Comments on: The Dark Side of Lucid Dreams http://dreamstudies.org/2008/10/08/the-dark-side-of-lucid-dreams/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-dark-side-of-lucid-dreams the dream studies portal Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:34:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Denise http://dreamstudies.org/2008/10/08/the-dark-side-of-lucid-dreams/comment-page-1/#comment-167593 Denise Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:34:56 +0000 http://dreamstudies.org/?p=321#comment-167593 I could never really understand why anyone would "try" to have a lucid dream. I have been having these types of dreams since I was a child, and trust me they come on as nothing that I want - they just happen. Sleep paralysis is not fun, nor enjoyable for me at all either. Don't get me wrong - I dream good dreams, have nightmares and I have peaceful sleep as well......Anyway - Normally, I do not share my dreams with people I do not know..but last night I had a dream that was a little more than weird to me. It was a type of lucid dream and I also experienced sleep paralysis. It was after my husband came home from work and my daughter came home from visiting one of her friends .....My son had already gone to bed and I had been "napping" on my favorite couch spot in my home office, but woke up long enough to greet them both and tell them that I loved them. Afterwards, I feel asleep (In what I call "that state" - the "half &half")....I heard my husband tell me - "Honey, you need to go on to bed", and then he stated that he was going on into the bedroom. Then I fell in full sleep...then came back into "the half&half" again. I then began "dreaming" that my husband had brought me two of my supplements (the Calcium and Vit. D that I had forgotten to take that day). They looked different that then normal ones that I take, but I knew what they were. One was chewable, the other was not. I was sooo weak and sleepy in the dream (still in the half&half), that I opted only to take the chewable one. It was soo fruity tasting. I liked the "new" supplement, I thought to myself....but being so tired and weak, I did not want to get up and take the other supplement - yet I knew that I must. So I got up from my napping spot (lucid) went over to my desk where I had left my bottle of water so that I could take the pill. It felt like ages before I reached my desk. As I reached for my bottle of water, I looked through the door of my office into the foyer - as I thought I saw a shadow. I felt a dark presence coming on as if to torment me. I began to pray. Just then, my daughter walked in - I could tell that something was "wrong" with her... and I found that she was possessed. I was terrified for her and I talked with her and urged her to begin praying - she did not communicate back with me. I was intimidated for a moment, but I grabbed her in my arms and began to pray for her. The demon began making fun of my prayers, and mocking me through her. The more I prayed and demanded that the demon leave her, the weaker and more tired and sleepy I became - but I still fought hard and continued to pray. I heard something tell me, do not look in her eyes, look away and concentrate on reciting scripture out loud and pray the Lord's Prayer. I did that. I saw that the demon was weakening, but not leaving and it was tormenting her and hurting her more. So, I went and grabbed two crucifixes off my desk and placed them on her and continued to pray. I called upon Jesus and His Holy Angels for help, and continued to command the evil spirit out of her. It finally left her....but then, it possessed my little beloved dog. I was so weak and so tired, but I repeated the process with him, the demon had made him very sick, but finally left. I called for my husband to come and help me. But of course, he could not hear me. I struggled to make my way down the hallway from the foyer to the bedroom and I saw him - laying on the bed watching TV. I made my way over to him, shouting as loud as I could, "please Honey, hear me...We need your help!" But, he did not respond. I felt so alone, so weak and so tired - but I made my way back through to the foyer, as I knew the demonic presence was still there. I looked back down the hallway and the door to my son's bedroom opened. I felt a sense of dread, for I knew that it was now going to go after my son. I fell to my knees, growing weaker, struggling so hard just to move and prayed one last time - God help me. I felt the demon presence leave. I looked up to find that my daughter and my dog were still sitting in the foyer waiting on me. Just then, the door bell rang. I thought - who could be ringing the door bell at this hour? So, I made my way over to the door, but would not open it. I pulled back one of the sheer curtain panels on the sidelight windows to see if I could view who was there. To my surprise, there