I have written before about my vivid dreams. They are almost always easy to recall, usually interesting, at least to me, and on a few occasions, have managed to fascinate me.
Last night, I went to bed at a reasonable time, and settled down to sleep. It felt unusually warm for January, but I eventually got settled, and went to sleep. When the stormy wind began to increase in speed, I was disturbed by the noise of swirling leaves, and small twigs and branches falling outside. But after turning over a couple of times, I finally got back to sleep.
Some time later, I was aware of a presence in the room, close to my face. I opened my eyes to see a male figure leaning over the bed. Behind him were three others, two men, and a woman. They were illuminated in the pitch black darkness by a strange greenish-glow that seemed to be coming from below them on the floor.
I recognised them all.
The woman in the doorway was my mother. She died in 2012.
The man in front of her was my friend Steve Greenwood. He died in 1988.
Next to him was my dad’s older brother, Uncle Harry. I hadn’t seen him since the 1970s, and he has been dead for over thirty years.
By the bed was his son, my cousin Brian. I hadn’t seen him for over forty years. He was murdered by intruders in his home in Spain, over twenty years ago.
I felt unbearably hot, and threw the duvet off my body.
They all looked as I remembered them when I had last seen them, though their expressions were blank, and very scary. For some time, nobody spoke, including me. And then my mum said “We have come to fetch you”.
Then I woke up, feeling absolutely terrified, and shaking. I pressed the button on my tablet to check the time, and it was 03:17. That time has no significance that I know of.
It took me well over an hour to get back to sleep, as I was actually frightened to close my eyes.
That was one dream I never want to have again.
Wow. That’s intense. Glad you’re doing well now, and thanks for sharing this experience.
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Thank you. It did indeed shake me up quite badly for a few days.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Sometimes reams/nightmares do that. We wake up still with those feelings we had in the dream, because it seems so real, especially given how strong the content is.
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Wow, that is very unsettling!
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It certainly was, Abbi. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Very scary.
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It was indeed, Veena.
Best wishes, Pete.
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That is definitely a scary dream. Your recall, including colors, is very detailed. I hope you don’t have that dream again.
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I do have good dream recall, including colours. I didn’t like this dream one bit though, Jennie.
Best wishes, Pete.
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You really do, Pete. This is one dream I hope you never have again.
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I would have been terrified too. It sounded more threatening than comforting.
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It felt threatening to me, definitely.
Best wishes, Pete.
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That sounds horrible Pete, I’m not surprised it has troubled you. I work with with a very experienced psychotherapist and she maintains that dreams very rarely mean what they are about if that makes sense. We talk about dreams in work quite often and I’m sure if she knew you and anything you are working through in real life, there may well be a connection. I can see it in my own dreams now e.g. I dream that I’m doing accounts and it’s a new file system and things aren’t quite right and don’t fit. Interpretation is that I am doing too much and juggling plates to try to fit everything in at the mo e.g. mum, daughter, carer, worker, cleaner, cook, friend etc. I’m of the belief that dreams help you process things subconsciously that you may have issues doing while conscious. I hope you get a better nights sleep tonight.
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It was very upsetting, as my dreams are usually interesting, or unusual. Never scary like that one. It troubled my mind all day yesterday, but I did manage to get some sleep last night.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Glad to hear it. I have the odd scary one and They are horrible. Hoping for a decent night’s sleep for you tonight. Look after yourself. Siobhain
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This is really scary to exeperience. I hope you are fine.
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Today I am, thank you,Shreya. Yesterday I was unsettled all day. I hope I never have a dream like that again.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Best wishes to you too!
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From near death experiencers, Pete, they say we often meet with our departed relatives before we pass and die. Not that you are about to pass, NO! But it is a comfort to be met by relatives when we are moving to the other side…
The dead visit us in dreams because they know we can see them and not be afraid.
This was not a dream. They came to see you.
It should be a comfort. Thank them.
They will be back for you when it is your time.
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Thanks, Lara. It would have been a comfort indeed, if they hadn’t been in that green glow, and having blank expressions on their faces. It scared me a great deal.
But I will think about what you say. x
Best wishes, Pete.
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Wow! My dreams are usually weird but that is just creepy! I had one the other night about a woman who killed her kids and husband, and there were some ghosts, a suspicious mailman, and a possible affair with a lawyer. Anyway, I wonder what your subconscious is trying to tell you. I know a lot of people have been having nightmares since this pandemic started.
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Your dream sounds worrying too, Jeanne. I rarely have bad dreams, but this one left me shaken.
Best wishes, Pete.
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that is terrifying, Pete. in my faith, dreaming of relatives that have passed on means they are asking for prayers. hope you are well. take care 🙂
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Arlene said the same thing, Wilma. It was a very scary dream, and I hope it is the last time I have one like that.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Damn Pete! That would have made me talk to myself. I wish I had that kind of recall but since I am an insomniac I have few dreams that I can recall. chuq
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I used to be pleased that I could recall vivid dreams, but that one shook me up badly, chuq.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I can only imagine….chuq
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That would have scared the shit out of me, I’m glad I don’t dream like that.
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It did me, Eddy. But fortunately I rarely have such horrible dreams.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yipes! I’ve never had anything resembling that. It wasn’t all that disturbing until you heard, “We’ve come to get you.”
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It was a bad one indeed, Pete. My mum’s use of ‘fetch you’ was also very accurate, and just what she would say.
Best wishes, Pete.
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The Grim Reaper gave them the right time of night, but got the date wrong. Consider yourself lucky.
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I suppose I should be setting my alarm for 03:17 in future, David.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Hi Pete! In Islam, when we have a weird dream that feels scary, we do not discuss it for people tend to give explanations. We rather put out a small amount of money (sometimes less than a dollar) and give it to someone needy. It is called Sadqa. We beIieve that small acts of mercy takes away anything bad in the near future.
