DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES!
Richard Mortel from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Eyes wide
Must hide
Which side
Petrified
Regret
Not yet
Fear sweat
All set
Pin click
Feel sick
Hard kick
Die, prick
Slight gleam
Light beam
I scream
Just a dream
Many people experience nightmares and night terrors. What’s the difference between the two?
According to the Mayo Clinic:
Sleep terrors differ from nightmares. The dreamer of a nightmare wakes up from the dream and may remember, but a person who has a sleep terror episode remains asleep.
During a sleep terror episode, a person might:
Sit up in bed
Scream or shout
Kick and Sweat, breathe heavily and have a racing pulse
Be hard to awaken, but if awakened be confused
Be inconsolable
Stare wide-eyed
Get out of bed and run around the house
Engage in aggressive behavior
Read more HERE.
Have you ever woken up screaming in the middle of the night?
Did you remember what you were dreaming about?
Looking forward to your comments!
Pleasant Dreams!
Photo credits: Eye Gun Blood Woman
Coming up on Monday, Feb. 22:
MORE FROM THE BLOG:
LATEST FROM INSTAGRAM:
Follow THE DOGLADY’S DEN on WordPress.com
Discover more from The Doglady's Den
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Dog Mom and (retired) Canine Innkeeper in suburban Toronto, Canada, known as The Doglady. Former corporate workaholic. Writer, photographer, digital creator. Animal lover, music fanatic, inveterate traveller. Eternal hippie/rockchick. History, literature and cinema buff. Hockey and soccer fan. Dedicated night owl. German/Canadian binational, multilingual. Let me entertain you!
66 thoughts on “SCREAM! A NIGHTMARISH TALE”
Wow! I love the poem! Yes, I’ve had a few dreams where I wake up yelling more than screaming. I get up and walk around to be sure the dream goes away. I don’t like them and fortunately don’t have them too often.
Nightmares feed my writing. Just the other day my husband ran from the living room to the bedroom because I was screaming. And yes, I remember too many of them. Most times I’ll refuse to discuss them as it makes them more real. But they are great fodder for my writing.
The closest I can come is once as a child, I woke up crying with no reason why. Mom came in and asked if I had a bad dream, and I said, “I don’t know…”
I woke up screaming once when I was about 10 years old. I have no idea what I was dreaming about, but I remember my dad dashing into my bedroom to see what was wrong.
Love,
Janie
Oh my on the night terrors. I didn’t know the difference. I rarely remember my dreams, but they aren’t dark. Fun stuff and I’m happy about that.
Have a fabulous day and week, Debbie. ♥
I kind of like weird scary dreams that have an engaging story that makes me want to keep watching. I’ve had some troubling dream experiences but usually my dream life is pretty nice.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
I loved how fast faced the poem is… kinda gives the rushy feel of a nightmare. Loved the poem 😀
LOVE that poem Debbie! I can’t remember the last time I had a nightmare but whenever I’ve had them and open my mouth to scream nothing comes out so nobody hears me, in my dream or real life. Kinda’ scary.
To my knowledge, I’ve never awakened screaming. But I have gone back to sleep after a troubling dream and picked up right where I left off. Guess I just had to see the problem through. Your poem is well constructed and perfectly petrifying! And ending to a dream like that would have me listening for sirens 😉
Interesting information on dreams. I wonder what they’d say about folks who laugh in their sleep? Hubs can never remember what was so dang funny.
I just love when you write poetry, Debbie.
This one is both delightful and frightful.
Loved this post, especially the poem, it was fantastic 🙂
Debbie
http://www.myrandommusings.blogspot.com
Thank you! 🙂 Poetry’s not my strong suit, but every once in awhile, inspiration hits. Thanks for visiting.
Wonderful take on the prompt! Chilling!
Welcome to The Den, Lori. Glad you liked it, 🙂
thanks for the warm welcome! I look forward to returning often 🙂
Thanks! 🙂 I will come and visit you, as well.
I dream in such horrific way at least once a month.
That’s a lot, Ajay! Hope it gets better for you. For me, it’s thankfully less often.
