Hello,

I am a complete newbie and have signed up particularly just to ask you about this.

This happened when I was a kid, but I think it is worth revisiting.

I'm playing the game "Populous: The Beginning" (any of you know this game?), in the level where the Armageddon spell is available (not the Head Hunter level). Suddenly I realize I am dreaming, and I remember my dad telling me I could learn to control my dreams, so I tried.

Unfortunately, it immediately became a nightmare, and I had a horrible vision of a black mass of...something terrible. Kind of like the Amadeus cover of Salieri's ghost costume...

I wake up, screaming in my head, to find out that that "black mass" was my mother. She was wearing dark clothes and was right in front of me when I woke up.

Why did my attempt fail? Why did it become a nightmare? What caused this? How can I prevent it again?

Thank you for reading,
best of regards.