightmares, which I notice were soundless to the extent it rings in my ears and makes me feel as though I was drowning in air. A nightmare also has to be haunting; so much that he has to get rid of the root cause in reality to ensure that it will not come back to haunt him.

Nightmares:

Nightmares are lengthy, elaborate dreams with imagery that evokes fear, anxiety, or sadness. The dreamer may wake up to avoid the perceived danger. Nightmares can be remembered upon awakening and may lead to difficulties returning to sleep or even cause daytime distress. Isolated nightmares are normal, but when dreams that bring extreme terror or anxiety recur often they can become a debilitating sleep disorder.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/nightmares

Noh Masks:

Noh Mask is classified as the most scariest and creepiest of all Japanese urban legends. Noh Masks are masks that are used in opera performances.

The appearance of these masks is creepy because half side of the face has crying expressions while the other half is smiling, but even scarier is the fact that mask has the power to absorb the negative aura or energy (anger, hatred, anguish) from the owner. After begging the owner to wear the mask, Noh Mask then control and consume the negative aura until the owner begins to rot. The Noh Mask switches the body once the owner is dead but it doesn’t leave the corpse behind. It sticks the old body onto the new body, which makes it the most dangerous legend as well.

When kept in the house, the masks are said to draw in negative energy from the owners till they get completely consumed by the mask itself, and their soul trapped in a different dimension of pain.