Nightmares

[Tracer]

Seeing as we have a dream thread, I thought a nightmares thread might be interesting.

So what are some of the worst nightmares you guys have had?

The worst one that comes to mind for me is waking up on my couch and floating upstairs to discover my father lying in his bed. When I entered his room he sat up and just said, "Trace..." and started to rapidly decay until he was bones. It was absolutely horrifying.

[Doomkid]

I had a dream last night that my dad and I were beating the shit out of eachother. Very weird, as my dad and I have never fought and are pretty damn close. I woke up and was sweating bullets, texted him right away just asking how he is. Very unpleasant experience and not based on anything in reality - the brain is mighty strange.

[Marcaek]

Trump becoming president.

[HorrorMovieRei]

My nightmares usually involve zombies or me being mugged/getting into a fight with street thugs and criminals. But sometimes they're more surreal, like being eaten alive by a giant underwater serpent in the middle of the ocean, or being a baby, crying alone in a black void.

[Jaws In Space]

I often suffer from a sleep paralysis phenomenon know as the Old Hag Syndrom.

[Nine Inch Heels]

I kind of thought nightmares were dreams. But it might be OK to have the "good ones" and the "bad ones" seperated.

I recently dreamt this:

It was the classic "you wake up in a dream kinda dream".

Early in the morning, getting up as I usually do, just about to start the usual routine...

Grabbing my toothbrush, ready to go, opened my mouth abit to get the brush in, but something looked "odd"...

Got closer to the mirror, took a good look with my mouth wide open.

Where my teeth should have been, there were maggots of some sorts, tearing away my tongue and the inner sides of my cheeks.

I got so grossed out by what I saw, that I *really* woke up. I ran for the toilet, because I had to *really* vomit hard.

After vomitting my innards into the toilet, I cleaned my mouth with water and looked into the mirror, scared like crazy.

I stood there for what felt like 5 minutes or more, still being frightened, and sweating a bit as well, contemplating what I should do.

That's what I call a bad start...

[Doomkid]

HorrorMovieGuy said:

My nightmares usually involve zombies or me being mugged/getting into a fight with street thugs and criminals. But sometimes they're more surreal, like being eaten alive by a giant underwater serpent in the middle of the ocean, or being a baby, crying alone in a black void.

Oddly enough, I've pretty much never have otherwordly/"unrealistic" dreams (for lack of a better word), for example my wife used to regularly dream about zombies consuming the world's population and such, where as my bad dreams are always shit that could happen in the real world: Being in a fatal car crash, being shot in the face, being held down and beaten, etc.

I imagine an 'unrealistic' dream would be equally terrifying if I was convinced it was real, as most of us are while we're dreaming, but I'm just not familiar with the sensation. I think the most unrealistic thing that's ever happened to me in a dream is that I fell off a really tall waterslide and the fall felt like it would never end since the ground was racing away from me. It was still terrifying though!

Maybe this means I'm not creative or not able to think abstractly or something. Dreams are weird.

[Nine Inch Heels]

Doomkid said:

Oddly enough, I've pretty much never have otherwordly/"unrealistic" dreams (for lack of a better word)

[snip]

Maybe this means I'm not creative or not able to think abstractly or something. Dreams are weird.

If this thread gets to certain size I'd really be interested in hearing someone's thoughts on what is being described here. I think some psychologists are somewhat good at explaining why we dream what we dream. I'd be interested even if it just scratched the surface.

[dew]

I once had a dream in which I ended an argument with my friend by shooting him in the head. For the rest of the dream I was sitting there next to his dead body in pure dread as my other friends and bystanders were panicking and running around. I was (selfishly) contemplating what I've done and how I fucked up my life as the siren sounds became louder. It made me cry in my sleep and the dream ended with me blowing my brains out. Then I woke up and couldn't sleep for the rest of the night. It was a short dream, but it felt impossibly realistic and endless and it's the only one of which I remember every tiny detail and every emotion even after many years.

