Thread: Anybody Else Slightly Enjoy Nightmares?

I love thinking about it the day after but during the dream and right afterwards I am always freaked out.

I think you're mistaking "scary dreams" for "nightmares". Two very different things. No rational human being should ever enjoy a nightmare.

I have to agree, I enjoy nightmares as well, the craziness of them and the rush you get, like the adrenalin you mentioned. Even when I was a kid, I would be amazed at what I had seen and how real it was, thankful it was a dream, but none the less, amazed and amused




Lezen - Guess I'm not a rational human being then
How do you distinguish a nightmare from a "scary dream", isn't a nightmare scary and a scary dream a nightmare??

My nightmares are so vivid I wake up thinking it really happened.

I always have them too, and yes...I love the feeling.

I miss my nightmares... The last nighmarish dream was about a dog that pounced out of the dark and mauled me like a ragdoll... I guess I had it coming because I was starting right at the thing. I wonder, is there a way to induce nightmares?

Originally Posted by Desert Claw

I miss my nightmares... The last nighmarish dream was about a dog that pounced out of the dark and mauled me like a ragdoll... I guess I had it coming because I was starting right at the thing. I wonder, is there a way to induce nightmares?

I always have bad dreams, and what I do is stay up for hours and hours without sleep, with caffine.

I have a nightmare everynight, if not twice a night.

A good scary movie right before bed usually does the trick....but not a cheesy one, something disturbing.... I recommend Japanese Horror movies, they are very creepy, non linear and usually don't have a "happy ending", like most of us are used to in our Americanized brains

Try Ukumaki or Suicide Club (Suicide Circle) to get started.....

Originally Posted by dreamingofdreaming

Try Ukumaki or Suicide Club (Suicide Circle) to get started.....

Uzumaki? That's Spiral, right? I don't know about the movie, but the manga almost traumatized me. I wouldn't recommend that to anyone.

Whenever I wake up from a nightmare I do lots of Rc's to make sure I'm not dreaming... fear + dreaming state = auch... You never know what's creeping around in the dark...

Originally Posted by Timothy Paradox

Whenever I wake up from a nightmare I do lots of Rc's to make sure I'm not dreaming... fear + dreaming state = auch... You never know what's creeping around in the dark...

*Three glances over shoulder!*

Why did you say that...gah!?

Originally Posted by dreamingofdreaming

Lezen - Guess I'm not a rational human being then
How do you distinguish a nightmare from a "scary dream", isn't a nightmare scary and a scary dream a nightmare??

No offense, but what you're saying is basically like saying "because all squares are parallelograms, all parallelograms are squares". Squares and parallelograms share some similarities, but they also share stark differences. Same with nightmares and scary dreams.

A scary dream is...well, scary. It induces an adrenaline rush which, yes, is exciting. It's the type of dream that everyone in this thread is agreeing that they enjoy. It's the kind you wake up from with a slight jolt and a "Wow, that was scary!" before writing down the dream in your DJ and going back to sleep.

But a nightmare is most certainly not the same thing as a scary dream - even though 99.9% of them tend to be scary in nature. A nightmare, by very definition, leaves you feeling emotionally distressed - usually to the point of not being able to fall back asleep, no matter how you try (although most people who've woken from a nightmare don't even want to try, for fear of reliving the awful experience). It's the kind of dream where you'll wake up either screaming, in a cold sweat, crying uncontrollably, or some combination of the three.

Here's the simplest way I can compare the two. Getting chased by a guy with a chainsaw at a Halloween-themed house of horrors/haunted house is fun, because although it's scary, you know there's no real danger. This is like a scary dream.

Being held captive by a real chainsaw-wielding maniac who's dissecting your friends and family members right before your eyes - and knowing that you're most definitely next - is downright traumatizing, and nowhere near what anyone could consider fun. This is like a nightmare.

So what I'm saying in a nutshell is this:

Scary dreams are scary, but in a way that gives you an enjoyable rush. A pleasant experience.

Nightmares are also scary, but in a way that leaves you feeling terrified, despaired, hopeless...you get the idea. A very unpleasant experience.

Sorry for sounding like a know-it-all, but it just irks me to see how "scary dreams" and "nightmares" are always considered one and the same, considering that recently my little sister (who has frequent scary dreams - which she enjoys) has recently had a recurring nightmare that's left her with a grand total of about 12 hours of sleep in the span of five days.

while I cant even remember my last nightmare, whats really scary to me is a 'daymare' when you day dream a nightmare, because you know your not in bed sleeping. For me back in school math class was more terrifing then anything ive ever seen since i always dozed off, some good, but some really bad. Like having my eye lids carved off with a rusty butter knife and tooth picks being broken off under my finger nails, as my best friend shouts out other recomendations of what to do to me, then waking up with him in the desk right beside me.

I think what I really enjoy more than being in sheer terror in a dream (Although that can be fun too ) is a spooky or eerie dream. Just something with a creepy vibe to it.

Originally Posted by Lëzen

I think you're mistaking "scary dreams" for "nightmares". Two very different things. No rational human being should ever enjoy a nightmare.

this.

