What's the setting for your typical bad dreams?

Often it’s my work place—a conference room or somebody’s office.My best dreams often take place in a house I lived in as a teenager.

My grandmother’s house, elevators, or in a really run-down scary looking part of some imaginary town. These and variations of these are almost always the settings for my “bad” dreams.

Oooh! Elevators! Me too.

My bad dreams take place in a variety of places. I had a bad dream a couple nights ago. We’d had a plumbing leak fixed in our basement last week and it still must have been on my mind, because I dreamed that water was leaking all over in my basement and I was so worried about getting it fixed. Dreaming of a plumbing leak is probably pretty lame, but that’s all I got

I am at work and I can’t get a day off and I can’t even get a day to go play golf on the weekends!! Aaaaahhhh!!

I am running around some sort of mall…and I feel like I have to get something done for everyone.

Without fail my nightmares take place in my childhood home or someplace with lots water such as a pool, lake or the ocean. The childhood home makes sense because it is a place my brother accurately describes as a “big violent house.” Water is more puzzling to me because I have been a strong swimmer as long as I can remember and I really enjoy water activities.

Mine usually take place in different places, although they sometimes take place at school.

I tend to have long dream story arcs, so I’ll end up visiting the ‘next episode’ often. There’s one where I’m in an old house with two other families and the house is dangerous as well as something in the house being dangerous as well. Another is a big open field at night.

My other bad dreams happen in regular everyday locations I’m familiar with. Often they come true- to the tune of about 80% or so. Then again- my good dreams tend to come true as well, so it evens out a bit.

Mine are always in ever changing houses and I’m always failing at doing something, like not being able to find something vital- which is just a reflection of my everyday life! I wake up with a guilty feeling. Often the houses get bigger and bigger.

There take place in unreal versions of real locations I remember from my years in Montreal. The situations are surreal but involve real people doing unlikely things that make no sense and never get straightened out.

Now that I really think about it, I’ve also had a lot of nightmares that take place in or around hotels.

I was really wondering if hotels would come up for a lot of people. I am often unable to find my room, or I can’t remember my room number, or I can find the room but not the key, or someone else is in my room. And those out-of-control hotel elevators are terrifying.

I’ve had nightmares where I’m running away from psychopaths in the woods that were fun compared to the nightmares I have where I’m back in school.

@Jeruba yep, it’s usually the hotel elevator for me, too. It’s interesting, because anytime I have a dream in or around a hotel, or in or around an elevator – there is always a little girl and a very elderly man in the dream. I’m usually trying to protect them from impending doom. I always fail. :\

My bad dreams have a very strange common thread. In my bad dreams, I am a professional musician about to perform for an audience, but when I play the instrument, I experience excruciating pain. In one dream I had to play piano, but the keys were warped & jagged like a row of shark teeth. As I try to play, my fingers get cut up & I scream like hell in my dream & it wakes me up. Another time I had to play violin. But when I press my fingers against the strings, the vibration in the strings turned my fingers into sawdust. Once again I scream so loud in the dream that it wakes me up. Another time I had to sing, but my lips wouldn’t separate. I keep trying to scream until my lips rip apart & I wake myself up with a muffled scream. I haven’t had one of these dreams in a while, hopefully this rehashing wont trigger them to come back.

I never have bad dreams, ever!

Mine are usually what’s happening in them, rather than where I am. There’s nothing really specific, although I’ve had plenty of bad dreams where they occur in a hospital.
I also seem to have plenty of dreams which take place in the town of Silent Hill, which is from a video game series. Yeah it sounds silly, unless you’ve been a fan of the franchise for the past ten years. It’s a freaky goddamn set of games, enough to mess up my nights anyway.

My bad dreams usually have Alex being completely neglectful of me and my feelings.

A lot of my bad dreams take place in ever-changing, ever-growing houses, too! Like @faye, I am often looking for something (someone) frantically, usually one of my children. I also have a lot of nightmares in dark parking lots or industrial settings (think highrise building under construction). These most often involve one of my children being fatally injured. Worst. Dreams. Ever.

The bad dreams I’ve had recently were in or at my home, the place you least expect anything bad would happen to you. But, no matter how secure it is, too much of security can make you feel paranoid about the people around you and assume the same of the outside world.

@augustlan my coolest dreams take place in ever-changing, ever-growing houses! I am always finding hidden rooms full of expensive treasures to sell on ebay.

I used to have “nuclear dreams” when I was a kid. I’d be in the middle of some activity, and all of a sudden a nuclear bomb would explode. I would then frantically search for my family, whom I could never find. I attribute it to growing up during the early 80’s, with its escalation of the Cold War.

Last year I had another one of these dreams. Disconcerting, to say the least.

@Dr_Dredd I’ve had a dream like that. I think it was inspired by Terminator 2 more than historical events, but I can totally relate . . . maybe. . . probably not