Madd Nightmare

" I had a dream. And it died in YRN." - Madd Nightmare, 2021
Dennis Clifford Graham (September 5, 2003 - August 26, 2022) was an American rapper-singer from Thomasville, North Carolina known professionally as Madd Nightmare.
Nightmare was the lead guitarist for the Graham Triangle, and an admin for label Young Rich Nation, and later the brief leader of Neo-Nazi movement PTO, before deliberately leading to the disbanding of it entirely.
A black sheep, he never really got along well with his family excluding Bullet and especially Midnight, and had little friends due his darker, more opportunistic nature, though is still widely admired for his involvement in the Underground Music Scene in North Carolina. 
== History ==
=== Childhood (2003 - 2018) ===
Dennis Clifford Graham was born September 5, 2003 to Bret Joel Graham (1977 - 2021) and Leslie Rhonda Harris-Graham (1976 - 2024), minutes before he was followed by a twin brother, Richard Joel Graham. Both boys were diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, which was a lifelong obstacle in their social development.
Despite this, he was best friends with his younger twin brother, who usually went by the nickname Ricky, while Dennis would go by Denny exclusively when referred to by him only, to match their close bond. They were almost always by eachother's side, even in their later years they were rarely ever seperated; both twins were also close to their brother, Brad, but had a lifelong strained relationship with Connor. 
Dennis struggled academically, though was labeled an intelligent student who simply just no academic drive, and would grow up listening to Eminem and Linkin Park. 
His struggles would later turn around in third grade, around the time his brother Connor was in 6th, after hearing their father consistently praise Connor's academic success, and felt a lifelong burden to live up to that example for appreciation from his parents, and while their mother mostly showed favoritism towards the twins, Dennis hated feeling like an outcast to his father and oldest sibling, which didn't affect Brad and Ricky as much. He was constantly referred to as being "pesky" by Connor, and was often shunned by his older brother during their childhood, and Dennis had numerous friends come and go throughout his elementary school days. 
This would further enhance the twins' bond, and Brad would often be looked up to by both Denny and Ricky, being their own older male role model, while he himself managed to blend with both the twins and Connor as "the glue" in the boys lives. 
Despite the rough beginnings, Dennis always stayed insistent he was never abused, aside from occasional physical discipline, but instead felt like a neglected outcast, desperate for his entire family to come together, but was extremely protective of Ricky; he once was suspended for punching a girl in the eye for cheating on Ricky, then told the principal to "drop dead" for disciplining him. He then recalled being grounded yet wasn't phased after Ricky called him his "hero" for doing so. Although inconsistencies continue, it's believed this was the domino effect for a chain of Dennis' domestic-violence complaints in the years following. 
He also was known for intimidating students into letting Ricky play basketball in the gym with them after the courts were being held up; Ricky always wanted to be a professional basketball player. Many times, he would verbally abuse his parents for constantly defending everything Connor did wrong that he got away with, but Ricky was always singled out. On some occasions, Brad would unite beside him and back them up that Ricky was always being blamed for stuff Connor either did or for "upsetting him". Dennis didn't like that Ricky's quiet, non-confrontational demeanor allowed him to be pushed over and stepped on by everyone, and tried aggressively to spark up his assertiveness. 
Around 2010, Dennis would meet Josh 'Vibez' and Dwight 'Brix' who were close friends with Connor. Despite Connor's narcissistic antics in his youth, the two friends were always kind to the three brothers, with Josh letting Dennis play on his portable piano a few times during a small garage band phase the three were in, while Dwight was known for bringing the twins Cheez-It crackers during his visits. (Mostly favored by Ricky) 
=== Birth of 'Nightmare' and 'Midnight" (2013) ===
During Christmas of 2013, Dennis, who was deeply into horror movies, gifted Ricky a Nightmare on Elm Street shirt from Hot Topic. This gave him the name 'Nightmare' originally, while Ricky typically wore blue shirts at most opportunities, so much to the point he was called Midnight Blue as a joke, though that name stuck, and somewhere along the line, due to their identical appearances, Dennis was frequently referred to as Nightmare instead, and Ricky shortened his nickname to just 'Midnight', which was the origin of their nicknames. 
As Nightmare, Dennis would go on to start seeking his own independent chapter of life, going through multiple relationships and failed attempts to reach approval from his father or older brother Connor. 
The growing music scene his brother started in 2014 and so forth was continuing to impact Dennis negatively, and he was inspired to become a singer seeing that he thought this would be the perfect chance to impress his family, although he initially turned against the idea, realizing he'd just be considered a copycat. 
Instead, he would buy his own electric guitar he'd earned from chore allowance in 2015, and slowly began practicing from YouTube videos while in the garage. 