Times like these, I am grateful I never dream. This had me on the edge my seat, which is good. Sitting up on the edge of the bed with a case of night terrors, not so good.
Everybody dreams, I think. You just can’t remember them, which is good, especially when they’re bad. 🙂 Glad you liked my little poem; high praise coming from an esteemed poet. Thank you! Poetry’s not really my strong suit, but the muse strikes now and again.
HI Shady; Sounds like Mrs. Shady was having a rough time, there! Good thing you weren’t seriously hurt in the process. Apparently I’ve struck out in my sleep before too, during a similar episode. This is a subject that intrigues me. I might add a follow up article after doing some more research. Thanks for sharing your personal experience. Have a good weekend! 🙂
I’m glad I have never had a night terror. It sounds horrible.
I’ve had nightmares and those equally bad dreams where you are in a weird situation and there is no way out but waking up.
I dreamt I kung-fu kicked this person who was hassling me. I woke up because even my subconscious knew I couldn’t kung-fu kick.
It’s amazing the things we can do in our dreams! 🙂 Ever have one of those unpleasant ones, where you supposedly wake up, but it’s actually still part of the dream and something else happens? 😛 I’ve had a few night terrors and they’re extremely frightening. Be glad you’ve been spared from those!
Could feel the terror and I would have definitely screamed too! Wow take on the prompt, Debbie! Have had nightmares, bad dreams actually, but never a sleep terror.
Glad you liked the post, Shilpa. 🙂 Sleep terrors are even worse than nightmares; good thing you’ve been spared.
I’ve been spared night terrors. I don’t have nightmares as much as when I was younger – I hope that continues to be true. One of my brother in laws suffered from night terrors growing up. My husband was (growing up) a sleep walker. Grateful that my son did neither.
Good thing you’ve not been plagued by terrors or many nightmares, Alana. Sleep walking sounds frightening too.
I’ve had many bad dreams and even some terror episodes over the years. This is a subject that needs to be researched more thoroughly. Planning a follow-up article. Thanks for visiting! 🙂
Well, this article is a scream,… not really but couldn’t resist. 🙂 I can not read frightening books or see horror movies. If I did, I would wake the whole neighborhood up with my screams. Hubby says I have woken him up with my laughing… I know… like laughing all the way to the little white men in their little white coats.
By the way, I’m back from our travels… and it’s great to be back! Will be visiting you more often.
Haha! 😀 Welcome back, Angelika! Looking forward to your travel posts.
Laughing in your sleep is certainly better than screaming…..
I didn’t know the difference between the two – very interesting indeed. I’ve definitely woken myself up by screaming – frightening and NOT fun. Thankfully such occasions are few and far between!
Yes, they are different, but equally unpleasant. Good thing you haven’t had too many episodes. I’ve had a few, as well.
Oh. I hadn’t known the difference. Nice take on the prompt. And cute rhyme too 🙂
Yes, they are different, but equally unpleasant. Glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for visiting. 🙂
Love this!! I hate nightmares. Sometimes they’re so darn real. I don’t have them often, thankfully.
Hi Michele; Glad you liked it. 🙂 Yes, nightmares seem more real than pleasant dreams, for some reason. Good thing you don’t get them too often. I’ve had a few episodes of night terrors as well. Not fun!
I have had many dreams some really scary some not. Mostly they are never pleasant but I never call them nightmares. They are a part of who I am and I love them like I love myself. Beautiful and unique interpretation. Loved it!
Glad you enjoyed the post. 🙂 Good attitude about your dreams. Yes, all part of our psyches. Thanks for visiting.
I used to have night terrors, when I was just a child. I would have all sorts of monsters chasing after me and my feet would be glued to the floor, and I’d start screaming. My mom would come in and wake me up and I’d be almost okay. As an adult, I don’t know if they’d be classified as night terrors, except for one. Usually, I’d be so involved in the dream that I’d be laughing or screaming, and they come out as muffled sounds that would wake up others, but not me. I can still remember them to this day. There weren’t many, thank goodness. Russ, on the other hand, had so many… If I put my hand on him, he would usually calm down, but he slept so soundly I couldn’t wake him up. Those scared even me.
