Had This For Too Long

And when I say "too long", I mean, like, a decade. I remember having this nightmare since I was like 4. Even though it stopped this past year, I need to know what it meant:

I usually start out in my hallway, peeking into the living room. It's always dark in there, and it's nighttime. I would stare into a clock that hung on the wall, afraid it would do something if I took a step into the living room. Sometimes, though, nothing happens until I'm at the end of the living room, about to turn on the light for comfort. Anyway, if I know it's a nightmare, if I step into the living room, or if I try to turn the light on, the clock triggers. It comes off the wall and, literally, floats on its own, with the clock hands spinning furiously clockwise. While this is happening, he approaches me very quickly. If I don't wake up by then from shock, I duck and cover, not knowing where it is.

The last time I encountered this clock, I did it on purpose to get rid of it. When I stepped out there, it didn't trigger. So I said "I must be dreaming." Bam, it came alive and came after me. I told it to stop, and it listened. I just came cool with it, without even learning what I was supposed to learn.

Interpreting this shouldn't be so hard, imo, but I want to hear what you guys believe to be certain.