Dreams Quote by Robert Bloch
““Mind you, I cannot swear that my story is true. It may have been a dream; or worse, a symptom of some severe mental disorder. But I believe it is true. After all, how are we to know what things there are on earth? Strange monstrosities still exist, and foul, incredible perversions. Every war, each new geographical or scientific discovery, brings to light some new bit of ghastly evidence that the world is not altogether the same place we fondly imagine it to be. Sometimes peculiar incidents occur which hint of utter madness. How can we be sure that our smug conceptions of reality actually exist? To one man in a million dreadful knowledge is revealed, and the rest of us remain mercifully ignorant. There have been travelers who never came back, and research workers who disappeared. Some of those who did return were deemed mad because of what they told, and others sensibly concealed the wisdom that had so horribly been revealed. Blind as we are, we know a little of what lurks beneath our normal life. There have been tales of sea serpents and creatures of the deep; legends of dwarfs and giants; records of queer medical horrors and unnatural births. Stunted nightmares of men's personalities have blossomed into being under the awful stimulus of war, or pestilence, or famine. There have been cannibals, necrophiles, and ghouls; loathsome rites of worship and sacrifice; maniacal murders, and blasphemous crimes. When I think, then, of what I saw and heard, and compare it with certain other grotesque and unbelievable authenticities, I begin to fear for my reason. ("The Mannikin")””
About This Quote
Source Short story: “The Mannikin”, Robert Bloch, 1960
The narrator doubts reality, suggesting hidden horrors and unknown truths lurk beyond ordinary perception.
In simple terms: Reality may hide terrifying, unknown facts.
Question what you accept as reality.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- exploring strange places
- researching anomalies
- encountering the uncanny
- psychological self‑exam
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What evidence would change your belief about hidden horrors?
- How does fear shape our perception of reality?
The narrative may exaggerate fear, blurring fact and fiction.