Visitation Dreams | dream studies portal

Shadows within us: Dreaming of Osama bin Laden

Posted by Kevin Kovelant on May 3, 2011 | 4 Comments

This is a guest post by Kevin Kovelant.
The world is a-buzz over the death of Osama bin Laden. The thing is… I feel absolutely nothing. Other than a twinge of sadness. Sadness that it has gone on this long. Has it really been almost 10 years?! I guess it has. At times [...]

The Ghosts, Goblins and Vampires of Sleep Paralysis

Posted by Ryan Hurd on October 29, 2010 | 8 Comments

Halloween is almost here, and that means it’s time to indulge in some corn sugar gluttony to protect ourselves from the thin veil between the living and dead. That’s my strategy anyways.
This time of year, traditionally known as Last Harvest in Europe, and more specifically as the cross-quarter between the Solstice and the Winter [...]

Filed Under: sleep paralysis, Visitation Dreams

How Dreams of Bereavement Reach Out to Us

Posted by Ryan Hurd on November 5, 2009 | 10 Comments

In my last article about dreams of the dead, I gave short shrift to dreams of bereavement, which is a subset of dreams where we are visited by the deceased. Often, all visitation dreams are interpreted to be grief dreams, despite the wide range of characteristics shown in these bizarre experiences. So, now let’s take [...]

Filed Under: Visitation Dreams

Visitation dreams: When the Veil between Worlds is Thin

Posted by Ryan Hurd on October 29, 2009 | 12 Comments

With Halloween on its way, it’s high time to take a look at visitation dreams, or dreams we have of the departed.

Filed Under: Visitation Dreams

Sleep Paralysis and Spirits

Posted by Ryan Hurd on November 25, 2008 | 18 Comments

Are spirits real, or are they just irrational stories meant to explain things that science now explains better? This is the way the question of spirits is framed by many. According to many recent polls, belief in ghosts in the West hovers around 60%, and one British poll found that more people believe in [...]

Filed Under: Nightmares & Dream Terrors, Visitation Dreams

Halloween Dreams and the Celtic Otherworld

Posted by Ryan Hurd on October 31, 2008 | 3 Comments

Through Halloween, the castrated remnants of the Celtic influence on Western culture play out through communal rituals: of giving gifts to strangers, protecting the house with carved gourds that resemble spirits, and dressing in costumes to disguise ourselves after nightfall as a wandering ghost.
But we are also culturally predisposed to dream darkly, or at least [...]