While I don’t have it anymore, for years I had a recurring nightmare about the house I grew up in. There had always been unusual occurrences within, mostly auditory but sometimes visual. Looking back, I was never that spooked about it while living there. I honestly loved that property and have fond memories of growing up among all those old apple trees. But for years after moving out I would dream that I had returned to it, and it was very, very different.
In the dreams the house was dark and full of shadows. Completely devoid of furniture and decor. It was gray, empty, and wholly abandoned. While inside I could feel an overwhelming and foreboding precense. It was this feeling of fear and panic. Pure dread. There was something disturbing there with me as I traveled from room to room, nervously anticipating every new corner as the sun sank low and the shadows grew deeper inside. As the years progressed, I would find the house to be filled with spectral cats that accompanied me throughout, or darted around the rooms inexplicably, sometimes out of the corner of my eye and other times as clear as day. Though I couldn’t quite focus on them, I had the feeling these were all the cats I had owned growing up. Some of them cats I had owned and lost since originally living there. It was as though they were trapped in the purgatory of that haunting, empty dream house, and even though the cats seemed to be full of spunk, there was an immense sadness about them being there.
The dreams occurred with greater frequency into my late 20s-early 30s, until one night I simply stepped inside and realized there was nothing left to fear. Suddenly the house no longer bothered me. It stood still and silent. Cleansed somehow. There were no more shadows, ghostly cats or smothering prescences within. It was as though the both me and the house had been freed.
I haven’t dreamt about that house since, other than a snippet from another unrelated dream, where I found myself briefly gathered with a co-workers family on the back deck, but I didn’t realize where I had been until waking.
anxiety inducing levels frustration at things that don’t work like they’re designed during emergency situations. ie unable to use a phone to call for help because of fat fingering or my car won’t stop and go as expected when i hit the brake and gas pedals leaving me a few feet/yards off mark each time i try.
the second most common is a lucid-ish dream where i can remember that i dreamt this before, but i can’t remember what i recognized; only that i can remember dreaming it.
Falling down a flight of stairs, or otherwise tripping on something.
When I was younger it was dreams about infinitely large objects, usually a cube.
For me it’s having to make an emergency call and the person on the other end either just won’t listen properly, ignore me, not understand me, act in a weird way, or the call has technical problems like there is no reception where I am and I have to run around forever to find signal or a different phone.
I have no idea where that comes from, I’ve never even made an emergency call.
Me yanking off my own teeth with my bare hands.
Earth falling out of orbit and careening towards the sun.
Looking up at the sky, I see a void open in the center, going from blue to black, then eventually to blinding orange into white before everyone collectively melts and then incinerates in the extreme heat.
Worst off, its a slow descent, so we have time to contemplate it as it happens.
All my teeth falling off (I wore braces as a teen, I don’t know if it made a difference). Also since a cousin died in a car crash I dream about car accidents, always in the driver seat. In the first year after the accident I even woke up trying to press the breaks sometimes.
There’s always a specific restaurant plaza I go to. The food there looks really delicious.
Constant danger or a threat.
What about Tiananmen Square…?!? That was kinda cool for the CCP!
I wasn’t there but maybe someone here was.
Oh wait.
No.
They were all killed and then turned to mush by tanks repeatedly driving over the bodies and then hosed dune the drains.
GLORY TO THE CCP AND HOW WONDERFUL THEY ARE TO ALL THE PEOPLE.
An exam or class I didn’t study for or somehow haven’t been attending.
Finding an animal I forgot I owned, usually sick or half-starved in a dark, cramped enclosure.
My father was an animal hoarder, no mystery where that comes from.
Other than that, I just have a lot of dreams about my family arguing. Never anything ridiculous or dramatic, just a bunch of people who look down on each other making it known.
Packing/moving. We’re almost done, but discover another part of the attic around a corner. It opens up into a multi-level mall-like area (but with narrow stairs) full of dining room and bedroom furniture sets. It all needs to be out by morning.
This needs a content warning
Being stuck far away from everyone else. Giant waves The death of specifically my brother Being back at my original college and it being completely empty and feeling profoundly alone
I for some reason have gone back to a restaurant where I used to work but it’s two or three times as large and wildly understaffed.
And it’s a comically huge number of people coming in; like people at every table and a huge line of people trying to come in, people standing around, at the tables and the bar wanting drinks and with little kids running around everywhere, and I’m there all by myself and for some reason trying to run around and do everything
I have had that one