1. The Nightmare — Henry Fuseli (1781)
If you've ever woken up from a nightmare feeling like something was sitting on your chest, Henry Fuseli apparently had some explaining to do.
The Nightmare is one of the most famous pieces of dark Romantic art ever created. Painted in 1781, it depicts a sleeping woman sprawled across a bed while a grotesque creature sits on her chest.
And then there's the horse.
Yes, the horse.
Peering through the curtains in the background is a horse with an unsettling, almost supernatural appearance. The combination of the sleeping woman, demonic creature, and strange horse creates an image that feels like a visual representation of sleep paralysis centuries before the term became commonly understood.
It's creepy.
It's surreal.
And it looks like someone opened the door to a nightmare and accidentally left it open.