=== Graham Triangle & Music Debut (September 2018) ===
In September 2018, Connor, now known as Tha Ghost, had finally decided to ultimately work with his brothers in his music dream, realizing his need for a band and his recent conflicts with Vibez and Brix. (And a lack of friends, as all his were connected to Vibez and sided with him leaving Connor with nobody else) 
Nightmare happily jumped on the opportunity, as despite the cold shoulder and mistreatment, he finally felt acknowledged by Connor and was extremely enthusiastic about working with him and getting to show off his guitar skills, while Ghost only let him in the band initially due to desperation for numbers and was impressed by Nightmare's guitar skills, and was planning to use him for his own fame. (Ghost was the lead singer) 
Brad would also join as a backup guitarist, and also one of the lead singers, which left Connor in a complication; Nightmare was the gifted lead guitarist, while Ghost was an average. Brad, now Mr. Bullet, was beyond gifted as a vocalist, even in his rookie stages, while despite Ghost being talented as a vocalist, it took him years for perfection and Bullet had done so very easily. His new option was to say he "created" their music careers, was the leader and mastermind behind it all, finding another way to continue from their success and bragged about having the talented siblings in his band, primarily to impress his father and spite Vibez. 
Ricky refused to join the band, though would later work as a sound engineer for th with mixing vocals and mastering instrumentals on FL Studio. . 
Although unknown at the time to the true purpose, Nightmare happily went through with the band concept, which would become the Graham Triangle after some argument over a title, and would provide instrumentals and vocals on the first song of his and Bullet's, a duet titled 'On my Watch' in September 2018. Despite the impressive start, Nightmare would soon drop vocalist roles with the exception of a few sporadic appearances, and thrived on his guitarist lifestyle in the band.
=== Early Civil-Tensions & Drama with Ghost (2019 - 2020) ===
While Nightmare and Ghost had initially gotten along well in their first few months in the band, things would sour quickly when Nightmare started catching on to what Ghost was really about, and would soon start erupting into feuds between the brothers that went on behind the curtains, and would last until Nightmare's death in 2022, but would somewhat ease in 2021.
It was most noted in June 2019 after their first show at Ziggy's, Nightmare would soon start questioning Ghost when he'd frequently mingle with the audience and brag about his involvement in the band, disregarding the team effort. Little is known about this situation, but it is known that after some time of touring, usually with Midnight accompanying the G.T's as a DJ, Nightmare and Ghost got on eachother's nerves alot, with Nightmare always criticizing Ghost's every move, with Bullet having to step in usually to keep the peace, or with Ghost walking away, as he would become far more passive and kind in his later years, though Nightmare would take the opposite road, and become more aggressive and spiteful. 
The two were escorted from a stage at a July 4th festival, when Nightmare broke a guitar belonging to Ghost which caused him to shove Nightmare off the stage into the crowd, with a fight erupting after the latter crawled back on to the stage and both being banned from the festival. They left speaking terms, but Ghost always asserted he simply couldn't just kick out Nightmare due to both the likelihood of losing Bullet as a member aswell, the guarantee of losing Midnight and Sweevy as a DJ, and also losing his extremely talented guitarist, so he willfully endured the conflicts for the sake of the band's growth, despite the toxic environment that was growing. 
The tensions continued to worsen, with on many occasions Nightmare even storming out of the family home to sleep in the garage or at a friend's house just to get away from Ghost. He on all accords despised Ghost around this time, denounced him as a sibling and in most public appearances neither spoke to nor acknowledged another, simply performing and returning to the same house, yet in their own seperate vehicles to avoid awkward silence or extended contact with another. Both also did not have eachother added as friends on Facebook or other social media. It's not at all clear why Nightmare stuck around in the band, as he was not obligated to stick around despite Ghost's hand being tied in trying to get rid of him, though it was likely only because of Bullet. 
Nightmare did not actively sing lead for the band, rarely even performing backup vocals, due to his disinterest from singing heavy-metal; this does not assert that he did not like the genre, as he was a strong heavy and black metal fanatic, it was that he didn't have the vocals or experience/preference in attempting to sing the style, and he preferred more of a rock genre when it came to actually singing, though even if the G.T was a rock band, he'd said it wouldn't have changed much, and his most notable singing appearances were only on his own personal music catalogue, as he occasionally dabbled as a solo artist. 
=== Vibez' Death & Signing onto Young Rich Nation (November 2020 - June 2021) ===
On November 10, 2020, Young Vibez, a childhood friend of the Graham Family, was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting, considered a robbery gone wrong, and another artist, Lil Foxy, was also killed. The two were from label Young Rich Nation, which was lead by Young Vibez and Young Squadz, and his death shook the Graham's horribly. 