were lots of "people" in my yard. Two different vehicles parked in my driveway and one actually in my front yard. They were taking pictures and pointing at my home. They were laughing and frolicking in my yard - I was confused and somewhat scared. As I looked around - I spotted my sister and one childhood friend that I had not seen for a very long time, as they live far away from me. When I saw them, I opened the door. They all greeted me with a big hello - but, did not come close to me or approach me. I asked my sister, "what are you doing?" "What is all this?" "Why are you here with all these people?" She said, "Oh, they are people that I have met and I know them." She began rejoicing and skipping through my yard. I looked around and saw my childhood friend...she only smiled and waved at me. Still confused - I decided to walk out onto the front stoop. I noticed that a few of the people had placed sashes of "roses" above the windows of my home. They were taking pictures of the roses on my house. I touched one - it was real, and dewy, as if they had just been picked and formed into these lovely simple sashes. I said to them all - "These are very beautiful". Then I said, "but I am embarrassed for you to be here at this hour, for you do not know what has taken place inside my home, and I am not prepared for company - and my husband has not even cut the grass (I noticed that there were high weeds in my front yard for some reason??? - they were running and jumping through them anyway - LOL!!) They said "it is ok - We love this place, and just wanted to stop by and rejoice with you for a few moments." Then, they began getting in the cars, and started leaving. I said to my sister - "I am confused, do you not want to come in and hear my story? Are you coming back?". She said, "no." "I have to go with them - but everything is ok." So I accepted it, went back in the house and shut the door. I was confused, but I felt peace. I hugged my daughter and my dog and looked around my house. There was no more evil presence. So, I made my way back over to my "napping spot", and laid back down (on top of myself - I could still see myself laying there). I then became paralyzed, and tried to wake myself up, but could not. I prayed in my mind once again, "Jesus, please save me, come and help me to wake up." I then began to wake up. I heard my husband come walking down the hallway. He came over to me, and said: "Honey, you must get up and go to bed." I was fully awake by that time. I looked at him and said, "Yes, I do." He asked me what was wrong with me? I said, I had a bad, weird, and crazy dream. He asked me to tell him about it. I did. He prayed with me. We went to bed, and I slept very well and very peacefully. I could never really understand why anyone would “try” to have a lucid dream. I have been having these types of dreams since I was a child, and trust me they come on as nothing that I want – they just happen. Sleep paralysis is not fun, nor enjoyable for me at all either. Don’t get me wrong – I dream good dreams, have nightmares and I have peaceful sleep as well……Anyway – Normally, I do not share my dreams with people I do not know..but last night I had a dream that was a little more than weird to me. It was a type of lucid dream and I also experienced sleep paralysis. It was after my husband came home from work and my daughter came home from visiting one of her friends …..My son had already gone to bed and I had been “napping” on my favorite couch spot in my home office, but woke up long enough to greet them both and tell them that I loved them. Afterwards, I feel asleep (In what I call “that state” – the “half &half”)….I heard my husband tell me – “Honey, you need to go on to bed”, and then he stated that he was going on into the bedroom. Then I fell in full sleep…then came back into “the half&half” again. I then began “dreaming” that my husband had brought me two of my supplements (the Calcium and Vit. D that I had forgotten to take that day). They looked different that then normal ones that I take, but I knew what they were. One was chewable, the other was not. I was sooo weak and sleepy in the dream (still in the half&half), that I opted only to take the chewable one. It was soo fruity tasting. I liked the “new” supplement, I thought to myself….but being so tired and weak, I did not want to get up and take the other supplement – yet I knew that I must. So I got up from my napping spot (lucid) went over to my desk where I had left my bottle of water so that I could take the pill. It felt like ages before I reached my desk. As I reached for my bottle of water, I looked through the door of my office into the foyer – as I thought I saw a shadow. I felt a dark presence coming on as if to torment me. I began to pray. Just then, my daughter walked in – I could tell that something was “wrong” with her… and I found that she was possessed. I was