Happy dreaming.

[Remilia Scarlet]

My more recent nightmares all deal with my last job. Usually it's just that I'm back working there and hating it once again. Sometimes the fear comes from the fact that I can't escape from there, or from something else bad happening in the same setting. The one exception was last night, where I dreamed I was back working there, but I somehow managed to talk them into giving me $125/hour :-P

Other nightmares I've had have dealt with me not being able to find my wife, or lots of spiders all around me (*shudder*).

Thankfully I rarely have nightmares, though.

[HorrorMovieRei]

Doomkid said:

Oddly enough, I've pretty much never have otherwordly/"unrealistic" dreams (for lack of a better word), for example my wife used to regularly dream about zombies consuming the world's population and such, where as my bad dreams are always shit that could happen in the real world: Being in a fatal car crash, being shot in the face, being held down and beaten, etc.

Maybe this means I'm not creative or not able to think abstractly or something. Dreams are weird.

Maybe it has something to do with creativity, but I'm inclined to believe that personal experiences play a key factor in what you dream about. I've always been the type who was fascinated with macabre and paranormal things, so they often appear in my dreams and/or nightmares. I remember having recurring zombie-related nightmares when I was a kid after I watched the Dawn of the Dead remake, heh.

[Tracer]

^Fuck spiders. Last night after work I went to open my car door and nearly walked into a giant web that a spider with an abdomen about the size of a half dollar had woven between my car and the car next to mine. I spent five minutes staring at the thing trying to figure out how I could kill it without having to touch it.

Well, half a can of febreze and one umbrella later, I made it into my car safely.

[Tritnew]

Had a dream where I was living in a newly bought apartment with my GF, and was getting attacked by two frogs that kept jumping at me and I was freaking out and running in the house.

I even ran outside and the two frogs still followed me. That was basically what my whole dream as about.

And then I woke up feeling extremely buggy and paranoid. I HATE frogs.

[Nine Inch Heels]

TraceOfSpades said:

^Fuck spiders.
[snip]
Well, half a can of febreze and one umbrella later, I made it into my car safely.

What on earth did you do to that poor thing?

[mrthejoshmon]

I hate my nightmares but I am also fascinated by them.

One particular one had me riding a pit bike (never rode one before so no idea what it truly feels like), I'm at this kind of event where other racers are doing tricks and stunts for points. My turn comes and I get to the bottom of an odd ramp about 5 stories tall (I think). As I ascend I get dirt on a visor I am wearing and I go to brush it off so I can see only to realize I am mid jump and have lost the bike.

I hit the ground on my back, I try to move but I can't! I'm fucked and I see blood pooling around me...

Then I wake in the same position I fell, nothing but my heavy heart beats pounding in my ears, panic sets in and I simply lay and sweat, slowly moving out of bed.

-

I really do have interest in nightmares and will look forward to reading yours.

[Tracer]

Sure Bowb said:

What on earth did you do to that poor thing?

At first I just tried to make it go away by spraying febreze near it (spiders have incredibly sensitive scent reception). When all that did was make it crawl onto my car door, I had to knock it down with an umbrella. Then I stepped on it because that was the only way I was going to beat E3M8.

[Nine Inch Heels]

TraceOfSpades said:

At first I just tried to make it go away by spraying febreze near it (spiders have incredibly sensitive scent reception). When all that did was make it crawl onto my car door, I had to knock it down with am umbrella. Then I stepped on it because that was the only way I was going to beat E3M8.

If you want to get spiders moving, you could also use heat. I'm not actually sure about spiders' abilities to smell things, but spiders are generally very good at noticing temparature-changes, which is part of the reason why -during fall- many of them are moving towards houses and windows in case the windows let through enough heat.

