Nightmare on the Nose

Name: Nightmare on the Nose
Author: Evelyn E. Smith

Evelyn E. Smith's comic fantasy "Nightmare on the Nose" follows down-on-his-luck racetrack gambler Phil Watson, who is repeatedly visited at night by a nightmare—literally, a supernatural demon in equine form who perches on sleepers' chests to terrify them. Deep in debt from losing bets, Watson strikes a bargain with his personal nightmare: instead of tormenting people unseen and unappreciated, she should become a racehorse and win him fortune and her own fame. Vain and starved for recognition, she agrees, and Watson forges papers registering her as an Argentinian import named Incubus, coaching her to stay silent in public since horses aren't supposed to talk. Incubus proves spectacularly, supernaturally fast, but her debut is chaotic—she gets stuck in the starting gate, unseats her jockey mid-race by objecting to being whipped, and technically forfeits the win because a horse must carry its rider across the line to count. Undeterred, Watson finds jockeys willing to simply sit still and let her run, and she begins winning legitimately, drawing notice from rival trainer Reuben Godlove, who initially mocks her ungainly looks but soon recognizes her talent and tries to buy her. Because Incubus has no racing record, she must run in low-stakes claiming races, meaning any rival owner can "claim" (buy) her outright before a race for her set price. Watson doesn't grasp this rule until his jockey explains it, and disaster strikes: after Incubus is overheard talking (blowing her cover as a mere "ventriloquism" act) and impressing everyone with her ability, Godlove claims her for himself. To win her back, Watson needs a second horse entered in the same race as leverage, so on his jockey's advice he buys Prunella, a bad-tempered, perpetually last-place filly, with his remaining money. Incubus, now cheekily reading the racing paper in Godlove's stable and unbothered by the switch, hatches the scheme herself: Prunella must win the next race so Watson can collect the purse and buy Incubus back. In an outrageous race, Prunella refuses to leave the gate until Incubus nips her into a rage; Incubus then leads her on a chase down the track, sabotaging every other horse along the way—flipping riders, spooking a colt into paralysis, and taunting Prunella with insults—before deliberately stopping short of the finish line so Prunella's momentum carries her across first. Incubus is disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct, but Prunella's shocking win gives Watson enough money and standing to reclaim Incubus. Reunited, the pair becomes a winning stable: Prunella, no longer taken for granted, actually starts winning her own claiming races, while Incubus rockets up through allowance and handicap ranks, culminating in a triumphant win at the Belmont Futurity that puts her photo on front pages nationwide (despite the crowd's odd habit of booing a winner they can't warm to). Along the way, Incubus falls in love with Godlove's colt Pamplemousse, who has been filling her head with old-fashioned notions that a lady horse's place isn't on the track. She agrees to run the Futurity for Watson out of loyalty, but afterward reveals she's pregnant by Pamplemousse—achieved by supernatural means despite the horses having been stabled apart. The story closes on a bittersweet, uncanny note: Incubus is summoned back to wherever supernatural nightmares come from, informed by her infernal superior ("the Big Bookie") that her earthly sojourn was meant as punishment, not reward, and her time is up. She gives birth just before vanishing, entrusting her newborn—half equine, half something else—to Watson's care, naming her Incubus Two and predicting she'll be "the fastest thing on earth" when grown, with Prunella helping raise and support her. Watson, grieving the loss of a horse he'd come to see as a true friend, goes to look at the foal—only to realize with a shock, in the story's final punchline, that since Incubus was never truly a horse but a demon wearing horse-shape, her daughter has not been born in equine form at all. The piece is a whimsical genre spoof blending racetrack farce, supernatural fantasy, and screwball-comedy dialogue, playing its premise for maximum absurdist charm while building to a wry, unsettling final twist.

By Evelyn E. Smith · First published 1953 · Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Humor · 5,333 words

First lines

Incubus won every race but one. Yet though in this respect she matched Man o' War's record she wasn't actually a horse at all.

_The gifting of animals with human speech is scarcely an unique idea -- see Dal Stivens' THE UNDOING OF CARNEY JIMMY in this issue should you have doubts -- the idea of a talking horse goes back at least to the siege of Troy, for certainly there must have been some dialogue amongst the Greek warriors enclosed in the wooden horse's belly. But we think you'll agree that Miss Smith's filly has something special._

What this Textopian page supports

Nightmare on the Nose is listed on Textopian as a short story by Evelyn E. Smith, dated 1953 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Short story
Author: Evelyn E. Smith
Date: 1953 CE
Language: English
Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Humor, Satire, Romance
Length: 5,333 words
Structure: 1 section, 164 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

Good citation fit

Work identity for Nightmare on the Nose by Evelyn E. Smith
Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
Readability and classroom-planning context
Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph

Discussion starters

What should a reader notice first when entering Nightmare on the Nose?
How does this short story by Evelyn E. Smith fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
Where does Fantasy first become important in the reading?

Similar titles

Genres

Fantasy — Demon protagonist (Incubus) serves as central character; magical elements are fundamental to plot, not mere window dressing.
Science Fiction — Published in speculative fiction magazine context (evidenced by editorial footnotes); presents imaginative premise of supernatural being in mundane world.
Humor — Dominant comedic tone throughout; absurdist dialogue, witty banter between Watson and Incubus, and satirical treatment of racing conventions drive narrative engagement.
Satire — Critique of horse racing culture, gambling addiction, greed, and human gullibility; mocks racing rules, trainer behavior, and social pretense.