Ghost would make contact with sole surviving leader Young Squadz, and sign onto YRN, before soon taking leadership of the label and now having their own label to further back their music career, and had contracts over numerous artists, although Squadz still held co-ownership of the label alongside Frosty. 
During this point, the Graham Triangle was slowly recovering from COVID setting back their live performances, and they were ready to get back into the music business, working with Brix (who was on the label as Vibez' right hand man) and Morgan Storms, older sister of Lil Foxy, the admin that was killed alongside Vibez in November.
==== Solo Career: First Run (February - March 2021) ====
Though he'd recorded plenty of solos throughout June 2020 - February 2021, none of which were released and were mostly just practice demos for debates as to what he'd be like if he went solo. The closest he had to music on his own exact vision was singing lead on Graham Triangle, but he experimented with emo/punk songs throughout this time. 
It was on February 4, 2021 that he would record numerous songs for his official debut as a solo artist as a side project, while still working for the Graham Triangle primarily. The first was 'Bleedin Out' followed by 'Nothing Will Make it Easy'. Although not released at the time, 'Mask' among several other songs were recording during the same session. 
Nightmare recorded habitually, though seldomly uploaded, during his early days as a solo artist. He began working on his first solo EP, 'University'. (Though it's unclear if that was its original title) 
He also had lead vocals on one of the songs in the March 2021 EP 'Those Voices are Back', the last song with Bullet singing alongside the G.T. 
Nightmare recorded multiple songs for the EP shortly after the March 8th performance, the last being "We'll be Fine" on March 13th, recorded in the same session as "She's the Best", though the latter wasn't on the EP. 
His first run as a solo artist mostly came to an end with Bullet's death, as with the exception with his verse in the song 'Racing Fast Cars', he never recorded again from March - December 2021, and only uploaded already finished material. 
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=== Bullet's Death & YRN Conflicts (March - May 2021) ===
The Graham Triangle began working on a comeback demo in March 2021, but before it was finished, Bullet was involved in a severe motorcycle accident, with his right leg, nearly dismembered, having to be amputated and he was in the hospital for 3 days, before he was prematurely discharged; whether it was because the hospital was overbooked because of COVID patients or not is a mystery, but he would return home and record a new song, before dying from what's speculated as a heart attack in his sleep from the injuries and infection or stress on his cardiovascular system from the accident; Nightmare was the one who found him dead, as he was trying to wake him up having slept in all day and was about to miss an appointment for disability hearing. 
This loss devastated the family, and was arguably the end of the Graham Triangle, although a new album was recorded and fully produced by Midnight, who unofficially joined the Graham Triangle to finish the album and perform with them during Bullet's tribute concert, and then a final in April. 
During this point, Nightmare was slowly unhinging, and his sanity collapsed, he soon started abusing narcotics such as Xanax and Morphine, but was still "mostly sober minded" and continued to function as an administrator in YRN, thriving in working together with his twin brother more directly. 
Then, on April 10th, Storms would die from suicide, which although didn't do much to hurt Nightmare mentally, it broke Midnight even further, despite him barely functioning after Bullet's death and being pressured into the music business by Ghost, this being a catalyst for a Nightmare x Midnight vs. Ghost arc, though Midnight was mostly absent from the conflict, Nightmare clashed with Ghost at even greater intensity, now without Bullet to keep the peace and Nightmare's protective instincts over Midnight getting carried away. 
And, as if this wasn't enough, drama would unfold with YRN Bleak, a member of the label who would start a conflict with the entire YRN over drama with Frosty, Squadz and Lil Drxp, and a large scandal was erupting, and with both Ghost and Nightmare still at eachother's throats, there was little influence to stop the conflict which did not improve at all, even after Ghost terminated Bleak's contract with YRN. Another conflict ongoing since March was the YRN - PTO (Post Terror Organization) war, where Neo-Nazi support group PTO (originated from Aryan Brotherhood members) began to feud with YRN after a contract was terminated with them, something Vibez had signed up for where they received financial support for their doings in exchange for a Trump Re-Election dealing. (Unclear)
After losing this, they soon became violent with YRN, and after multiple brawls and tense conflicts, emerged into a shooting, in which their leader, PTOaryan attempted to assassinate Ghost personally for the trouble he caused him, gunning him down during a YRN gathering and being killed in return fire, though only one was killed, a former YRN who was in the area to celebrate Randy Danger and Lil Feedy being promoted into the administration, on May 2, 2021.