terrified for her and I talked with her and urged her to begin praying – she did not communicate back with me. I was intimidated for a moment, but I grabbed her in my arms and began to pray for her. The demon began making fun of my prayers, and mocking me through her. The more I prayed and demanded that the demon leave her, the weaker and more tired and sleepy I became – but I still fought hard and continued to pray. I heard something tell me, do not look in her eyes, look away and concentrate on reciting scripture out loud and pray the Lord’s Prayer. I did that. I saw that the demon was weakening, but not leaving and it was tormenting her and hurting her more. So, I went and grabbed two crucifixes off my desk and placed them on her and continued to pray. I called upon Jesus and His Holy Angels for help, and continued to command the evil spirit out of her. It finally left her….but then, it possessed my little beloved dog. I was so weak and so tired, but I repeated the process with him, the demon had made him very sick, but finally left. I called for my husband to come and help me. But of course, he could not hear me. I struggled to make my way down the hallway from the foyer to the bedroom and I saw him – laying on the bed watching TV. I made my way over to him, shouting as loud as I could, “please Honey, hear me…We need your help!” But, he did not respond. I felt so alone, so weak and so tired – but I made my way back through to the foyer, as I knew the demonic presence was still there. I looked back down the hallway and the door to my son’s bedroom opened. I felt a sense of dread, for I knew that it was now going to go after my son. I fell to my knees, growing weaker, struggling so hard just to move and prayed one last time – God help me. I felt the demon presence leave. I looked up to find that my daughter and my dog were still sitting in the foyer waiting on me. Just then, the door bell rang. I thought – who could be ringing the door bell at this hour? So, I made my way over to the door, but would not open it. I pulled back one of the sheer curtain panels on the sidelight windows to see if I could view who was there. To my surprise, there were lots of “people” in my yard. Two different vehicles parked in my driveway and one actually in my front yard. They were taking pictures and pointing at my home. They were laughing and frolicking in my yard – I was confused and somewhat scared. As I looked around – I spotted my sister and one childhood friend that I had not seen for a very long time, as they live far away from me. When I saw them, I opened the door. They all greeted me with a big hello – but, did not come close to me or approach me. I asked my sister, “what are you doing?” “What is all this?” “Why are you here with all these people?” She said, “Oh, they are people that I have met and I know them.” She began rejoicing and skipping through my yard. I looked around and saw my childhood friend…she only smiled and waved at me. Still confused – I decided to walk out onto the front stoop. I noticed that a few of the people had placed sashes of “roses” above the windows of my home. They were taking pictures of the roses on my house. I touched one – it was real, and dewy, as if they had just been picked and formed into these lovely simple sashes. I said to them all – “These are very beautiful”. Then I said, “but I am embarrassed for you to be here at this hour, for you do not know what has taken place inside my home, and I am not prepared for company – and my husband has not even cut the grass (I noticed that there were high weeds in my front yard for some reason??? – they were running and jumping through them anyway – LOL!!) They said “it is ok – We love this place, and just wanted to stop by and rejoice with you for a few moments.” Then, they began getting in the cars, and started leaving. I said to my sister – “I am confused, do you not want to come in and hear my story? Are you coming back?”. She said, “no.” “I have to go with them – but everything is ok.” So I accepted it, went back in the house and shut the door. I was confused, but I felt peace. I hugged my daughter and my dog and looked around my house. There was no more evil presence. So, I made my way back over to my “napping spot”, and laid back down (on top of myself – I could still see myself laying there). I then became paralyzed, and tried to wake myself up, but could not. I prayed in my mind once again, “Jesus, please save me, come and help me to wake up.” I then began to wake up. I heard my husband come walking down the hallway. He came over to me, and said: “Honey, you must get up and go to bed.” I was fully awake by that time. I looked at him and said, “Yes, I do.” He asked me what was wrong with me? I said, I had a bad, weird, and crazy dream. He asked me to tell him about it. I did. He prayed with me. We went to bed, and I slept very well and very peacefully.

