Compendium of Nightmarish Creatures

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 Compendium of Nightmarish Creatures & Phenomena
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	Manifestation Event:
The act of a single or multiple entities of one or more different types emerging upon a non-consecrated ground which has harnessed immense amounts of negative energy or belief. These events can occur a single time or repeatedly throughout time on the same area depending on its history. Sites where frequent loss of intelligent life has occurred are more likely to give rise to simpler but violent entities in due time, while others where a lot of anger, hate, sadness and resentment has gathered is more likely to result in obscure and sophisticated entities. In rare occasions, haunting grounds can emerge due to strong beliefs of a population, making careful information dissemination and control a necessity to prevent tragedy.




---------------- Specter [Danger Level: C] ----------------

	Description:
Specters are malicious entities which manifest as black smog in the rough shape of a person, typically floating a few inches about ground level. A number of whitish, unfocused eyes dot their form, swimming around upon its surface. They can be a rough indication of the entity's power, though direct observation is very difficult due to its properties detailed below. They are territorial entities which avoid conflict with their kind unless their target draws aggression from another during a hunt.

	Environment:
The haunting ground is most likely to emerge in particularly dark areas where the surrounding environment is still. The following supernatural effects can be observed within, such as a precipitous drop in air pressure and a modest increase of humidity and temperature above ambient of the surrounding environment. In addition, all sounds coming from both within the haunting ground and outside of it will be dampened and muffled. Weak sources of artificial light beneath a certain threshold will flicker when the entity is nearby or be extinguished entirely in the case of natural light sources such as candles or small fires. Local wildlife that cannot escape the haunting ground in a short amount of time will lose their lives due to the entity or environmental changes.

	Properties:
Specters are invisible under the cover of darkness and will investigate any nearby sounds in their domain. They will actively avoid well lit areas when roaming but have no trouble traversing dimly lit areas in quick order. From a distance they can be detected through their emitting of soft sounds of painful moaning or whispering, whereas a closer proximity will induce visual hallucinations to an individual (typically varying degrees of color-blindness) along with various other mental conditions, such as an intense feeling of unease, vertigo, and further loss of hearing akin to sudden-onset tinnitus, the last of which may become permanent.

	Pursuit:
If an individual stares at the entity's form for a prolonged period of time or makes sufficient noise in its presence to draw its attention, the entity will become alert and give chase. When in pursuit a number of additional hallucinations affecting the perception of the target will occur. These include anguished but indistinct faces appearing on various surfaces, blood bubbling forth, black hands reaching through dark corners, as well as omnipresent crying and whispering sounds that increase in volume as the distance is closed. Being captured by the entity amplifies all aforementioned audiovisual hallucinations, accompanied by intense bleeding from all facial orifices. If the individual is unable to escape within a few short moments from its grasp, this state will quickly lead to catastrophic brain damage and death.

	Defense:
Specters can be fended off temporarily when shone upon by strong, focused light such as that from a high-power flashlight or sufficient large fires. Successfully repelling the entity will cause it to shriek aloud, their voice omnipresent and echoing regardless of environment, and their form to explode in a flood of black smog in all lateral directions. This smog will linger in the area briefly before the entity starts to reform at a nearby location. That is the best time to disengage and leave the immediate area before it can resume pursuit. Their shriek can draw in other sound-sensitive entities if present nearby in the area.



---------------- Phantom [Danger Level: B-A] ----------------

	Description:
Phantoms are lumbering, malevolent behemoths of an entity, possessing a supernatural ability to meld part of the spirit realm with our own reality during their haunting. They appear as a large amorphous cloud of darkness with dozens of black hands poking out of it at any given time, clasping at the world around it as it slowly navigates about its environment erratically, chasing prey. Faces periodically appear upon its surface in the direction its moving towards, with especially high numbers during pursuit.

	Environment:
The entity typically manifests after the sun has set in locations of scarce human activity, particularly in areas with large water pools or tame water streams that have seen a bloody history. Their presence distorts the local reality around them, making the environment seemingly infinitely extending and looping in on itself, with perceived distances multiplying many times over what originally was. Time appears as if frozen as any sources of light within this sphere of influence will appear significantly dimmer, around 3 to 8 times so depending on the entity's strength, basking the world in perpetual astronomical twilight until actual sunrise. The sky itself will be overcast by dark clouds, and the atmosphere will become misty as though dust is suspended in mid-air. Chilling wind will blow even within of enclosed spaces but they do not affect the mist itself. These effects are not discernible outside of the haunting ground looking in, thus giving rise to theories of spatial and dimensional manipulation by the entity.

