Tolkien and Psychedelics

[Beregond]

J.R.R. writing, from Letters:

"This legend or myth or dim memory of some ancient history has always troubled me. In sleep I had the dreadful dream of the ineluctable Wave, either coming out of the quiet sea, or coming in towering over the green inlands. It still occurs occasionally, though now exorcized by writing about it. It always ends by surrender, and I awake gasping out of deep water. I used to draw it or write bad poems about it.....I began an abortive book of time-travel of which the end was to be the presence of my hero in the drowning of Atlantis. This was to be called Numenor, the Land in the West. - LETTER 257

He goes on to say that he brought the original legend of Numenor "into relation with the main mythology."

So, yes.

[Rumil]

Thanks Beregond!

I thought I remembered something about that but didn't have sources on-hand.

Therefore at least some of Tolkien's writing was inspired by what one might call an 'altered state' ie dreams.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Rumil

Therefore at least some of Tolkien's writing was inspired by what one might call an 'altered state' ie dreams.

Ah, yes, true on that one. Good you brought that up. But in either case, it seems to be the exception (and still, the main thing was what he made out of it. Although it is funny he makes Faramir and Éowyn talk about stuff like that in the Houses of Healing - which also introduces dreams. I do not recall it correctly, but it looks like interesting projection of own experience with dreams to a character. Though that could go into a different topic). The only other thing I can think of is something somebody said about his son having scary dreams about some hand or what, or am I mistaken? Does anybody know more? I only recall hearing or reading about it somewhere.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

Ah, yes, true on that one. Good you brought that up. But in either case, it seems to be the exception (and still, the main thing was what he made out of it. Although it is funny he makes Faramir and Éowyn talk about stuff like that in the Houses of Healing - which also introduces dreams. I do not recall it correctly, but it looks like interesting projection of own experience with dreams to a character. Though that could go into a different topic). The only other thing I can think of is something somebody said about his son having scary dreams about some hand or what, or am I mistaken? Does anybody know more? I only recall hearing or reading about it somewhere.

Yes, one of his sons (Michael or Christopher - I can't check which right now) used to have dreams that this black hand shaped 'thing' was crawling down the bedroom curtains. So Tolkien drew a picture of it and they gave it a name, Maddo.

I've a postcard from the Bodleian of it, and I can confirm it's flippin' creepy! I'll try and find a picture online, though I've looked before and failed...

Isn't there a theory about how it can help to give fears a face and a name in order to better deal with them? Tolkien seems to do a lot of this - in common with many Fantasy/horror authors.


EDIT

I've found a review of Artist & Illustrator (this book has the Maddo picture in it) from the One Ring site which tells you a bit more about Maddo, extracted from the text in the book:

"Maddo... ...[was] Michael's imagined boggeys when he was 6-8 years old... Maddo was a gloved hand without an arm that opened curtains a crack after dark and crawled down the curtain."

The guy who writes the review interestingly points out that the drawing of Maddo is like the drawing Tolkien did of the arm of Sauron for a cover for Return of the King!

http://www.theonering.com/articles1-...stratorAReview