The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Okay, some back-story here: I had a dream this morning, that kind of freaked me out. I dreamt that I was, for some reason, a condemned prisoner, and was sentenced to be hanged. Really, all I can remember about the dream was the actual hanging; I was shackled and had my arms tied behind my back, and was led through a cold, dim hallway to a steel door, which opened up into a small cubicle with exactly two noticable things in it: a noose hanging from the ceiling, and a steel trapdoor under it. I'm not entirely sure if I was guilty of the crime I was convicted of or not, but my thoughts were frantic, alternating between "I can't believe this is happening" and "This is wrong". As they (I never saw who was carrying out the execution, BTW) put the noose around my neck, I experienced probably the most overwhelming flood of terror, despair, and helplessness I've ever felt, in waking life or otherwise. The trapdoor released, and I felt a sharp jolt, I felt myself being strangled, I couldn't breathe, I felt the blood pounding in my head.. and my alarm clock went off, and I woke up. Or I woke up, then the alarm went off, I don't know or care, but suffice it to say, this dream disturbed me quite a bit.

So, as I often do when I have a strange or disturbing dream, I try to find an interpretation of it. A few google searches turn up not much at all (gallows, and hangings are usually bad omens, I'll have some inexplicable bad luck, etc, blah blah blah)

But while searching around, I find this link. Note beforehand, there is nothing graphic or gory, and all pictures are presented as text links, so you can decide whether or not you want to look... I will say, though, there are a few pictures of real life hangings. If you are very sensitive about seeing people who are swinging from a rope, don't click the pictures. Other than that, it's a very concise, clinical, and impersonal website about the history, science, and social aspects of hanging convicted prisoners.

I've seen some pretty whacked out shit on the internet in my days, but for some reason, this site is really creeping me the fuck out. I'm strongly against killing people, no matter how heinous their crimes are, and I really just don't understand the mindset of capital punishment. However, it's not something I often think about, but I've experienced it firsthand now (in a dream, of course)

Anyone here good at interp'ing dreams, BTW? Is something bad going to happen to me? (no jokes, please, I'm dead serious about this, it pretty much fucked up my whole day so far)

Dream intrepretation is bullshit, the strangling you felt was me trying to kill you for believing in that crazy ass batshit.

DJ Big Dick wrote:Dream intrepretation is bullshit, the strangling you felt was me trying to kill you for believing in that crazy ass batshit.

This coming from someone named 'DJ Big Dick'.

It's tough to intrepret a dream without knowing what's going on in your life... but I've had some "near" death dreams...and man, I read you on the feelings of terror!!


I had one about a plane crash while flying to Australia... funny thing was, the next year, I was on a plane to Australia... kinda freaked me out.


The feelings of helplessness, of being led to your doom, the lack of control and understanding... those parts are pretty universal though Sven...

That's a creepy website. The tables make me think of Elvis Costello's "Let Him Dangle": the hangman shook Bentley's hand to calculate his weight.

Apparently dreams of death are supposed to signify a major change in your life.

So, since you dream about being hung, perhaps you need some of these

i remember people used to say that if you died in your dream, you died in real life. i've been killed in my dreams many times and i'm still here. i've also killed in my dreams many times. i don't know what that means.

i don't really believe in dream interpretation, but violence and death usually only occur in my dreams when i'm going through periods of stress or depression.

Caravan Ray wrote:So, since you dream about being hung, perhaps you need some of these

Like Captain Phallus?

I read someplace that it isn't the symbolism of the dream so much as how you felt during the dream that you should try and interpret... those feelings might actually translate into something from your life that your brain is trying to work through. or something like that.

It actually works for me. Like, I have this reoccuring dream that my Mom dies and I miss her funeral.... in the dream I'm always devestated and racked with guilt. It's not an omen that she's sick.... it's prolly just that I live 2000 miles away from my very close-knit family and I feel pretty darn guilty about leaving them behind.

Maybe you feel like you're not in control of your own life/situation right now, like someone else has too much influence or power over your own well being. Whether someone is trying to sabotage your efforts or simply making decisions that effect your life, you don't like it one bit. Obviously, I have no idea if this applies to you, but if I had that dream, that's how I'd be thinking about it....

Henrietta is spot on. It's the emotional content of dreams that shrinks look to analyze.

For example, my mom had a crazy dream where she was working as a carnival ride inspector in a place called Chicken Compass, GA.

In the dream, she was peering at the underside of the tilt-a-whirl while a sinister toothless carnie guy looked on. As my poor, mechanically inept mom tried to make sense of the insane clockwork that comprised the guts of the tilt-a-whirl, she was overcome with an overwhelming sense of:

“Oh my god. How did I end up here? This is a TERRIBLE job for me!â€

Caravan Ray wrote:Apparently dreams of death are supposed to signify a major change in your life.

So, since you dream about being hung, perhaps you need some of these

I didn't dream about being hung. I dreamt about being hanged. I'm hung like a goddamned donkey, FYI. (you hear that Crates? a donkey. I promise to be gentle with you)

donkeys don't know the meaning of gentle.

Sven wrote:Anyone here good at interp'ing dreams, BTW? Is something bad going to happen to me? (no jokes, please, I'm dead serious about this, it pretty much fucked up my whole day so far)

There is something in your life that is going on that you feel is 1) a big mistake and 2) something that you can do nothing about.

erik wrote:There is something in your life that is going on that you feel is 1) a big mistake and 2) something that you can do nothing about.

The only thing I can think of that is sort of bothering me right now is the fact that I haven't done my taxes for a few years and I'm kind of worried that I'm going to owe a bit of money to Mr. Taxman.

I've also been a bit worried that I'm getting older, still haven't gotten rich, still haven't met the right girl, etc., but I think everyone goes through that after 35. (OH GOD is this a mid-life crisis?)

Other than that, I'm happier and in a better frame of mind that I've been for a really long time. I like my new job, they *love* me there, I've made a few new friends lately, I'm up for a review (and raise) in a couple weeks... I feel like I'm seriously getting my shit together.

I can't think of any recent big mistakes, really. There's lots of things that I can do nothing about though.

From dreammoods.com (I downloaded the whole site for faster loading at some point)

Die

To dream that you die in your dream, symbolizes inner changes, transformation, self-discovery and positive development that is happening within you or in your life. Although such a dreams may bring about feelings of fear and anxiety, it is no cause for alarm and is often considered a positive symbol. Dreams of experiencing your own death usually means that big changes are ahead for you. You are moving on to new beginnings and leaving the past behind. These changes does not necessarily imply a negative turn of events. Metaphorically, dying can be seen as an end or a termination to your old ways and habits. So, dying does not always mean a physical death, but an ending of something.

On a negative note, to dream that you die may represent involvement in deeply painful relationships or unhealthy, destructive behaviors. You may feeling depressed or feel strangled by a situation or person in your waking life. Perhaps your mind is preoccupied with someone who is terminally ill or dying. Alternatively, you may be trying to get out of some obligation, responsibility or other situation.