This also applies to cars, because spiders notice the engine heat and think of the car as a potentially good place to build a little cosy home and catch flies. As soon as it gets too hot, spiders become very irritated and move away from the heat source. In case you have a lighter with you, you can use it to make the spider move where you want it to go, so it does not bother you anymore and it (maybe) still lives to see another day, because you really don't have to burn it to a crisp, or get your hands "dirty" (spiders are actually quite "clean" animals).

Think of the lighter-trick as a real life BFG-bump. ;-)

That "E3M8 part" made me laugh.

[TheMightyHeracross]

I had one dream where my family was driving through some big parking lot or something where apparently a big massacre just went down, because there were dead bodies laying everywhere, some all burnt up. The only other people there were people pulling guys out on stretchers.

More recently, I woke up with sleep paralysis, complete with a hallucination of my dog choking to death right there on my lap while I was immobile.

[Tracer]

I've had sleep paralysis episodes a lot...two summers ago they were happening 1-5 times a week. It was BAD. I hallucinated sentient shadows and howling noises accompanied by the sound of a power drill whenever I'd try to scream.

Sure Bowb, I will try the lighter trick next time. I really didn't want to kill the thing. Before the febreze, I tried to use the umbrella to carry it by a stran of web away from the cars. But that attempt failed.

[torekk]

The last nightmare I remember I had as a kid, we made a class trip to egypt and went into a pyramid to see it from the inside. Once we entered, the doors closed shut and the ceiling started to lower. At the point where I'd be crushed, I woke up.

I also had dreams where I got abducted by aliens or where I just straight fell down(we lived in a 7 story building back then), but they weren't as worse for me.

Nowadays I usually just have weird dreams, but nightmares? Nah. Maybe I just feel different about them now, seeing as the pyramid one wouldn't even surprise me anymore.

Also for the definition part, for me a nightmare is when you wake up in fear, like you sweat and feel panic for a brief moment until you realize you're awake.

[Chezza]

I don't really get nightmares. Well not ones I tend to remember for long. But if anyone is screaming in pain, my dreams really makes them terrible.

Dreams I get every once in a few years involves me getting my arse kicked in a fight or bullied around by one other person who I may or may not know. This bothers me as I don't think I can psychologically accept being beaten up without going in a rage fit and fighting back, even if I shouldn't.

There may be a deeper meaning to this, perhaps I fear of being timid or seen as weak. Maybe I am just scared of confrontation, I dunno. But I definitely see myself a much more confident and brave individual than I use to be.

[Nine Inch Heels]

Chezza said:

Dreams I get every once in a few years involves me getting my arse kicked in a fight or bullied around by one other person who I may or may not know. This bothers me as I don't think I can psychologically accept being beaten up without going in a rage fit and fighting back, even if I shouldn't.

It is commonly agreed on, that, if the dreamer is being beaten, the dreamer usually is in a situation in which he (most likely) unwillingly submits to some manner of influence (which he does not feel good about), which he has little to no control over. That would match with your somewhat passive-agressive stance, of being angry, but not actually fighting back, or protecting yourself, for that matter.

If you were fightning back after getting attacked, it would imply that you are trying to change the magnitude of the influence.

If you were trying to protect yourself, or get away from the "bully", it would imply that it is something you are (should be) actively trying to get away from IRL; be it a job, a person who's manipulating you, your house/appartment, maybe even the city you live in.

I can't say more, though. I'd need to know you as a person, which I obviously don't.

Maybe your workplace is the problem, maybe it's a relationship...

[PureSlime]

I consistently have nightmares, and have had them for most of my life. I honestly can't remember the last "good" or "neutral" dream I've experienced.

There's a certain point where you just kind of accept that's what happens when you go to sleep. It doesn't bother me much anymore but they really used to affect me when I was a kid.

