"One, two, Freddy's coming for you..." Sound familiar? It should.
The burn victim that terrorized children in their sleep from the popular Nightmare on Elm Street movies kept many moviegoing audiences up at night.
And while some of these horrifying images seen in the films were purely fictional, people continued struggling with some of their own, very real, night terrors.
Curious to hear from strangers online who have a hard time sleeping because of their nightmares, Redditor 999beersonthewall asked:
"What is a regular theme in your nightmares?"
For many students, going to school in itself can be a nightmare. Even more so after they have long graduated.
Perpetual Student
"I dream that I have to go to school in the morning, even though I am 30 years old."
Upcoming Final
"I have nightmares that I have to do a final for a class I didn't know I was registered for and didn't do any work for and I've been out of school for 5 years."
A List Of Dilemmas
"I'm 48 and I still have high school and college nightmares featuring -"
- I can't find my locker
- I don't know my combination
- I don't know where my classes are
- I forgot to go to a class all semester and it's either (a) final exam day OR (b) I was supposed to do a group project
- I forgot to do a major assignment and I fail the class
- I can't find my car at the end of the day
"And more!"
Incomplete Assignments
"Or class neglect. I still have dreams im 10 years behind on assignments at a 3 month class im apparently still taking at community college."
Something is always after these Redditors, and only the alarm clock can bring them out of the situation.
Always Being Pursued
"Being chased. I've always had that as a theme in my nightmares. When I was a kid, it was usually a T-Rex."
"When I got older, I had a six month period where I had the same nightmare of being stalked almost every night."
"Since then, it's often something unseen chasing me."
"It's always a very feral feeling - like, I'm moving and I just know something's after me. It's like I move on instinct."
– Barl0we
Slow Runner
"In my dreams of being chased I can't run fast. It's like I'm trying to run through molasses."
Glute Ghouls
"I used to get chased in my grandmothers basement by a giant @ss cheek monsters when I was a kid."
Certain fears have been realized in these Redditors' dreams.
Lack Of Air
"I have falling dreams, and then I land in a body of water and drown. This actually makes a lot of sense, my heart rate is always super low when I sleep and I'm probably literally not getting enough oxygen irl so I feel like I'm drowning in my dreams."
Loose Gums
"One tooth feels wobbly, and then as I go on to see what's happening to it, it just falls out, and one by one all of my teeth are in my hands."
Mechanical Failure
"My car brakes never fully work. They only slow the car down, but I can never fully stop. It's weird."
– Smite76
Disconnnected
"Needing to call for help or use my phone but it glitches out in my dream and wont work."
Nightmares having to do with locating a bathroom is apparently a thing.
Pee Shy
"Needing to pee but there is no toilet around. Or if there is, it is not separated from the rest of the room so everyone can see you."
"This is me too. Sometimes it's a deuce I need to drop. Sometimes I can't because the toilet is completely filthy. At least once I couldn't take a sh*t because Anne Hathaway was trying to talk to me and I didn't want to be rude."
"I did not, contrary to popular belief, actually do the deed in my bed, however."
No Normal Toilets
"I have a reoccurring dream where I'm trying to go to the bathroom but there are no stall doors, just random toilets scattered in a room, various sizes, makes and models and they are all disgusting."
"I get home and my own toilet has exploded and the shower is just spraying water onto the floor because there is mysteriously no tub."
"I have not once been able to dream of a normal bathroom and I am a lucid dreamer. I think my goal tonight will be to dream of a nice bathroom with ONE CLEAN GOLDEN toilet!"
A recurring nightmare for me has nothing to do with masked maniacs wielding a mask and chasing me down a dark street or demons eating me alive.
My night terrors are steeped in reality—as with many of the Redditors above—where I go onstage as an unprepared understudy for a Broadway show and I forget my lines, or I realize I missed taking a class at university that could result in me not graduating.
Yeah, very scary stuff, because they could actually happen!
Give me Freddy or Jason anytime.
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