Reflective substances within this environment such as water or glass will reflect a spirit realm covered in fog where indistinct wisps can occasionally be glanced floating through, staring back at the individual briefly before disappearing in the mist again. Surfaces with high reflectivity such as mirrors project a much clearer picture of this realm, allowing one to better identify the entity and its relative position. Peering into this realm for more than a few seconds however will result in attracting the attention of wisps in the realm passing by and thus risk alerting the the phantom to your location. All such "windows" to the spirit realm operate as heat traps, with a measured temperature far below ambient.

	Properties:
It is physically impossible to discern the position or form of the phantom from a distance without the the use of spirit realm windows, with the lone exception being humid surfaces and pools of water which will frost over as it passes over them, then thaw again as it leaves. The entity has a strong resistance to light and has no trouble being in its presence for an extended period of time. It is not overly sensitive to sounds but it can be attracted to a particular location by focusing the wisps in the spirit realm. Proximity to a phantom can lead an individual to exhibit mild symptoms of paranoia and a gradual drop in body temperature.

	Pursuit:
If an individual attracts the attention of the entity and is caught in a direct line of sight, the entity will give chase. The target will experience overwhelming feelings of dread and doom, as well as a sharp drop in body temperature as the proximity to the entity increases. The entity will continuously "inhale" loudly during a chase and grow additional appendages to navigate. Visual through the spirit world shows a massively increased amount of faces bubbling forth and sinking beneath its surface, mouths unnaturally agape and sucking in any nearby wisps. Capture leads to the target being suspended in mid-air, constricted and strangled as the body is desiccated in a manner of seconds. Escape is impossible at this point.

	Defense:
Phantoms can be held at bay only with especially powerful and wide reaching light sources in excess of 20,000 lux, making avoidance the only realistic survival tactic. Loud sounds can also serve to distract the enemy, though it would hardly serve to deter an ongoing pursuit. Flashbang grenades can be of assistance by staggering the entity for an extended period, helping one break the line of sight or serve as a long distance distraction. The phantom naturally departs upon sunrise when it sinks into a reflective surface of sufficient size or pool of still water. Any individuals or wildlife within will its sphere of environmental influence at the time will find themselves involuntarily reduced to an unconscious state and spatially displaced at random locations in and around the haunting ground, out of view of any observers, digital or otherwise, with no known distance limit.



---------------- Phantasm [Danger Level: D] ----------------

Lesser than specters in both form and function. Unable to influence the environment like their stronger counterparts, but they employ scare tactics to influence the mind of their target. Phantasms usually appear in the dead of night in quiet areas, oft when the wind is calm. Their presence can sometimes be felt before their eventual appearance by humans, although animals are typically more finely tuned to the signs and tend detect them in advance. If the entity is not hostile to the individual the animal protects, it may only stare or growl at it to deter it. More forceful and powerful phantasms will cause animals to cower and hide unless absolutely loyal.

Phantasms are intangible and invisible to most forms of visual observation. They are, however, incapable of traversing through solid materials when haunting a location, prompting them to take advantage of natural curiosity to lure their prey into exposing itself out in an open area that they can navigate to. When faced with a phantasm, it is recommended to remain indoors in an area with loads of noise and activity, regardless of light level.

Proximity to the entity can be gleaned by a feeling of an ominous presence, of being watched, disembodied whispering, deep, cackling laughter, shifting shadows, or sounds beyond one's reach or vision. Common appearance of phantasms when exposing themselves to their target are that of shadowy figures, often hiding in corners of rooms, in shadowed edges, or that of floating clouds of darkness with glowing, blood red eyes that produce no actual light.

Phantasms feed on the fear of their target, and the closer they can get while the target is in distress, the more they're able to feed, in turn amplifying the target's terror. Exposure is non-lethal and often brief, but repeated visits can result in insomnia, paranoia and eventually lead to a coma.



---------------- Shade [Danger Level: F] ----------------

Claimed to be fragments of malevolent souls, shades do not hold much power over their environment or their targets. They can appear in dark or dimly-lit areas, typically in densely populated habitats. The presence of shades cannot be felt by their targets, though especially sensitive animals may notice something off about the environment around them before a shade takes action.

