All posts tagged: Nightmares

90s Goosebumps star who gave children nightmares looks so different 21 years on

90s Goosebumps star who gave children nightmares looks so different 21 years on

Published by Daniella Wilson

A child star who made a very memorable appearance on the beloved 90s show Goosebumps looks completely different 31 years later. Kathryn Long, 43, portrayed Carly Beth Caldwell in the first-ever episode of the kids’ horror series, The Haunted Mask. The show was based on the book series of the same by R.L. Stine, and the debut episode was a special one-hour event when it aired in October 1995. The Haunted Mask told the story of a young girl named Carly Beth who bought a frightening Halloween mask in order to scare a pair of boys in her school. However, the mask quickly took on an evil mind of its own and refused to come off. R.L. Stine said in a 2012 interview that The Haunted Mask is his favourite Goosebumps episode. Kathryn recently attended the Monsterpalooza horror convention where she was reunited with the monster mask – and a mask replica of her own face – from the episode. Talent agency Midnight Media Entertainment uploaded a video to Instagram where the two masks were …

Why nightmares persist in children – and how to break the cycle

Why nightmares persist in children – and how to break the cycle

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Half of young children under the age of six experience frequent and heart-pounding nightmares that can result in poor sleep quality, mental health issues and an increased risk of dementia. Now, Oklahoma researchers say they know why a child’s nightmares recur – and how to break the cycle. It’s a child’s fear of falling asleep after a nightmare that can lead to repetitive nightmares, they say, as well as stress, anxiety and trauma. But that can cycle can be broken with therapy, helping kids build up the confidence to address their nightmares. “It’s a child’s response to a nightmare that causes the chronic nightmares to happen, which means if we can learn to respond to nightmares differently, then we can interrupt that cycle,” Lisa Cromer, a professor of psychology at the University of Tulsa, said in a release. “It’s empowering to …

Gamers’ Worst Nightmares About AI Are Coming True

Gamers’ Worst Nightmares About AI Are Coming True

Published by skeptic

The gaming community freaked out last week when Seamus Blackley, the original creator of Xbox, claimed the console was sunsetting in an interview with Gamesbeat. However, if you read the interview or his comments on Bluesky, you’ll realize he meant that something at the core of Xbox feels off: The console he built is in “distress.” Blackley speculated that the February shuffle of Asha Sharma from AI executive to executive vice president and CEO of Microsoft Gaming means the product is in “palliative care.” Xbox is not shutting down, but many were quick to believe the headlines, as there’s a dark cloud over the industry right now. What happened? While gaming experienced an unprecedented high during the pandemic, artificial intelligence crept up behind it. AI’s proliferation in the gaming industry is already accelerating job loss and cheapening the work of developers at studios now scrutinized by anti-AI gamers. Data centers have siphoned RAM from the industry, resulting in a global memory shortage. This has driven up the costs of hardware required for consoles, stalling releases …

Throne of Nightmares by Kerri Maniscalco

Throne of Nightmares by Kerri Maniscalco

Published by José Betancourt

There’s something profoundly meta about reading a fantasy romance where the heroine’s superpower is loving books—and Throne of Nightmares by Kerri Maniscalco understands this delicious irony better than most. As the third installment in the Prince of Sin series (following Throne of the Fallen and Throne of Secrets), this standalone novel transforms the simple act of reading into something dangerous, seductive, and utterly magical. Maniscalco crafts a story that reads like fan fiction of the best kind—not in quality, but in heart—a narrative that celebrates the transformative power of storytelling while weaving its own compelling tale. A Heroine Who Lives in Her Head (Until Reality Becomes Fiction) Lore Brimstone embodies every book lover’s secret fantasy and fear: what if you could literally fall into your favorite stories? As a small-town librarian from Bellington, she’s built her life around recommending perfect reads and escaping into fictional worlds. Her character arc represents a beautiful meditation on what happens when imagination meets reality, when the comfortable safety of reading about adventures collides with experiencing them firsthand. Maniscalco deftly …