Amongst the Nightmare Eaters - The Film Student #27

It was dark by the time Kyoko turned her car onto a narrow dirt road heading into the woods. No one would be coming down the road, so she turned her brights on. The light bounced off moss-covered tree trunks and spiky branches that cast eerie shadows. 

Josh thought he could see the spooky outlines of owls, mountain lions, 16-legged spiders, and long arms reaching out to grab him. It was all an illusion, he knew. He'd already been taken by the hands of fate.

The sports car continued bumping and screeching up the rugged path. It wasn't meant for going off-road, but Kyoko was sure she could make it. 

Josh bounced around a lot and feared that he would hit his head on the ceiling. But Kyoko was an expert with a rope; her ties held him.

In the distance, the visage of a cabin appeared. It grew larger and became enveloped in light as Kyoko's car made its way up the steep slope and then stopped in a clearing.

Out the window, Josh could see a wooden cabin on a platform raised about a meter off the ground. It was surrounded by a deck on all sides. It was an elegant structure with a sloped, pyramid-like hipped roof on the first floor and four windows under gables, facing from every direction on the roof in a low second-floor attic. Under other circumstances, it could make a charming weekend getaway spot, Josh thought.

The eaves were adorned with detailed carvings. And underneath each of the overhanging edges of the rafters, creatures with fiery tufts of hair stuck their long trunk-like noses out between their tusks and seemingly fixed their eyes on Josh. Kyoko took a laser pointer out and set it on one of those living wood creatures.

"Do you know what that is, Josh?"

Josh couldn't say much of anything, as he was still gagged with Kyoko's panties. But he didn't know, anyway, and he guessed it was a rhetorical question.

"They are baku. Also called nightmare eaters. They feed on your terrors. Beware, because if they are still hungry after devouring your fears, they will consume your hopes and dreams. So, Josh, we will need to keep them fed!"