In this “Behind the screenplay” you’ll find out a little more about the nightmare peddlers.

They Sold Nightmares revolves around Abdelaziz Subaghra who practices the final sale of nightmares to those that dare to travel beneath street levels to the depths that were paved and built over. You don’t awaken from a nightmare delivered by Abdelaziz because whoever paid Mr. Subaghra to deliver it gave up something invaluable to punish the recipient.

Inspired by folklore about the popobawa, the kanashibari and ghost oppression (otherwise understood to be sleep paralysis), They Sold Nightmares establishes a world beneath the surface in which wicked individuals sell nightmares and other illicit services openly.

The folklore about these ominous figures (the popobawa and kanashibari) that I’d read grew into their own school where in this world such things could be taught and taken further.

Having the tunnel system below ground started with exploring cities like Seattle and Chicago and discovering what they had beneath them. I think subconsciously the documentary Dark Days also came into play in influencing this below ground world that contrasted with the normalcy of the gambling city of Reno, Nevada above it.

The inspiration for the They Sold Nightmares playlist and of course the resulting They Sold Nightmares was spun from a conversation about, “The Eternal Sleep” and grew from there. It was a further exploration and winding world of sleep, dreams and their alternate version which grew into something darker and nefarious.

They Sold Nightmares writing playlist:

1. Sweet Nightmares – araabMUZIK
2. Breathing Rate – DJ Krush
3. Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt – DJ Shadow
4. YEAH RIGHT – Joji
5. Riding For The Feeling – Bill Callahan
6. If The Car Beside You Moves Ahead – James Blake
7. Dance Of The Tempest – Abel Korzeniowski
8. The End – Shlohmo
9. Paradise Circus – Massive Attack
10. Teardrop – Massive Attack
11. Places – Shlohmo
12. Carnivores Unite – Blockhead
13. Undefined – William Ryan Fritch
14. Who’s Gonna Save My Soul – Gnarls Barkley
15. Get Like – Nosaj Thing
16. Berlin – RY X
17. Mélancolie – Patrick Watson
18. Half Empty But Happy – Askjell
19. Hell Is Round The Corner – Tricky
20. Intersectionality – DJ Shadow