I rarly have nightmares anymore but when I was a little kid I had them so bad I had to see a psychiatrist, so I would definaltly say there's a difference between scary dreams and nightmares because the scary dreams I have now I wake up thinking "that would be an awesome horror movie".

bumpity bump bump I see.... Well I still think there is no difference between the two...I can see how consistency plays a roll. If you have scarydreams/nightmares every night or even just 3 times a week, this can truly terrorize a person. But if you only get them occasionally they are probably enjoyed more and not feared as much....
Yah, I really fail to see the difference...

Well, if nightmares are what Laren describes them to be, I never had one because I never woke up screaming, crying or sweating. And I get it now, nightmares are not just a scary, they are traumatising and some sort of disorder but know that people use the word nightmare to describe scary dreams in every day life.

I wish I once had a real nightmare. I'd be so scared in the moment and all but when its all done, I'd be like "awesome!" I don't care wether an experience is fun or not, what I care is wheter this experience was different, unique, tiring, exciting, teaching.

I guess it probably depends on the person and the intencity of the dream. For example I had a pretty vivid dream about being stuck in a swamp full of zombies and it was scary, but when I woke up I liked it, I thought the imagery in my dream was amazing and I wished I could fall back to sleep and pick the dream up where I left off. I'd label that a "scary dream". On the other hand I remember a dream I had where I was in my bedroom and my door shut and locked itself. I got up and tried to open it and it wouldn't budge. I look over and see my closet door slowly opening, the feeling of dread I fealt was so intense that when I woke up I was still fealt it. I had to get up and walk around because I didn't want to go back to sleep. Even if I wanted to I wouldn't be able to because my heart was beating so hard I wouldn't be able to relax. I would consider that a "nightmare". In both dreams I was in danger, but only one actually affected my emotions after it was over.

I get those stress dreams (as I call them). Like, I'll be making a puzzle with big pieces on a couch but the pieces would fall on the ground and I'd sorta of swallow them. I got these often as a kid and everytime, i'd wake up really anxious/nervous and run all around the house, almost crying, telling my parents that I don't know why but I am stressed about something and it would take a long time for me to calm down. i never get stressed otherwise. Once, I had gotten this dots all over my hands and went to the sick room (infirmery) and the nurse told me to rest. I wasn't nervous at all. I dream about something to do with my lunch box, nothing bad but when I woke up, I was all tensed and ran all around the school trying to find a teacher to tell them i had ate from my lunch box even though I wasn't alowed. it felt like I had done a crime or something. When I went in the sick room, it was lunch but when I got out, people were back to class so when i arrived in the cafeteria and I saw no one that made me panic... These were weird dreams... since they weren't so bad, its when I woke up that everything became horrible.

Yes! I love creepy/scary dreams! The downright nightmares I don't like, though.

Yeah, I love scary/creepy dreams or whatever, but what I consider to be true nightmares I definitely do not love. These are the dreams where I dream of dying loved ones, or whatnot in ways that are terrifying to the core. One in particular sticks in my mind, which I awoke from with a scream, and was too terrified to move in my bed for several minutes, and this fear and uneasiness sat with me for the next few days or weeks. Experiences like that are not enjoyable whatsoever.

Dreams in which I'm being chased by some kind of scary entity (monsters, cops, etc.) are extremely exhilarating and I enjoy them very much. However there are some dreams that are just terrible experiences and make me not want to sleep ever again for fear I might have a similar dream again.

I've been trying to get a nightmare for ages. I can't really remember the last one I had. I really want one. XD In answer to your question...I insanely LOVE nightmares.

Originally Posted by Lëzen

No offense, but what you're saying is basically like saying "because all squares are parallelograms, all parallelograms are squares". Squares and parallelograms share some similarities, but they also share stark differences. Same with nightmares and scary dreams.

A scary dream is...well, scary. It induces an adrenaline rush which, yes, is exciting. It's the type of dream that everyone in this thread is agreeing that they enjoy. It's the kind you wake up from with a slight jolt and a "Wow, that was scary!" before writing down the dream in your DJ and going back to sleep.

But a nightmare is most certainly not the same thing as a scary dream - even though 99.9% of them tend to be scary in nature. A nightmare, by very definition, leaves you feeling emotionally distressed - usually to the point of not being able to fall back asleep, no matter how you try (although most people who've woken from a nightmare don't even want to try, for fear of reliving the awful experience). It's the kind of dream where you'll wake up either screaming, in a cold sweat, crying uncontrollably, or some combination of the three.

Here's the simplest way I can compare the two. Getting chased by a guy with a chainsaw at a Halloween-themed house of horrors/haunted house is fun, because although it's scary, you know there's no real danger. This is like a scary dream.

Being held captive by a real chainsaw-wielding maniac who's dissecting your friends and family members right before your eyes - and knowing that you're most definitely next - is downright traumatizing, and nowhere near what anyone could consider fun. This is like a nightmare.

So what I'm saying in a nutshell is this:

Scary dreams are scary, but in a way that gives you an enjoyable rush. A pleasant experience.

Nightmares are also scary, but in a way that leaves you feeling terrified, despaired, hopeless...you get the idea. A very unpleasant experience.

Sorry for sounding like a know-it-all, but it just irks me to see how "scary dreams" and "nightmares" are always considered one and the same, considering that recently my little sister (who has frequent scary dreams - which she enjoys) has recently had a recurring nightmare that's left her with a grand total of about 12 hours of sleep in the span of five days.

Don't be such a killjoy. You are right but still i mean cmon. Anyways ya i think "scary dreams" or whatever are pretty fun and exciting once you get over with the fear.