Ghost nearly died, but was discharged on May 16, two days before his son Bradley J. was born. During this point, Brix was the temporarily acting leader, and problems seemed to drop with Bleak briefly intimidated out of the picture, and the leader of PTO dead and Ghost not around to badger problems. 
Unfortunately, this relief was short lived, as one of the biggest scandals in the lives of the Graham's and the YRN would emerge only days later. 
=== Owen Hinton Scandal (May 21 - 23, 2021) ===
Owen Hinton, aka YRN Bombz, was a close affiliate of the Graham Brothers, especially Midnight, and was the "adopted" son of Lil Drxp and Kaige. 
In May 2021, Drxp had been planning to take Bombz from his home in Michigan, as the boy was intending on running away due to alleged mistreatment by his mother and stepfather, and Drxp, who was dating Kaige at the time, wanted to start a family, where Drxp returns to NC (his home state, he was in Tennessee temporarily) and gets a house where he moves in with Kaige and Bombz. 
On May 19th, he set out to do just that, finally collecting Bombz on the 20th and returning to Tennessee, intending on heading to North Carolina on the 22nd. Unfortunately, he would be captured by FBI SWAT and Homeland Security, and arrested. He would then make serious bomb threats, making (somehow evident) leads that his associates in NC (the YRN) and their leaders (the Graham Family) were going to carry out a mass bombing on the apartment complex McMinn Villa in Tennessee, unless he was immediately released with Bombz in his custody. 
Somehow, this lead warranted a mass-arrest and search warrant on the Graham's Thomasville home the next day, when during noon, police breached the home, violently arrested Ghost and their father, before moving onto the siblings and mother, and even Ghost's wife. Their child was put in foster care for the night. 
During this point, it's alleged Nightmare vowed to kill Ghost, especially after the scandal just got Ghost and their father fired from their jobs, even after charges were dropped, and now the entire family had an arrest on their record, ruining their reputation, their income and futures. Nightmare also comforted Midnight as he cried in jail, blaming Ghost and Drxp for everything, also allegedly planning to murder Drxp in Tennessee if both parties got out. (Despite that being the case, he never went through with it) 
The entire family was released the next day, and driven home by Brix. By this point, the entire YRN was beginning to revolt against Ghost and some even towards the brothers, projecting Ghost's assassination or forced removal was imminent, as the scandal lead to the arrests of multiple YRN, she numerous were investigated and criminally charged with other charges/warrants found out during the investigations, and the accessory to kidnapping didn't help their odds. 
=== Death of Midnight & Dissolving of the Graham Administration (June 2021) ===
On June 1st, 2021, Ghost, Squadz, Brix and Midnight were driven by YRN Skipz to get Bojangles and intended to visit a recording studio around 8PM when their vehicle was attacked by a masked assailant driving a blue convertible, firing multiple rounds from what seemed like an AR-15 rifle, striking Skipz and penetrating through the backseat and hitting Ghost and Midnight, then the car overturned off the interstate.
Brix, who was in the middle back seat, phoned for medical officers, while Midnight, who was directly behind Squadz (front passenger), was struck by a stray bullet that narrowly missed Squadz and struck him directly through his left armpit, and lost consciousness during the overturn.
Although everyone survived the initial accident, Midnight and Skipz got the injuries the worse, with Skipz in a vegetable state, being taken off life-support the following day and pronounced dead. Midnight remained in a coma for five days, before awakening, and discharged himself rather than continue tests due to fears of unnecessary insurance debt, after surgery to repair his organs from the bullet impact. 
Two later, he was returned to the hospital, after tearing out his stitches at work, having returned prematurely despite medical advice, and had undergone new stitches. Then, while on a speedy recovery, collapsed sometime after while playing in the garden with his nephew Bradley J, and would be diagnosed by a different hospital as having suffered toxic-shock-syndrome, and while choosing to return home after symptoms slowly lessened, he would commit suicide in the AM's of June 27.
His death went through Nightmare's heart like a knife, and completely destroyed him mentally, and soon after, Nightmare and Brix, the last two admins besides the leader Ghost, unanimously agreed to overthrow him. (Midnight was neutral, and his vote would've been needed to successfully remove Ghost which he would never agree to, and Danger and Feedy's inauguration into the administration had been on hold.)
=== Leadership of PTO and Downfall (June - October 2021) ===
Nightmare was broken completely over losing his twin brother, and was now leader of the PTO, having completely left YRN to take control of the failing movement, and Brix emerged as the new leader of the YRN, with Danger and Feedy as the sole two admins, and the former being Brix's right-hand-man. 
He and Brix were alleged to have initiated shady business practices behind closed curtains, in which YRN and PTO would form a drug-running empire, with the two being the closest business partners, and bringing both the movement and failing label out of financial decline.