Those all sound scary, Mary. 🙁 I’ve woken myself up screaming, on occasion. Other times, hubby would tell me and I was unaware. He never experiences anything like that. I wonder if this has something to do with our genetic makeup? It’s a fascinating subject and I’ll be doing more research.
I have had a few episodes of night terrors. And yes they are quite real. I also felt each word in your rhyme. Lovely take on the prompt 🙂
Yes, they definitely seem real. I’ve had them too, but thankfully, not too often. Nice to know the poem had an effect. Thanks! 🙂
I don’t ever remember waking up screaming, but sweaty as a pig? Absolutely! Unfortunately, I remember my dreams when I wake up and those types are so easy to kick. 🙂 Love the poem.
Hi Bren; I remember those night sweats! 😛 (Try Wild Yam. It’s cheap and works well for many women.) Dreams, not so much. Glad you enjoyed the poem. 🙂 Nice to see the PibblesNMe name again.
“They” say we all dream but I rarely remember them. I sleep too deeply, I guess? If I do dream it is usually something stupid or confusing.
Hi Carol; Many dreams are confusing. Be glad you don’t suffer from night terrors or bad dreams. They are so disorienting.
Very well expressed. Dreams and screams have a strange bond.
Thanks! 🙂 Yes, the dreamworld can be quite frightening.
I’ve had a few terror episodes as you’ve described. Occasionally I might have rather mild night mares. On the whole my dreams are okay, often happy, but frequently confusing. The confusion aspect is usually about as close to a nightmare that I get and that in the form of mild panic that I’m lost or not ready for something.
I almost always enjoy my dreams even when they deal with scary things. In those cases I almost watch them as though I were watching a movie and I to some degree I am aware that I am dreaming.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Road trippin’ with A to Z
Interesting, Lee, to be able to experience your dreams as if watching a movie. I rarely remember dreams, except for those occasional bad ones. Had a few night terror episodes over the years too. Those are pretty nasty, aren’t they?
usually when I sleep late I end up having these frightening dreams. Loved the rhythem.. felt like a rap song 😀
Scary, aren’t they? Glad you enjoyed the poem. Thanks for dropping by, Raj. 🙂
Allegedly, I bark in my sleep sometimes, but it’s a bit muffled.
I’ve never heard the bipeds scream, but I’ve heard them snore loudly!
Dogs are so cute when they’re dreaming! 😀 I’ve heard them bark too. Some also run in their sleep or wag their tails. Glad to know your bipeds don’t have night terrors. Thanks for dropping by, Clowie.
That was good, Debbie! Yes, I do get those terrors, once in a while, thankfully!
I think many of us do, Shilpa. Glad they don’t happen too often!
Interesting, Debbie. I actually never knew there was a term for the same. Sleep terrors. I’m reckon I may have had them.
Quite a unique take on the prompt.
Yes, sleep terrors or night terrors are different from actual nightmares. Not pleasant, are they? Hope you aren’t plagued by them too often. I’ve had several episodes over the years.
That is a good take on the prompt. I have never had terrors but do have to occasional bad dream.
Thanks, Indy. Glad you’re not plagued by night terrors; very unpleasant!
Loved the poem.. its a bit scary, bit creepy.. but scream I did.
Haha! Yes, definitely creepy. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it.
Oooh, good one Debbie! 😉 Love your take on this: quick wit you have! 🙂 Luckily I have never experienced night terrors…definitely sounds terrifying, though a rare nightmare.
Glad you like this, Elly. 🙂 I’ve experienced these night terrors a few times and was extremely rattled afterwards.
Ooh that gave me the shivers! Sleep terrors is something I have heard about but thankfully not experienced. Quick and prompt take on the prompt, Debbie 🙂
Shivers are good! 🙂 I’m glad you’ve not had to deal with these nocturnal disturbances, Shailaja. They’re no fun at all and thankfully, don’t happen to me that often.