The Dream Thing

‘They were building up some animal in her head, and now it was complete, and going to sleep at night suddenly seemed a dangerous thing.’ Jen is half gypsy and illegitimate, and hates her situation. At school she has to endure merciless teasing about her background – even from her friend Tom. When gypsies arrive and set up camp on the wasteland under the flyover, it’s the final straw. That’s when the real hate begins … and with it comes the “dream thing” – sharp, frightening, monstrous. At first it only haunts her nights, but then it takes on an increasingly terrifying reality. Who is creating ‘the dream thing’? Where does it come from?