Hanon-Tramp

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Hanon-Tramp

German name for a classical type of nightmare. This particular nightmare took the form of a demon that suffocated people during sleep. It was called "Dianus" by the French peasantry and was believed to be what is referred to in Psalm 91 as "the destruction that wasteth at noon-day," since it was supposed that people were most exposed to its attacks at that time. It suffocated by pressing on the breast and thus restricting the lungs. This kind of nightmare is related to belief in the incubus, a demon having intercourse with human beings during sleep, the Scandinavian mara, and the vampire.