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That’s an interesting tradition, Shaily. Thanks for letting me know about it.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Oh my, at our end, when we dream of dead relatives, they might be asking for prayers.
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That’s interesting to know, Arlene.
Best wishes, Pete.
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🙂
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All of the above…plus no cheese before bedtime x
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I hadn’t had cheese since a sandwich at midday, Carol.
Best wishes, Pete.
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That elimates that theory …scary I think I would do the same as you Pete although dreams usually mean something else to what we think they mean so I have heard x
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I don’t have any theories, I just wish I could forget it happened! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete. x
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Hoo boy, you got protected, Pete. I don’t know who or what from, though. See what happens in the next few days
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Last night my dog started barking at two in the morning, and woke me up. I didn’t discover what he was barking at. It’s a strange week!
Best wishes, Pete.
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Well that was bloody horrible!😱
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It was, Kim. It left me shaken up all day. So strange, yet so real too.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I usually let my dreams just slip away.
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Good ones do, GP. But this one stuck with me all day.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Wow! How awful. I too, have vivid dreams. Wishing you better ones ahead, Pete! 🕊
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Thanks, Snap. This was a rare one for me, but very unsettling.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Stay safe. Stay in the house and tell Ollie he’s old enough to take himself for a walk!
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He has to have his walk, Lucinda. That is also my time for some quiet contemplation.
Best wishes, Pete.
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When I have disturbing dreams occasionally, I ask my smart speaker to play quiet classical music. This usually helps me get back to sleep, and it might help you.
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I don’t have a smart speaker, Abbie. But I have other ways of relaxing.
Best wishes, Pete.
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How awful Pete, I can understand how that would leave you shaken. Time to get a check up?
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I don’t feel ill, Jude. It was just a bad dream, albeit a terrifying one!
Best wishes, Pete. x
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Totally terrifying. I had a bad night too but fortunately no bad dreams.
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Scary dreams do have a way of hanging about the next day, as do sad ones. Well at least if they really had come to fetch you, you would have been in good company. Better to be fetched by Mum and friends than some evil entity!
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That’s true. But it really shook me up. I have been thinking about it all day.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Terrifying! Glad you woke up!
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Me too. It was horrible, Margie.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Eerie, Pete. Avoid seeing the movie ‘The Sixth Sense’.
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I have seen that one, Don!
Best wishes, Pete.
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I am sorry to hear you had such a bad dream, Pete. I have had a few dreams like this. I dreamed I was in a hotel, the night before we went away. Armed attackers came into the hotel and murdered the owner. I also woke up in a cold sweat with that horrible fearful churning in my stomach. During our stay at this hotel, I learned that the father of the current owner had been murdered in the hotel by armed attackers. So weird.
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That’s a spooky one, Robbie!
Best wishes, Pete.
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That really is weird Robbie, the fact that something awful really did happen.
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now that was unsettling-quick, clapy our hands, make a wish and tap your heels -and I will pray! Just joking but goodness, that gave me the shivers! Oh-also write more in your series NOW-I am hooked!haha! love Michele
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Thanks, Michele. That dream has left me feeling unsettled all day today.
Best wishes, Pete.
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sweet dreams tonight!
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Yikes, I have only twice in my life had really scary dreams, one of which was when my mother fell off a cliff path in front of me….she was still alive at the time, miles away…I was pleased when I woke up from that one
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Waking from such dreams is such an overwhelming relief. Though my one last night left me feeling shaky all day today.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I’m not surprised, from your description
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Wow, that was one heck of a dream, Pete. I do not think I would have gone back to sleep – why take any chances? I would have been freaked out, too.
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I was too tired to stay awake, Maggie. But the dream has stayed with me all day. I didn’t like it one bit.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Omg that’s horrid Pete. How scary
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It was indeed, Sarada. It creeped me out, and has been worrying me all day.
Best wishes, Pete.
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How frightening Pete! I can’t imagine going back to sleep after that sort of dream? I would stay up and watch It’s a Wonderful Life. Goodness. Glad that was only your brain processing that sauce you made! Ha! Hope you sleep peacefully tonight. C
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It was not my first ever nightmare, but the first for some years. And the only one to feature relatives and friends in that situation. I didn’t like it at all, Cheryl! It left me with a real sense of foreboding.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I feel that foreboding Pete, but I want to believe you are processing other worries or fears? COVID and the idea of becoming infected has tampered with many peoples dreams. That was a traumatizing experience, wishing you comfort and peace, C
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That is one scary dream. But it would make a good short story.
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Too close to home for me to write it though, Darlene.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yikes! I have had dreams before where I tell myself, ‘don’t worry it’s only a dream,’ but am always relieved when I wake up and find out, indeed it was!
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I was very relieved too. It felt so real.
Best wishes, Pete.
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WOW…what did you have for dinner that night Pete…it may have come back to haunt you!
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It was tagliatelle with bolognese sauce that I made. Nothing at all unusual, John. Very scary though! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Well, that sounds delicious! Perhaps your mind is giving you some ideas for your next story! And look at the bright side: you woke up!
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Yes, waking up was a bonus! I couldn’t write that story though, John. It would be far too close to home.
Best wishes, Pete.
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That’s the type of dream none of us wants.
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It really freaked me out, Lauren.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I understand why.
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On balance, I’d say you had a very narrow escape. Glad you did. Warmest regards, Theo
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I felt like Ebenezer Scrooge in ‘A Christmas Carol’, Theo. I was really scared!
Best wishes, Pete.
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If I had that dream I would have been scared out of my wits. As I said, glad you escaped. Warmest regards, Theo
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I was unusually scared, Theo.
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