]]> By: Ryan Hurd http://dreamstudies.org/2008/10/08/the-dark-side-of-lucid-dreams/comment-page-1/#comment-159619 Ryan Hurd Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:40:40 +0000 http://dreamstudies.org/?p=321#comment-159619 hi Stephanie, that sounds like a classic example of what is known as sleep paralysis with hypnagogic hallucinations. It's really something unique, and is actually the original "night mare." read more about it here. long story short: you're not being possessed, this is a biological phenomena but it can be very intense psychologically. http://dreamstudies.org/2010/01/22/sleep-paralysis-treatment-wake-up-cant-move/ hi Stephanie, that sounds like a classic example of what is known as sleep paralysis with hypnagogic hallucinations. It’s really something unique, and is actually the original “night mare.” read more about it here. long story short: you’re not being possessed, this is a biological phenomena but it can be very intense psychologically. http://dreamstudies.org/2010/01/22/sleep-paralysis-treatment-wake-up-cant-move/

]]> By: Stephanie http://dreamstudies.org/2008/10/08/the-dark-side-of-lucid-dreams/comment-page-1/#comment-159587 Stephanie Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:48:23 +0000 http://dreamstudies.org/?p=321#comment-159587 So, I've read about lucid dreaming and false awakenings and I've experienced both, but what I dreamt (and have dreamed before) I haven't found anything about. I was having a normal dream and after a while I was able to take control of what was happening but all of a sudden I was laying in my bed as if I had woken up. I was laying on my side facing away from the door and I had this sensation that I had my purse on my shoulder and someone was tugging at it; trying to take it. It didn't speak but I knew it was saying "Stephanie, give it to me" over and over. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder pulling/shaking me to roll over and look at it and it kept repeating my name and each time the voice turned into more of a growl. Then a "pressure" of the "pressence" felt like it was laying on me and still trying to get me to turn and look at it. After that it felt like someone was sucking on my neck. Not in a sexual way but like (for a lack of a better term) they were trying to "posses" me in away. Not like a demon would in a scary movie but like to have me or take me. I don't really know how to decribe it. Then suddenly I felt it leave but could still feel the pressure of every sensation from when it was on me, touching me, etc. Then everything thing was gone. I knew then I was fully awake but I was still terrified to move or turn around. I know it was a lucid dream and a false awakening but I don't know how I felt all of that when no one was there and I didn't move. Please help lol. I've had dreams like this before but this was the most disturbing. So, I’ve read about lucid dreaming and false awakenings and I’ve experienced both, but what I dreamt (and have dreamed before) I haven’t found anything about.
I was having a normal dream and after a while I was able to take control of what was happening but all of a sudden I was laying in my bed as if I had woken up. I was laying on my side facing away from the door and I had this sensation that I had my purse on my shoulder and someone was tugging at it; trying to take it. It didn’t speak but I knew it was saying “Stephanie, give it to me” over and over. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder pulling/shaking me to roll over and look at it and it kept repeating my name and each time the voice turned into more of a growl. Then a “pressure” of the “pressence” felt like it was laying on me and still trying to get me to turn and look at it. After that it felt like someone was sucking on my neck. Not in a sexual way but like (for a lack of a better term) they were trying to “posses” me in away. Not like a demon would in a scary movie but like to have me or take me. I don’t really know how to decribe it. Then suddenly I felt it leave but could still feel the pressure of every sensation from when it was on me, touching me, etc. Then everything thing was gone. I knew then I was fully awake but I was still terrified to move or turn around.
I know it was a lucid dream and a false awakening but I don’t know how I felt all of that when no one was there and I didn’t move. Please help lol. I’ve had dreams like this before but this was the most disturbing.