[Cupboard]

I have dreams where I'm noclipping through a place, like a cafeteria, a residential complex, an unknown place with a lot of people and vertical as well as horizontal passages. These are great fun. What's not fun is that usually I'm trying to avoid someone or some group of people or solve a puzzle somehow, or prove I'm a good worker. There is no hall of mirrors though, it's all black space where there is no geometry.

edit: Pureslime that really blows, man. I understand your vibe perhaps. I don't have a lot of neutral dreams they are stressful events basically all the time. I'm back in high school or university usually. There are people in these nightmares I have known for 20+ years and a lot of them are still my friends even if we don't speak anymore. But the events always suck, the circumstances of the dreams are all wrong, it's not a fantasy escape it's a long slog. I can *feel* the anxiety in the dream. I occasionally feel other emotions in dreams but just about every night, I experience the emotion of anxiety.

Being sober all the time really makes me dream every night, unfortunately. I had a few great go-to drugs that provided a beautiful "nothingness". I laid down to sleep and boom I awoke, no nasty anxiety in my mind.

[Jello]

I'm not sure if it's a nightmare, or a beautiful dream.

I was involved in a bank heist, and my job was to hide the money in the toilet of the hotel. It was in a briefcase. I hid it, went out, and the other person involved in the heist was George Clooney. Must've been a reference to Oceans 11, which I've never seen actually.

Anyway, we got in an argument, he left. Then I went into the bathroom, locked the door, grabbed the briefcase and prepared to escape. George knocked, I grabbed a revolver on the counter, fired two shots through the door. Opened it, he was getting up, and I fired a round into his forehead. I escaped through the bathroom window, got on a motorcycle and went on a police chase though a fictional town. Eventually I got knocked off the bike, started running through a park and was chased by a motorcycle gang. I shot two of them, hit a dead end and turned around. I fired one shot at someone chasing me, missed, and they shot me in the head. Then I woke up.

But hey... I got to shoot George Clooney in the head.

[ClumsyDoomer]

I had a dream where I travelled abroad. I had arrived to a hotel - it was a large, high building with no elevator in it. I went to the staircase and started going up. Floor 2, 3, 4... 10... and I had met a classmate. That particular one was a nice person, but I was like WTF anyway. We just said hello to each other and he had gone away. After a couple more floors, I had met more classmates and started raging eventually because those were the bitchiest ones (no one of them bullies me or something IRL, they're just dumb and annoying). They're everywhere, there's no escape. One of the most effective nightmares in my life, lol. The place outside the hotel was REALLY beautiful though, that's why I had memorized that dream.

I had a dream where all my teeth had popped out of my jaws within a couple of hours / minutes / whatever. I was in school when that stuff had started, and when I lost a tooth or two, I had gone away and missed several lessons. I was alone, sitting on a bench, poking my teeth with my tongue and making them all out eventually. In real life, my teeth are in pretty bad condition too, but I'm too lazy to care. :(

I never have real nightmares that scare the shit out of me, usually they only annoy / irritate me.

Also, all my dreams have a small feature: I can't punch anyone. My hand just slows down midair when I try and I end up gently rubbing someone instead of punching them. It sucks.

[MFG38]

I see nightmares so rarely that I don't even remember them. In fact, I think I haven't seen a single nightmare in at least the last 5 years...

I do recall this anxiety dream where my other eye went blind, however, but I'm not so sure that counts as a nightmare per se.

[Cacockcansukmycok]

my only Nightmare is when I get annoyed by Mosquitos.

[scifista42]

Today I've dreamt about being back at high school to pass the final oral exam, and as an obligatory part of the exam routine, my blood was to be painfully sucked away by a needle during the entire course of the exam. The dream began right before the exam was to begin, and I felt utterly terrified as the needle was approaching me. The examinator saw how terrified I am, and he called off the exam and told me to "come a few days later when I'm better prepared". That dream surely must be symbolizing something.

[Nine Inch Heels]

scifista42 said:

-Blood
-Needle
-Pain
-Examinator/Teacher
-Exam
That dream surely must be symbolizing something.

I can say, with clarity, that it had meaning. The problem is, that, in this case, the possibilites are nearly endless.

If you want to get your head around it, you will have to do some digging. Could be worth your while, however.