Several people have remarked on how ineffective they find the Dream Curse. I am of a very different mind on this. I think the reason that I do find it so effective is that I feel the connection to nightmares very strongly. It's almost a visceral feeling.
In recent episodes, both Julia and Mrs. Johnson have said how they dread falling asleep, knowing that they're going to have "the Dream." Their comments have made me say to myself twice now, "Oh, no, what if I have a nightmare tonight ..."
I've always been prone to experiencing nightmares. As a child I was plagued with what are now known as night terrors -- I would wake up screaming, my parents would come running, and I'd be dazed and disoriented, unable to tell them what was wrong. Today, brain researchers say these are harmless, fleeting disturbances in the brain. Despite their assurances, I sometimes fear even today that these experiences may have had a supernatural origin. But my rational side responds by discounting this possibility. I actually have very little memory of the experiences.
Even now, though, I fear having a nightmare. I had one just a few nights ago. I hate waking up and being afraid to go back to sleep -- afraid that the dream will continue if I do (as it often will).
No wonder, then, that the horror of the dream curse has such an effect on some such as me ...