Nightmare had immediately moved out into a house owned by Brix to hide away from Ghost and his parents, both three had disowned him completely, yet did attend Midnight's funeral, this being documented his last personal encounter with his father before his own death from a heart-attack in December. 
During this point, he was said to have began a severe alcohol problem, and became addicted to methamphetamines and cocain, even heroin and was doing the drugs at a high level with numerous PTO and some YRN, most notably Danger. Despite allegations, Brix was completely sober and did not participate in doing drugs. 
Nightmare nearly died from a painkiller overdose, and was hospitalized in August 2021, but was discharged almost two weeks after collapsing in his home. This incident sparked police attention, but no drugs were ever found in his possession, and he was unable to be charged with anything.
He has also began a drug-fueled relationship with a girl named Gail, and the two would frequently get high or intoxicated together.
=== September 2021 Arrest and Murder Trial (September - December 2021) ===
Nightmare's home would be raided by the FBI sometime in September 2021, and he, among multiple others in PTO and YRN, were arrested. This came three months after PTOjimcrow, the suspected shooter of the June 1st attack, was found dead in a warehouse and had planned to meet with Nightmare suspiciously before his demise, though previously charges had been dropped due to insufficient evidence, and the cause for the second arrest warrant is unclear. 
He was also booked with drug trafficking charges, and resisting arrest as he violently attempted to fight back against capture, but was unsuccessful. He was also a person of interest in the fatal shooting of a black male outside a Walmart in the parking lot, having been at the scene of the crime but no security camera footages were able to get an unobstructed view of his face or identitying characteristics.
Nightmare was released on a $450,000 bond, and his home in Wake Forest was seized by authorities due to the laundered funds behind its rental-agreement, though the 30 day eviction was already expired after he was released on bond, so he had gone to live with Brix, who had moved out all of his possessions during his jailtime. 
However, almost immediately after, Nightmare would return to police custody after a domestic abuse charge, when he had violently maimed his girlfriend Gail during a methamphetamine fueled rage on both ends, though Gail admittedly attacked him first because she falsely believed he was stealing money from her purse when she stayed with him. 
He was released again in mid-November when this charge was dropped, reinitializing his previous bond as it was declared "not violated" and spent the remainder with Brix until his trial, when he was found not-guilty of first degree murder or the trafficking charges after a speedy trial. (Alleged) However, his father Bret died in a car accident caused by a heart-attack that same day, which although had an impact on Nightmare, he didn't publicly mourn him based on his lifetime of mistreatment and blame for the situation he was in. 
Nightmare underwent rehabilitation and hoped to make a return to music, which had been put off since Midnight's death; he and Ghost had made peace during his incarceration and trial, with Ghost even testifying for Nightmare's innocence. 
=== Second Solo Career Run & G.T Comeback (December 2021 - July 2022) ===
After making peace with Ghost, Nightmare began practicing for a comeback to music, training on guitar and instrumentals again, and rehearsing his vocals all throughout January - March 2022. He had already signed onto Young Grown Nation, along with Tha Ghost, and was prepared to begin touring and making music as the Graham Triangle once again. 
On January 15, 2022, Danger and Feedy (the latter of who began feuding with Nightmare over unspecified causes) were both killed by Papa Brix after Danger had been attempting to rape Brix's girlfriend. The next day, Brix was arrested and with no acting admins, the YRN was shut down on hiatus, and Squadz had already withdrew ownership of the YRN to focus on YGN, and Frosty had little interest in inacting a new administration.
With this move, Nightmare decided to also shut down PTO, which had already been failing due to numerous arrests of members and long term detention of high profile figures, and with the financial collapse from the September 2021 incident, and then Nightmare's next problem was he was now homeless, with nowhere else to stay due to Brix's incarceration. (Brix lived with his parents who wouldn't allow Nightmare to live there without Brix)
After attempting to live on the streets, Ghost offered to let Nightmare stay with him, which was accepted and the two brothers were completely reunited. Ghost had his own house in Thomasville since Midnight's death, and was living with his wife Abigail and their child, Bradley J. 
Nightmare would get a new job at Honda Power Equipment in Swepsonville alongside Squadz, in January 2022, and the two became close friends in Nightmare's return. However, Squadz would eventually lose his job during layoffs of temp's, and Nightmare too lost his job.
From February - May 2022, there was a large arc where the Fox Siblings (Moxley, JukeBoXIE, 420Foxy and Soulnexx) were affiliated with the Graham's, and the 6 made multiple collaborations and became close friends too. Another arc was with Nightmare and Ghost attempting to help bring YGN Knucklz home; she was the co-leader of Young Grown Nation alongside her boyfriend YGN Squadz, and was in Mississippi stranded after attempting to leave university due to ongoing personal conflicts. 
