Nightmare

**Nightmares** (ナイトメア, *Naitomea*) are powerful monsters that, along with the Marchens, roam the Jail. They are the bosses of the *Mary Skelter* series.

## Description

Nightmares are special creatures that can be considered as boss monsters. Their purpose is to eliminate those who oppose the Jail's authority. Like Marchens, their appearance varies, but all share the distinct feature of being a grotesque or demonic entity. One commonality they share however, is the emblem on their body, shaped like a pointed eye inside of a crescent moon.

Normally, player progression and the timing of various dungeon features is a on turn-based system similar to that of a dungeon-crawler game. However, Nightmares are special in the sense that they ignore this rule and pursue you ***in real time***, and are able to attack you on the map without initiating battle. Worse yet, you can still get into battles while being chased by the Nightmare, meaning enemies will slow you down until the Nightmare catches up.

When a Nightmare is nearby, the player will enter the "Nightmare Space," in which a given area is swallowed in darkness (or mist, in Mary Skelter 2's case). Once in the area, the player's vision will become hindered, the map is disabled, and the Nightmare will charge the party. A counter in the upper-center portion of the screen will show the approximate distance between you and the Nightmare. The only saving grace here is that blood stains from battling Marchens will remain lit and visible even in Nightmare Space, allowing for some degree of navigation without the map.

Upon escaping a Nightmare by outpacing the border of its space, you are granted a random item. Higher-tier items will be given out if you can destroy a part of the Nightmare's body before escaping.

For the most part while exploring, Nightmares are immortal. While you can damage them and destroy their body parts to disable abilities, you cannot remove them from play entirely. Defeating a Nightmare will temporarily stun it, allowing you to try and escape from its vicinity. Destroying the core of an area will remove the invincibility of that area's Nightmare, allowing you to permanently defeat it. Be prepared, because you cannot escape from a Nightmare battle after destroying the core.

Once a Nightmare has been destroyed, it's gone for good. At least until you start a new game.

## Abilities

* Nightmare Space- All Nightmares have access to a variation of this space, obscuring the surroundings. While in Nightmare Space, you cannot open your menu and the map is disabled. The only notes you are given are your proximity to the Nightmare and the paths illuminated by bloodstains.

## List of Nightmares

* Jack
* C.S. Nightmare
* L.M. Nightmare
* Hansel
* W. Nightmare
* T. Nightmare
* O. Nightmare
* D. Nightmare
* S.G. Nightmare
* G. Nightmare
* Tower Nightmare I
* Tower Nightmare II
* Jail Nightmare
* Mysterious Nightmare
* Love Nightmare
* Nightmare?
* Metropolitan Nightmare
* J.T. Nightmare
* L.I. Nightmare
* F. Nightmare
* E. Nightmare
* Grave Nightmare
* S. Nightmare
* D.A. Nightmare

## Gallery

Concept art of the C.S. NightmareConcept art of the D. NightmareConcept art of the G. NightmareConcept art of the T. NightmareConcept art of the L.M. NightmareConcept art for a Nightmare in *Mary Skelter: Finale*