Shades can manipulate shadows cast by objects to a limited degree, forming impossible shapes that helps them traverse the environment. They can only move freely in the darkness, and moving within lit areas requires them to connect from one shadow to another, though they have been observed to bridge the gap between nearby shadows with their ability occasionally. They will attempt to lure targets closer to them if out of reach, as they cannot attach to shadows of living beings, nor any particularly small, thin, or faded shadows.

Once a shade has connected with a target, it will begin siphoning an unknown kind of energy from it, causing the target to age, albeit imperceptibly. This process is brief, and causes the target intense feelings of unease and fatigue, provoking them to a flight response, subconsciously prompted to seek bright areas. Frequent exposure to a shade’s attacks for a prolonged period of time can cause the target to age visibly. Exposure to a large amount of shades at once can cause an individual to expire from advanced age in a manner of hours.

Shades dissolve naturally upon daybreak, presumed to sink beneath the earth, though they can be trapped and isolated if the shadow they reside in is surrounded by light. If the shadow is slowly eliminated by encroaching light, it will begin to struggle within its confines and stretch to the nearest shadows in an attempt to escape. If unsuccessful, it will boil and sizzle until it vanishes.



---------------- Apparition [Danger Level: D] ----------------

Typically unobservable through normal vision. Believed to be echoes of past and future events made manifest by immense emotional charge, they typically materialize in environments absent of frequent human activity, though such incidents are not always fixed as they can follow individuals around into more densely populated areas as well.

Apparitions come in many forms, though they are primarily humanoid in their sightings. Their presence can be felt through a feeling of formless pressure, along with a faint, high-pitch noise similar to that of cathode tube technology. This “pressure” radiates outwardly and outlines their form, pushing certain particles away, such as smoke and rain away from them in a manner not yet understood. This property can affect a variety of different materials and ranges in intensity from entity to entity.

Apparitions are theorized to exist on a higher dimensional plane, despite their lone manifestation on our reality, as they cause strong electromagnetic interference similar to jamming. This interference extends from their location outwards with fading strength but is omnipresent, regardless of any shielding employed, while the space within the entity’s outline is absolutely impervious from many forms of electromagnetic wavelengths, excluding sound and visible light. While their mere presence is harmless to most known forms of life, light that comes into contact with their form is charged in an unknown manner, causing destructive damage to any photosensitive sensors, rendering visual recordings practically impossible.

Individuals haunted by apparitions are usually able to identify their relationship with the entity as well as certain properties of it, despite lack of prior knowledge or memory. They may experience auditory and visual events that cannot be perceived by a third party. The relative strength of these hallucinations increases the closer one is to the apparition. Exposure can lead the individual to experience extreme stress, confusion, terror and exhibit severe emotional responses which may lead to accidents happening, or drive the individual to suicide.

In many recorded instances, an individual may be haunted by an apparition multiple times at different points during their lives until they pass away, though in some cases they stopped prematurely, leading people to ponder the concept of fate and branching timelines.



---------------- Storm Fiend [Danger Level: D-S] ----------------

Bringers of storm. They appear after sunset, manifesting over any relatively densely populated areas, out above the countryside and most often over cities. Their influence can extend up to several tens of kilometers depending on the strength of the entity, and the duration can last anywhere from several hours to over a week, shrouding the sun. Storm fiends are intangible and ethereal, but their form can be faintly discerned with the naked eye in the sky through the cracks of lightning caused by the very storm they’ve formed. Due to their gargantuan size and widespread effects, they can be classified as supernatural phenomena despite their individual property.

Storm fiends, as their name implies, can influence the weather and quickly form storms, even during otherwise starry nights, blanketing their target area with a downpour of rain and lightning. Whereas regular rain tends to invigorate the land and the people living in it, the storm brought by the fiend has the opposite effect, invoking physical and mental fatigue on any living beings caught within its area of effect. Flora, on the other hand, exhibits signs of drying up and withering instead.

When a storm is in effect, a number of supernatural effects can be observed distorting reality. The environment feels far colder than what the actual temperature would imply. Sounds and light, with the exception of those generated by the storm itself, are far fainter than should be physically possible and do not transmit nearly as far as they could. The combination of the aforementioned factors induces a feeling of isolation and unease to the populace caught within the storm. Individuals travelling outside during that time report feeling depressed, fatigued, nervous and feeling as if they’re being watched by something, always at the corner of their eyes.