Nightmare continued to upload unreleased material, and was minimum on recording new content during this point, though he finished his EP from March 2021 by recording an intro song in a different style, and having Moxley put a verse on another song that was supposed to feature Bullet. 
He also did two new songs with the Fox Sisters, 'Peter Pan' with 420Foxy and 'Heart Scratch' with Soulnexx. 
On April 22, 2022, Nightmare was a performer in the Mebane NC's Dogwood Festival, this being the first time he ever performed a solo set, and his first concert since April 9, 2021.
On June 15, 2022, a compilation album of the Graham Triangle, 'Eternity' was released, followed by two concerts, one on June 28, 2022 in Orlando, Florida hosted by Squadz and Dripmasterz (who was passive with Nightmare at the time) and another on the 30th somewhere in Greensboro. That was the last time the Graham Triangle ever performed live together, and the last concert with Ghost and Nightmare together.
Nightmare would soon begin working on the development of his first ever album, and was in the process of dropping his previous style completely and turn to a more band-like genre, to further establish his ties to the Graham Triangle; Nightmare always wanted to be a rock singer, not a death metal or heavy metal singer. 
The album's development started with Nightmare doing instrumentals on all songs, except the title track, which was jointly him and Ghost, and the song 'Eternal Nightmare' which was a beat by Midnight, and the song itself being mixed and finished posthumously. 'Russian Roulette' had an unknown producer, as Moxley picked the beat. 
=== July 4th Shooting (July 2022) ===
Throughout June, Nightmare had began recording for his first album, 'Spent a Night at Hell Avenue'. Up until then, he had only been releasing unreleased tracks he'd remastered or finished that had been recorded in early 2021, though did occasional features, most specifically with the Fox's.
On July 4, 2022, after a New Years Party, Nightmare, Ghost and Squadz went to go pick up JukeBoXIE in Elon to visit a recording studio, where the four planned to record new songs. Ghost, Nightmare and Squadz were also planning to go to Mississippi to pick up Knucklz the next day. 
Juke had left the studio in Durham early with Ghost, who had decided to head home to pack up early and dropped him off at a friend's house, and shortly after, Nightmare and Squadz would leave with YRN's owner, Frosty, who was also there to record. (He did most of his songs at this studio outside Raleigh but in the Durham limits)
Shortly after, the vehicle the three were in had hit a flat tire, and when going to investigate, were ambushed by a gunman. Squadz hid behind the car's left side next to Frosty, who returned fire but was also struck multiple times in the body, and Nightmare was struck in the back when working on the tire. The gunman was killed, and identified as a former associate of Frosty, who had complications with Frosty for his involvement in the conflicts with Bleak, and Nightmare because of his possible involvement in the shooting death of Bleak's cousin and near death of his father in Washington State, possibly finding a hitman in that state to carry out the attack. 
Though both victims were clinically dead upon revival, a pulse was reached and kept on both victims, who remained on life-support at Duke Medical Center for about three-four weeks, before being discharged. Frosty remained under medical supervision as he was in an end-stage of terminal cancer during the time of the attacks, and had bare minimum survive expectations from the start, that he managed to beat odds. 
After returning home at the end of July, Nightmare finished up finalizing work on his album and continued to keep close with friends and family; the Mississippi trip was on hold.
=== Final Days, Health Problems & Death (August 2022) ===
Nightmare had a slow recovery process, but was mostly healed up from his near death experience in July, but would soon rely on proscripted fentanyl and opiods; both Ghost, their mother, Abby and Squadz strictly advised him against taking the substance even under medical supervision, as he was still a recovering addict and feared he'd become hooked on the substance, but he disregarded their concerns. 
By August 3, he was already mostly back to his old self, was pretty much finished with his first album, and was ready to make his return to music official and revive the Graham Triangle officially, with his album being a return to his origins in the band-like genre, compared to his previous songs. 
He was also booked by Squadz to appear at a punk gathering convention in Raleigh, but was required by his superior to undergo a physical clearing him for the physical activity, which came back clear for the performance, where he held his last public appearance on August 9, 2022 at that convention performing his 2021 (released 2022) song 'Mask' solely to commence the convention. Afterwards, he stuck around for a while mingling with fans before returning home. 
He would record a new hook for his song 'Honesty', around the 0:44 - 1:08 mark, being one of his last recorded vocals, along with unused acapella's for an unfinished song; these vocals would be reused for the song 'Eternal Nightmare' after being inserted onto a beat by Midnight. 
During his August 6th physical, it was also determined he was cleaned, and did not have any substances in his toxicology report at the time, with the exception of vaping. 
