Phantasmagoria
Shifting nightmare show
Phantasmagoria originally named a type of magic lantern show popular in the 18th and 19th centuries—projections of ghosts and demons that shifted and dissolved into one another.
Now it describes any dreamlike sequence of shifting images, illusions, or hallucinatory impressions: The fever produced a phantasmagoria of faces and voices.
The word suggests something bewildering, surreal, and constantly transforming.
Oil-lit painted slide projector
- projectionSomething that extends outward
- illusionMisleading sensory impression
- spectacleVisually striking event
- RobertsonRobert's son, as surname
séance · gothic · exhibition · showman · apparition · smoke · mirrors · nineteenth century
American gothic writer's surname
- gothicDark, mysterious aesthetic
- macabreDisturbing, death-obsessed
- grotesqueDistorted, bizarre figure
- romanticConducive to love
Byron · Shelley · Coleridge · uncanny · sublime · dread · horror · supernatural
Hallucinatory episode during illness
- deliriumAcute mental disorientation
- hallucinationPerception without external cause
- nightmareFrightening dream causing wakefulness
- visionAbility to see
trance · opium · morphine · altered state · disorientation · vertigo · kaleidoscope · distortion
Changing position or form
- morphingSeamless visual transformation process
- dreamlikeHazy and fantastical
- bizarreStrikingly unconventional
- kaleidoscopicShowing constantly changing patterns
disjointed · fragmented · montage · collage · Dalí · juxtaposition · metamorphosis · absurdist
Violently rotating air column
- frenzyViolent mental agitation
- tumultNoisy, chaotic disturbance
- cacophonyHarsh, clashing sounds
- swirlRotating, curving movement
maelstrom · confusion · overwhelming · dizzying · bewildering · sensory overload · carnival · pandemonium
magic lantern
Oil-lit painted slide projector
- projectionSomething that extends outward
- illusionMisleading sensory impression
- spectacleVisually striking event
Robertson · séance · gothic · exhibition · showman · apparition · smoke · mirrors · nineteenth century · entertainment
Poe
American gothic writer's surname
romantic · Byron · Shelley · Coleridge · uncanny · sublime · dread · horror · supernatural · atmosphere
fever dream
Hallucinatory episode during illness
- deliriumAcute mental disorientation
- hallucinationPerception without external cause
- nightmareFrightening dream causing wakefulness
vision · trance · opium · morphine · altered state · disorientation · vertigo · kaleidoscope · distortion · psychedelia
shifting
Changing position or form
- morphingSeamless visual transformation process
- dreamlikeHazy and fantastical
- bizarreStrikingly unconventional
kaleidoscopic · disjointed · fragmented · montage · collage · Dalí · juxtaposition · metamorphosis · absurdist · chimera
whirlwind
Violently rotating air column
swirl · maelstrom · confusion · overwhelming · dizzying · bewildering · sensory overload · carnival · pandemonium · spectacle
- adventure gamespoint-and-click, puzzle, narrative, quest, Myst
- Lewis CarrollJabberwocky, Alice in Wonderland, Cheshire, Queen of Hearts, Humpty Dumpty
- FMV GamesErica, Fahrenheit, Ripper, D, Black Dahlia
- Sierra GamesShivers, SWAT, Caesar, Red Baron, Hoyle
- Visual Keihide, Versailles, elaborate costumes, teased hair, platform boots
- PoeThe Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart, Annabel Lee, The Black Cat, Lenore
Phantasmagoriastillness
Complete lack of motion
motionlessness · permanence · stasis · constancy · fixity
Phantasmagoriareality
What actually exists
actuality · everyday life · solid ground · realism · hard facts
Phantasmagorialucidity
Clearness of mind
clarity · sobriety · clear-headedness · rationality · composure