]]> By: Melissa http://dreamstudies.org/2008/10/08/the-dark-side-of-lucid-dreams/comment-page-1/#comment-155286 Melissa Tue, 17 Jan 2012 06:04:01 +0000 http://dreamstudies.org/?p=321#comment-155286 I had a horrifying night last night, that consisted of 4 different dreams. But all four had a demon/devil in them. Had a white face, green yellowish eyes, red pupils, long pointy ears and smelt like death. I would wake up after having them hovering over me bout 4-5 inches away from my face. It felt like they were trying to get in me.. I also woke up all four times with my chest aching. can someone please tell me what I might be up against here? I can't sleep or relax since it happend.. I feel off. I had a horrifying night last night, that consisted of 4 different dreams. But all four had a demon/devil in them. Had a white face, green yellowish eyes, red pupils, long pointy ears and smelt like death. I would wake up after having them hovering over me bout 4-5 inches away from my face. It felt like they were trying to get in me.. I also woke up all four times with my chest aching. can someone please tell me what I might be up against here? I can’t sleep or relax since it happend.. I feel off.

]]> By: Tonchi http://dreamstudies.org/2008/10/08/the-dark-side-of-lucid-dreams/comment-page-1/#comment-153054 Tonchi Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:54:50 +0000 http://dreamstudies.org/?p=321#comment-153054 Dear Ryan, Thanks for your articles, they are awesome. Since i was i kid i had try this "lucid dreaming" but never red about it so never tried any tecnique. Although 2 times i managed to do it with horryfing results of a great deamon scaring me (kicking out of the dream), i woke up so scared that i dont want to go back sleep in a while. I also have woke up from a nightmare to another dream with this paralysis you mention. Very frightning :P This is the first time i "google it" and i found so accurate of what hapens to me... thanks for your articles and sorry for my pour english. Dear Ryan,

Thanks for your articles, they are awesome. Since i was i kid i had try this “lucid dreaming” but never red about it so never tried any tecnique. Although 2 times i managed to do it with horryfing results of a great deamon scaring me (kicking out of the dream), i woke up so scared that i dont want to go back sleep in a while. I also have woke up from a nightmare to another dream with this paralysis you mention. Very frightning :P This is the first time i “google it” and i found so accurate of what hapens to me… thanks for your articles and sorry for my pour english.

]]> By: Adrianna http://dreamstudies.org/2008/10/08/the-dark-side-of-lucid-dreams/comment-page-1/#comment-128301 Adrianna Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:38:29 +0000 http://dreamstudies.org/?p=321#comment-128301 I had a very weird dream last night... First off I am suicidal and I have homicidal thoughts. I've been seeing a therapist fro a couple months now and I've seem to be getting better. But I feel as if something doesn't want me to get better, something evil. I went to bed at 12 o'clock last night and thought I saw something in my room, but I end up ignoring it and going to sleep. I had a dream that I was sleeping and then all of a sudden I felt something push me down on my bed and I felt a pain go through my body, like something was tourchering me. I tried to scream but I felt like I had no voice, and then I remember telling myself 'go tell mom!!' and I remember in my dream I felt the need to tell my mom to send me back to the mental hospital.... It was so weird, and when I woke up it was 1 o'clock, just an hour after I had went to bed... What do you think is wrong with me? I had a very weird dream last night… First off I am suicidal and I have homicidal thoughts. I’ve been seeing a therapist fro a couple months now and I’ve seem to be getting better. But I feel as if something doesn’t want me to get better, something evil. I went to bed at 12 o’clock last night and thought I saw something in my room, but I end up ignoring it and going to sleep. I had a dream that I was sleeping and then all of a sudden I felt something push me down on my bed and I felt a pain go through my body, like something was tourchering me. I tried to scream but I felt like I had no voice, and then I remember telling myself ‘go tell mom!!’ and I remember in my dream I felt the need to tell my mom to send me back to the mental hospital…. It was so weird, and when I woke up it was 1 o’clock, just an hour after I had went to bed… What do you think is wrong with me?

