Introduction

This book was born as a receptacle of darkness, a morbid creation born from exploring the shadows of my nightmares and what lies beyond them. A malevolent impulse drove me to fuse those horrid visions with the intriguing ideas that constantly illuminate or darken my imagination, alongside the conviction that true terror is not a story set in some distant time or place, but something present, menacing, alive, staring back at the reader when they dare to gaze into the abyss.

This project emerges from a long list of nightmares I have been recording over the years. I feel compelled to clarify that I am not a disturbed person. I am deeply introspective; I even study psychology, which gives me some understanding of the human mind and has taught me how to explore the nature of my fears and give them form. What you are about to read is not the product of a peculiar brain, it could be hiding in the corners of any nightmare, lurking in the shadows of any mind.

I hope that in this collection you will find interesting ideas, that is one reason for this book’s existence. The other is to cause discomfort, unease, and even sicken with terror those who are unprepared.

I trust that you will have the strength to close this book when anxiety or other difficult emotions begin to overtake you, because here we touch upon heavy themes that may trigger crises in some readers.

On every page dwell abominable shadows from another dimension. It is up to you to cross the darkness, look it in the eyes, tear off a fragment, and make it your own. Otherwise, this book becomes your adversary, and its very presence will emanate the grim reminder of fear. It is your choice whether to challenge it, or to let the darkness remain forever untouched by the light.