On August 15, 2022, he had began suffering from serious insomnia, as it was clarified he began purchasing fentanyl from an unidentified illegal source after his August 9th performance; it's likely he began taking the substance to treat side-effects from his body pains following the shooting and he would take the fentanyl with wine he'd been drinking to try and fall asleep, having been hooked on the numbing and drowsiness side effects. 
After failing to sleep, he decided to pass the time while everyone else was already in bed. Contrary to belief, he did not record anything on that night, likely due to him not feeling well enough, but did produce an entire beat, mixing/mastering instrumentals he'd recorded earlier that week and finishing the beat, which was later released as 'Remember my Face'. He had intended to eventually record over it as the last song on his album, and would have been a song with him, Ghost & Lil Soulnexx and even written lyrics a day prior. 
Whether he got any sleep or not is unclear, but it's noted he abused multiple drugs that night, including NyQuil and Benadryl, also with wine, hoping to knock himself unconscious for sleep, though this seemed to have all happened after midnight, when it had already transitioned into the 16th. 
After feeling extremely unwell, he had checked himself into the hospital, driven there by Abby as Ghost was already at work, and her 2nd shift started in 7-8 hours. Here, he was (allegedly) given methadone, and was treated for his side effects slightly, but was told to just wait it off, sleep and drink water. 
Frustrated with the inability to make the symptoms dissipate, he would then take an additional Fentanyl pill, and was "okay" for a while, atleast until Ghost returned home, when Nightmare had collapsed in his bedroom, making a loud noise after knocking stuff off his desk, likely attempting to catch himself from falling. 
He remained convulsing, with blood in his mouth and was unable to get up on his own, and had to be carried to the car by Ghost, who drove him to the hospital quickly. 
The condition he was in was inoperable, as he was soon in a comatose state with little brain activity, and the left side of his body stated to be paralyzed and he was at risk of losing the right side and suffering permanent brain damage, which would have left him in a vegetative state. He was also not given high odds of surviving the night, and it was stated he was extremely unlikely to make it two months or even the night itself. Despite this, he remained on oxygen tanks and on feeding tubes for 6 days, before he left his coma, beating almost all odds, but was not out of the woods yet. 
He slipped in and out of consciousness periodically, but managed to keep brain activity and could talk full sentences, but seemed to drag his words and slurred badly when he did. His final request was to be taken back to his childhood home, now a sole residence by his and Ghost's widowed mother, where they all reunited that same day, though Nightmare was bedridden the entire time, and transporting him was very difficult, as he needed oxygen tanks consistently, and could not move save for slight function in his right arm. 
Nightmare spent his last days visited by friends, family and many members of the YGN, who all pulled for him and tried their best to comfort him, despite his disdain for mushiness and making the scene sad and gloomy. 
On August 25, 2022, it was pretty much obvious the end was near, and a visiting nurse checking his vitals noticed his organs were failing, and his heart-rate was slowing even more rapidly, despite Nightmare still seeming like he did the first day of awakening from the coma, especially as his body was filling wit ammonia and he was given a 50/50 chance of even surviving the night. Now, as many people as possible came to visit him during what was stated to be his last moments. 
Around 2AM on August 22, he requested Moxley come over with his laptop and microphone, which was initially met with reluctance, though he didn't want to refuse what seemed like a final request. Nightmare told him they could finish the song, 'Russian Roulette', a song by Moxley that was concepted by the two, but initially cancelled following the medical emergency. 
Nightmare would record for the last time, vocals for that song as he wanted to have one last chance at making music, something he loved and made him who he was, and his vocals were adjusted with plugins to raise the volume and intensity on some verses, as Nightmare could not do so himself due to his condition. 
Around 6:16 PM, he took his final breaths surrounded by family, Ghost, their mother, Abby, Squadz, Moxley, Juke, 420Foxy, Soulnexx and many YGN and relatives. Only minutes prior, he began staring off in the distance, repeating the words "Ricky... Ricky... Stay here..." His last words were "finally...", spoken immediately after a sudden convulsion, and he slipped away about 20 seconds after. 
=== Aftermath & Legacy ===
Nightmare's death was the downfall of Ghost, and took a massive impact on the YGN, especially Kaigez who had a romantic interest with Nightmare around the time of his death. 
His funeral was held on September 2, 2022, and the Graham Triangle was ultimately disbanded, and Ghost had been on hiatus until January 2023, when he held a retirement concert and left the music industry.
His first album 'Spent a Night at Hell Avenue' was released September 21, 2022, being the only posthumous release. 
A compliation album, 'St. Valentine's Day Massacre' was released February 14, 2024.