]]> By: Ryan Hurd http://dreamstudies.org/2008/10/08/the-dark-side-of-lucid-dreams/comment-page-1/#comment-118181 Ryan Hurd Sun, 27 Nov 2011 03:58:53 +0000 http://dreamstudies.org/?p=321#comment-118181 Jenn, I'm sorry to hear about your family worries. this sounds possibly like a hypnagogic nightmare, which sometimes comes with sleep paralysis. you mentioned not being sure if you're awake or asleep, feeling an evil presence, which are common with sleep paralysis. here's more: http://dreamstudies.org/2010/01/22/sleep-paralysis-treatment-wake-up-cant-move/ nightmare in general can be instigated by stress. here's an article about how to reduce nightmares in general: http://dreamstudies.org/2010/09/02/14-tips-for-getting-rid-of-nightmares/ Before going down the hexed route, I recommend the tactics in the above articles to prevent more outbursts. Jenn, I’m sorry to hear about your family worries. this sounds possibly like a hypnagogic nightmare, which sometimes comes with sleep paralysis. you mentioned not being sure if you’re awake or asleep, feeling an evil presence, which are common with sleep paralysis. here’s more: http://dreamstudies.org/2010/01/22/sleep-paralysis-treatment-wake-up-cant-move/

nightmare in general can be instigated by stress. here’s an article about how to reduce nightmares in general: http://dreamstudies.org/2010/09/02/14-tips-for-getting-rid-of-nightmares/

Before going down the hexed route, I recommend the tactics in the above articles to prevent more outbursts.

]]> By: Jenn http://dreamstudies.org/2008/10/08/the-dark-side-of-lucid-dreams/comment-page-1/#comment-118150 Jenn Sun, 27 Nov 2011 03:11:25 +0000 http://dreamstudies.org/?p=321#comment-118150 I had a really scary nightmare last night. I normally don't have nightmares at all. I'm actually not sure if I was awake or asleep. I'm assuming I was having a nightmare. I was sleeping inmy bed ( I had been in and out of sleep all night) and I felt like something very dark and evil was in my room. I felt its presence come from the closet and around my bed and stood right over me. The whole time it was shouting and screaming horrible things at me. I tried to pretend I wasn't awake and I couldnt hear it because I felt like if it knew I was awake it would try to hurt me in some way. I was afraid to open my eyes and look at it. I knew it had to be scary & ugly. Also, not sure if this is related but my husbands cousin is going through a really dark period in his life right now. On his FB page he's got all kinds of photos of him doing drugs, human skulls and creepy symbols & people. I went through all his photos and this is the same night I had the nightmare. I know that some people that are really into magic can cast a spell to send things after people that try to meddle with them. Do you think this the case? I had a really scary nightmare last night. I normally don’t have nightmares at all. I’m actually not sure if I was awake or asleep. I’m assuming I was having a nightmare.

I was sleeping inmy bed ( I had been in and out of sleep all night) and I felt like something very dark and evil was in my room. I felt its presence come from the closet and around my bed and stood right over me. The whole time it was shouting and screaming horrible things at me. I tried to pretend I wasn’t awake and I couldnt hear it because I felt like if it knew I was awake it would try to hurt me in some way. I was afraid to open my eyes and look at it. I knew it had to be scary & ugly.

Also, not sure if this is related but my husbands cousin is going through a really dark period in his life right now. On his FB page he’s got all kinds of photos of him doing drugs, human skulls and creepy symbols & people. I went through all his photos and this is the same night I had the nightmare. I know that some people that are really into magic can cast a spell to send things after people that try to meddle with them. Do you think this the case?

