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Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Witches In Wheelchairs

Do you still dream or remember recent dreams?

The older I get, the less I dream. Maybe because I am so tired at the end of the day, I pass out more so than fall into sleep.

When I was little, I had three reoccurring dreams, on rotation. (must be that OCD thing, I even had to keep my nightmares in precise order)

My earliest dream I can remember was when I was about four. I would wake up in a total sweat, heart pounding, scared to death.

I was being chased around a room by witches in wheelchairs. They held their long skinny crooked hands out trying to catch me. They had that eerie cackle, cross between a laugh and a growl. They wore long black dresses, high top laced boots, and the typical pointy hat with huge brim.

I wonder where I got that visual. I do recall later, being terrified of nuns. I hadn't seen the Wizard of Oz at that age yet.

My second dream was me alone, in an all white room. There was a wooden slat crate on the floor. Each board was nailed down tight in neat rows. I could see the huge oranges through the slats. (Yes, I did and still do dream in color) Then, in slow motion, one by one, the nails would slowly pop up, until three or four slats opened. The oranges would begin to roll out of the crate, across the floor, and between my feet. At this point I would know I was dreaming and know what was going to happen next, but I could never wake myself up. As the oranges filled the space all around me, they began to morph into snakes. Once again, I'd wake up sweating and scared to death.

My third is actually funny now, but it wasn't when I was little. I would find myself alone, in a square room. No doors or windows. As I looked across the room, it seemed far, like a mile long. I would notice something coming at me, slowly at first, but then it would pick up speed. I would soon realize that I was about 2" tall and it was the linoleum rolling up. I would turn and run, occasionally looking back to see that it was gaining on me. I would get almost to the wall and realize there was no way out and I was about to be smashed into the wall ... but I would wake up before that happened.

So those are my pre-five year old dreams. I remember them in great detail as if I had them last night. I wonder what they meant, or what triggered them. What were my parents were letting me watch on TV? Does anyone know how to analyze dreams? Maybe I shouldn't know.
/ head tilt /

As I said, I don't dream much now. I can't recall the last dream I had.

What did you dream about as a child?

21 comments:

Angel said...

I still dream...and I dream in color too. And they are so detailed and sometimes disturbing!

Dreams as a chile?...I don't really remember them...but I seem to have a series of dreams on rotation too...I love the ones where I'm flying.

Sunshine said...

I had a vampire based nightmare as a kid that made heavy rotation. I still have that one pop up every once in a great while now even.

I still dream now, but don't seem to as often or remember them like I did. I think you're right...too tired!

Anonymous said...

Interesting!
Started on 'Chantix' 2 mo's. ago and yes it does work, after 20+ yrs. of smoking am totally smoke free, and that's taking only a 1/4 of the dose!!
In relation to dreams, have had the most vivid dreams since taking it, not nightmares thank goodness!!
Would be interested to know if there is any meaning to what one dreams

Terri said...

I have occasional dreams as an adult, but nothing recurring. They usually happen after I've heard of or seen something tragic. I've written about them on my blog. I did have one recurring nightmare as a child though. Spiders are my biggest fear and I would dream of waking up in the middle of the night, step off into the bed and stepping onto a floor covered, inches thick, with every kind of spider known to man, all colors all sizes, grotesque shapes, (I'm getting the heeby jeebies right now). There was no way for me to get back on my bed and before you know it I'm waking up as I'm being overtaken on the floor by all the spiders. The nastiest ones being the big black hairy ones. Yuck.

captain corky said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
captain corky said...

I don't dream as often as I used to, but my wife and I have both been having baby raising fear dreams. They suck.

I used to really like wet dreams though. ;)

Joan said...

The 2 dreams I remember as a child: I was at my grandparents' house, hiding behind the bedside table (which I now have) in the bedroom while cowboys were firing their guns at us. 2nd dream - I was in my parents backyard, it was very dark but the outside light was on. My adult next door neighbor turned into a dog and was chasing me.
I haven't remembered my dreams recently until night before last. Tommy Lee broke into my parents' house and was holding me hostage. Nancy - please explain all this to me!