These unnatural events extend further to anyone attempting to sleep the night away. Excluding individuals with particularly strong mental acuity, some will be unable to enter REM sleep during the haunting, with the majority unable to sleep at all. Of those affected, a feeling of a nearby presence and fear of darkness is commonly reported. In extreme cases, certain individuals have either developed stress-induced chronic insomnia, have become permanently unable to enter REM sleep or fallen into a permanent coma following repeated attempts to sleep.

There are currently no known ways to fend off a storm fiend during its haunting. Because of its nature and its area of effect, the populace within the storm’s radius would need to either evacuate the vicinity or hunker down, preferably indoors amidst well lit environments and with company until the storm passes.

Owing to the conditions present during the storm, the chances of other entities intruding on the storm’s sphere of influence and causing harm are similarly increased, leading to the danger level rising exponentially the larger a radius the storm covers.



---------------- Dream Eater [Danger Level: C] ----------------

Born of man and malice. Dream eaters are typically birthed from people consumed by hatred or guilt after their passing and are believed to be the discarnate souls. They manifest after dark in densely populated areas, searching for and latching on to unsuspecting individuals that share either blood, connections, or similar circumstances with the entity.

Dream eaters manifest as semi-corporeal entities with human characteristics when haunting a target. They typically do not make themselves known during the early stages of an “infection”, but will eventually make themselves known during the later stages with increasing frequency.

During the early stage of an individual’s haunting by a dream eater, they may exhibit symptoms such as restless sleep, occasional lack of REM sleep, and a feeling of a presence when attempting to fall asleep. When they do enter a dream state in their sleep, they will suffer from parasomnia and multiple nightmares whose contents encompass anything which the individual may consider scary as the entity acclimates to its host’s tendencies and personality.

During the later stage of a haunting, the individual will, from a combination of factors, live in perpetual fatigue, leading them to seek a place of rest more often in order to sleep. They will no longer display any qualms about the odd feelings prior to falling asleep, but will start experiencing frequent night terrors which linger even after they’re awake, as well as sleepwalking. In addition to the panic experienced during these incidents, individuals also start exhibiting frequent short term memory loss.




---------------- Ephialtes [Danger Level: F-S] ----------------

    Description:
Ephialtes (Greek for Nightmares) are a phenomena so common and widespread that are widely accepted by the populace to be a normal, though unwanted, occurrence of REM sleep. While a variety of factors can indeed self-induce bad dreams, a great amount of them are actually the result of this paranormal category of phenomena, for reasons not yet understood, through which other entities might be more attracted to potential prey. Particularly dangerous and repeated events may devolve into chronic night terrors, onset of dementia, clinical insanity, and may also leave one extremely vulnerable to further paranormal entities, Dream Eaters in particular.

    Environment:
There is no particular setting required for one to experience an Ephialtes event, though they are much more likely to occur to people whose subconscious is heavy with unfulfilled desires and what-if fears, even if they do not exhibit it or even realize during their waking time. In addition, uncomfortable sleeping arrangements and atmosphere, as well as exceeding quiet of the immediate area, could well increase the intensity of the Ephialtes event so long as one does not attempt to wake themselves up during an activity spike.

    Properties:
Ephialtes events cannot always be recalled. A dreamer might wake up in cold sweat despite comfortable sleeping arrangements or even normally, without remembering anything about the experience they just went through. It is thus not possible to diagnose a case reliably from a typical bad dream when there's a lack of a witness record to pick apart. The effects on a dreamer are quite consistent however, through a combination of bizarre and twisted depictions of the dreamer's wants and fears, devolving into horror material tinged with malice out of a seemingly innocuous dream. Due to typically common fears shared among species, the most common categories of Ephialtes events include health-related issues, relationships and a variety of traumatic events one has experienced.

    Defense:
Immediate avoidance of an Ephialtes event requires of the dreamer to realize that something is wrong with their dream and attempt to wake themselves up in the middle of it, before reaching its crescendo of terror that'd jolt them awake. Resuming sleep afterwards is possible once the dreamer has had time to calm down through any means of reassurance they have, though it may not always extricate them from the event's influence from the get-go. Long term combating of these events requires proactive effort of the dreamer to address the matters which concern them and improve upon them, reinstating self-confidence to a degree. These efforts may not prevent such experiences altogether, but could improve both the quality of life and sleep of the dreamer.