]]> By: Ashley http://dreamstudies.org/2008/10/08/the-dark-side-of-lucid-dreams/comment-page-1/#comment-91318 Ashley Sun, 16 Oct 2011 00:23:16 +0000 http://dreamstudies.org/?p=321#comment-91318 When I was young, I had terrible reoccurring nightmares. I had one in particular where I was with someone in a car and the person would vanish. I would be in the passenger seat and the car would become out of control. I struggled with how to stop these dreams from happening. I spent time thinking about the dream and why it was a dream and what I could do to stop the car. At some point when the dream happened I realized it was a dream, took control of the car and pulled it over without it crashing. I still lucid dream all the time and frequently experience sleep paralysis. I remember a time when I would have nightmares where I would take control of the dream and change it to my liking. If I dreamt I was running from someone I would run faster, get away and be safe. However, for the past few months, my dreams have been getting darker. I realize I am dreaming but I can't change what is happening. I tell myself to wake up, and try to force myself to notice the oddity of the dream and how I am really safe. Sometimes I succeed in waking only to be stuck in sleep paralysis. I had this particularly frightening dream recently... I was at some sort of church gathering with all of my closest family and friends. We were happy, until I slowly started noticing my family and friends changing into these frightening creatures one by one. The group of my "normal", unchanged people ran away from the frightening people. The group was diminishing quickly as everyone changed. Eventually I found myself with just my boyfriend. However, he turned too. I have had several dreams like this. I know I am dreaming, I am a frequent lucid dreamer and previously I could always control my dreams. I could always wake myself, or change what was happening. Lately, these dark dreams have been increasing and the presence of these fake family/friends look alikes has been taking over my other dreams. I have difficulty getting a good nights rest without these nightmares. I really don't understand why I can control some things in my dreams, but when the fake people are present I can't change anything. When I was young, I had terrible reoccurring nightmares. I had one in particular where I was with someone in a car and the person would vanish. I would be in the passenger seat and the car would become out of control. I struggled with how to stop these dreams from happening. I spent time thinking about the dream and why it was a dream and what I could do to stop the car. At some point when the dream happened I realized it was a dream, took control of the car and pulled it over without it crashing. I still lucid dream all the time and frequently experience sleep paralysis. I remember a time when I would have nightmares where I would take control of the dream and change it to my liking. If I dreamt I was running from someone I would run faster, get away and be safe. However, for the past few months, my dreams have been getting darker. I realize I am dreaming but I can’t change what is happening. I tell myself to wake up, and try to force myself to notice the oddity of the dream and how I am really safe. Sometimes I succeed in waking only to be stuck in sleep paralysis. I had this particularly frightening dream recently… I was at some sort of church gathering with all of my closest family and friends. We were happy, until I slowly started noticing my family and friends changing into these frightening creatures one by one. The group of my “normal”, unchanged people ran away from the frightening people. The group was diminishing quickly as everyone changed. Eventually I found myself with just my boyfriend. However, he turned too. I have had several dreams like this. I know I am dreaming, I am a frequent lucid dreamer and previously I could always control my dreams. I could always wake myself, or change what was happening. Lately, these dark dreams have been increasing and the presence of these fake family/friends look alikes has been taking over my other dreams. I have difficulty getting a good nights rest without these nightmares. I really don’t understand why I can control some things in my dreams, but when the fake people are present I can’t change anything.

]]> By: Ryan Hurd http://dreamstudies.org/2008/10/08/the-dark-side-of-lucid-dreams/comment-page-1/#comment-33674 Ryan Hurd Wed, 13 Jul 2011 03:49:45 +0000 http://dreamstudies.org/?p=321#comment-33674 Steph, from what you wrote here I don't think you need to worry about harming yourself during nightmares. In fact, in dreaming sleep when most nightmares occur (REM sleep) the voluntary muscles are essentially paralyzed. the "dreams" you mention sound like the occur at the threshold of sleep and wakefulness; they may be hypnagogic in nature. read this article to see if you can relate: http://dreamstudies.org/2010/12/10/hypnagogic-dreams-and-imagery/ if you cannot move when you see things in the bedroom, that may be hypnagogia with sleep paralysis: http://dreamstudies.org/2010/01/22/sleep-paralysis-treatment-wake-up-cant-move/ Steph, from what you wrote here I don’t think you need to worry about harming yourself during nightmares. In fact, in dreaming sleep when most nightmares occur (REM sleep) the voluntary muscles are essentially paralyzed. the “dreams” you mention sound like the occur at the threshold of sleep and wakefulness; they may be hypnagogic in nature. read this article to see if you can relate: http://dreamstudies.org/2010/12/10/hypnagogic-dreams-and-imagery/

if you cannot move when you see things in the bedroom, that may be hypnagogia with sleep paralysis: http://dreamstudies.org/2010/01/22/sleep-paralysis-treatment-wake-up-cant-move/

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