Nancy said...

Joan: "Tommy Lee broke into my parents' house and was holding me hostage"

Umm, Tommy Lee? Have you been wanting a boob job? That is so funny!

Jessie said...

I don't remember most of the dreams I had as a kid because my imagination was so vivid. I did and still do dream in Technicolor. I thought everyone did, honestly. I don't know how people dream in black and white. But the one dream I remember is when I was sleeping upstairs in my godmom's bed at the beach house. A polar bear escaped a zoo, and was running around Myrtle Beach, well the whole Grand Strand really, and was killing people, while hunters and zoo officials tried to track it down. My godmom and I, along with her mom, ended up running into an empty hotel, and found a crawl space. Unfortunately, the bear found us too. And it lumbered around, trying to get us. My godmom and I were in one area, and her mom was another niche on the other side. She jumped out, let the bear attack her, to give us time to run. And the bear bit a perfect whole in her middle (think along the lines of a cartoon or Death Becomes Her). She didn't die exactly, and then I woke up as we were running like mad.

Yeah, I had that dream about 2 months after the mom was diagnosed with cancer. And I still remember it like 13 or more years later.

Stepping Over the Junk said...

I had a recurring dream about being lost in a hay bale maze...for YEARS...interestingly, I think I correlated it with the Wizard of Oz. And stupidly, my exhusband just took my little ones to see Wicked and every night for a week they'v ebeen waking me up in the middle of the night scared of the flying monkeys...SO not appropriate.

Joan said...

Nancy - no boob job. Maybe a porn video?

Nancy said...

Bwahaaaaaa @ Joan!

Michael said...

When I was in high school and took Spanish classes, my dreams were completely in Spanish. Weird, isn't it?

Nancy said...

Michael: Probably one of the last things on your mind before you fell asleep.

Amie Adams said...

I have very vivid dreams--must be all the Diet Coke. But I always did.

I can still clearly remember a dream I had in fifth grade. I was trying to escape from the land where Darth Vader was the ruler. I had to tell my mom I was going so I went down to the cafeteria where she was working to tell her. I was caught trying to get away and brought to Darth Vader, but when I got to him he was hanging out in this total 70's pad and not wearing his outfit and he had a huge fro and was wearing a pink tight t-shirt made with metallic threads. He was like "hey, no worries dude."

To this day, I have no idea what it meant. I don't think I had even seen Star Wars yet.

Nancy said...

Thanks everyone for sharing ... makes me feel a little more normal ... or at least not alone in my *dreams* =)

linda said...

As a child I had a recurring dream that I lived in a kitchen underground with a very old and scarey couple (man and wife) and outside there was a big black bear waiting for me. It still occurs when I am over tired and run down.

Lori Stewart Weidert said...

When my father was away on leave, my mother lived in Navy housing with me, a newborn. Someone once tried to break in, and, having no phone, she yelled thru the door that she had a gun, and would shoot him. The guy ran off. My mother told me that story when I was about 5 years old, and to this day, my nightmares consist of broken or unavailable telephones.

Molly said...

Interesting that you remember your dreams from childhood. I do remember one nightmare from childhood. In the dream, I was in a dentist's chair, and this witch with hairy fingernails had her hands around my neck and was choking me. I awoke in terror with the sheet wrapped around my neck. *shudder*

Nancy said...

mjd: those darn witches ... and dentists!

Joeprah said...

Wizard of Oz gave me nightmares. I don't really recall what of, but I know those darn monkeys were after me. I also drempt of my older brothers friends dying. The worst though was the dream of the old lady, we lived in a split level home and I was in a small bedroom in the back right of the upstairs. I had dreams that I was walking upstairs and an old hag of a lady with clothes as pitch as night was standing in the threshold to my room standing still staring at me. I would always pause in fear and that would be when she lept out of the room after me. AHHHHH! Here she comes now!