== Controversies ==
=== Murder of PTOjimcrow (alleged) ===
On June 8, 2021, PTOjimcrow, who had recently been identified as the shooter involved in the June 1st shooting, was killed in a shooting homicide, found dead after reported shoots fired from an abandoned warehouse, but no suspects in sight. Recently, it was a widely believed conspiracy Nightmare and Brix had worked with JC in orchestrating Ghost's death in order to have him removed from YRN and an obstacle in their lives, but did not want to tie in to themselves or YRN, and therefore made a deal that killing Ghost would be the end of all their problems and Brix was willing to renew their partnership after a truce. There has been no solid evidence to link either attempts on Ghost's life to Nightmare or Brix, however. 
Supposedly, during the shooting, Brix had been attempting to contact JC and his driver in order to call off the hit, after learning Midnight, Squadz and Skipz were in the car, as the argued theory was that it was planned for Ghost to have been in the front passenger and the only one there, and Brix was supposed to be driving. (Also unproven) 
Because of the miscommunication and continued hit or regardless of conspiracy, PTOjimcrow opened fire on a car full of YRN's chain of command, initiating a manhunt for him immediately after details were revealed.
He was found dead at an abandoned warehouse on East Parker Street, in Graham NC, an ironic twist as the city name is also the surname of the Graham Brothers, victims of the shooting and possible assailants of JC.
The driver was never fully identified, however, the lead suspect, PTOsegregator was shot dead at a carwash in Graham, just off Ivy Road, though it was an unrelated shooting at the end of June. 
Nightmare was investigated and questioned, as he was indeed in contact with him the night before he died, insisting they meet in person about "serious shit". Nightmare waived his right to have an attorney present during questioning, and explained that JC, real name Justin Cassidy, was an important member in PTO, and that Nightmare was already planning to take leadership of PTO as a side business, as the "movement" had no official leader and going through a candidate process. 
Charges were dropped after evidence was inconclusive, most specifically that there were no proven communications that Nightmare had specified where exactly to meet him, meaning how was Nightmare supposed to know he was going to be at the scene where he would later be killed. At that time, there was nothing to charge him with, so he was let go. 
Interest in the murders would respark later, when his home was raided in September, and he was formally indicted on first-degree murder, mass drug-distribution and laundering. He would be released on bond, but be returned to police custody during a domestic-abuse dispute in early October, where he remained until Mid-November, when he was given a second bond after his domestic abuse charges were cleared under self-defense, though it is believed YRN owner Frosty had influenced this legal decision in a way. 
Nightmare was acquitted of most counts in December 2021, and would undergo rehab and community service under a plea deal for charges he was convicted of. 
Despite the still unsolved possibilities, there was nothing solid to ever convict him of JC's murder, and the murder of which remains unsolved today. 
== Personality ==
While his brothers were well known for being highly charitable, generous and enjoyed social interactions, especially with fans, Nightmare contrasted in his own way, that while he was still generous and was known to donate frequently or help raise awareness for certain topics and wanted to better the world, he suffered from too much mental trauma in his youth, coupled with his shy, reclusive personality to go about interacting with others in the same way, and assumed poorly of most he came across and remained distant. He mostly only opened up with close-friends, where he shared a mischievous, somewhat spoiled yet dimwitted side, and was an alpha in his protective instinct over his loved ones, and his enthusiastic ambitions to please those he looked up to could be taken into a dark turn if chosen, as he was by all accounts the type who would commit a murder, an arson or robbery if it meant getting on an idol's good side. 
He was very upfront, though he was known to pretend incidents with his mental-health didn't actually happen, if he felt a certain way about someone or anyone, he was always upfront, and he had a very polarizing personality because of his stubborn, pouty and bitter attitude where if he didn't get his way or didn't like something or someone, he would make his voice heard, something he prioritized.
== Trivia ==
* Nightmare's biggest role in the Young Grown Nation stemmed from a love-triangle with YGN Kaigez and YGN Dripmasterz, where both men wanted to be with Kaigez, who favored Nightmare. This would lead to a violent feud with Nightmare and Dripz, who was already on the former's "shit list" from problems he caused his family during the Owen Hinton Scandal, where his family were arrested over Dripz and Owen's false allegations. Their rivalry was so intense, Dripz feared for his life and went into hiding, due to Nightmare's notorious reputation.
* Another prominent point of his in the label, was that he was an extremely close-friend of the label's leader, YGN Squadz, for a small period from March - August 2022, which ended after Nightmare's death, though he is still frequently mentioned and bid tribute by his friend and former boss. 
Category:Alignment: Neutral
Category:YGN
Category:Rappers
Category:Deceased