Top 10 Scariest Common Nightmares

Script written by Nick Roffey

Top 10 Common Nightmares

They’re what keep us up at night. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 common nightmares.

For this list, we’re looking at the most common and scariest nightmares - the ones that terrify us in our sleep, and keep us awake in fear until daylight.

#10: A Partner Leaving or Cheating

At the time, it seems completely real: you catch your partner with someone else, or watch as they walk out on you. While some bad dreams deal with the fantastic, others address fears that are much more grounded in reality. Because of this, they can be just as disturbing – if not more so. A nightmare about the betrayal of a loved one has the added sting of being a real possibility in the waking world. Such dreams could reflect insecurities, suspicions, or feelings of betrayal in a relationship. Then again, sometimes our minds just seem to like messing with us.

#9: Drowning

You can’t breathe, water rushes into your lungs, and things start to go black. Drowning is a horrible way to go, and these nightmares give us a taste of what it might be like. When we dream about drowning, it could mean that we feel suffocated or overwhelmed . . . or maybe it’s time to invest in some swimming lessons. Either way, nightmares about drowning are terrifying, and those feelings of sinking and helplessness often linger long after we’ve woken.

#8: Being Late or Missing an Important Event

A test, a meeting, a birthday or maybe just a movie: people have nightmares about missing all of these. Sometimes, these nightmares are connected to anxieties about a real appointment in the near future - particularly for people with overloaded schedules. Frankly, it’s all too real, and that’s what’s so tense about it. These dreams leave you feeling like you let someone down or failed to live up to expectations. When you wake up, watch out: you may wanna check your alarm and calendar just in case.

#7: Unprepared for or Failing a Test

Pop quiz: why do we dream about failing tests? Probably because it’s also a common worry when we’re awake, with real life consequences. Whether it’s a dream about a surprise test in class, or failing important exams, the result is the same: panic! Next time you find yourself facing a daunting exam without having studied beforehand, don’t pull the fire alarm straight away. First pinch yourself: maybe, with a bit of luck, you’ll wake up back in bed.

#6: Being Trapped

We all feel trapped sometimes. In nightmares, these feelings are made concrete. You’re caged in by bars, walls, or even other people. In some of the worst nightmares of this kind, you find yourself trapped in a coffin - buried alive. But no matter how desperate you are to claw your way out, there’s no way out. Don’t be surprised if you wake up with the sheets kicked off and all the pillows on the floor after one of these, while you’re buried under a forehead’s worth of sweat and worry.

#5: Dying

They say that you always wake up right before you die during nightmares, but even if that’s true, the feeling that you’re about to meet your maker doesn’t shake easily. Dreams about death are harrowing experiences, reminding us of our very mortal coil. For some reason, nightmares often come up with particularly creative and even bizarre ways to kill us off - forcing us to face our worst fears. Some people think that dreams about death can also mark new beginnings, but most of the time, they’re a lot more terrifying than hopeful.

#4: Losing Teeth

A smile says it all. That might be why we worry about our teeth so much in dreams. Teeth are an important aspect of our appearance, and dreaming that they’re ruined or falling out may represent social anxieties, or, in a more straightforward interpretation, another reminder that our bodies aren’t invincible, and we won’t be around forever. Either way, the discovery that our grin is suddenly a mouthful of gums and shame is far from fun, and a surprisingly widespread theme in nightmares.

#3: Being Naked in Public

Picture it! You’re giving a presentation in class or at work, when you look down . . . and realize you aren’t wearing pants. In fact, you’re not wearing anything at all, aside from a panicked expression. Hopefully, it’s a nightmare - or else you may want to look for a new school or start filling out some job applications. But even if it isn’t real, nightmares about being naked in public are distressing too. When we’re naked, we’re exposed and at our most vulnerable, so it makes sense that this nightmare is commonplace.

#2: Falling

When you think about it, the fear of falling from a great height is actually pretty reasonable, although dreams tend to add elaborate and unexpected details to the experience. Our fear of heights is instinctual and makes a lot of sense in many situations. Experts believe that the sensation of falling in dreams is sometimes caused by hypnic jerks, involuntarily twitches while falling asleep. Other times, they might be triggered by a sense of being out of control, without anything solid around us to grab on to. And still other times... you’re actually falling.

#1: Being Chased or Attacked

It’s dark, you can’t move, and someone, or something, is coming. These nightmares could be taken as a reflection of your insecurities in relationships with friends, colleagues, and family . . . or maybe you’re just genuinely afraid that someone is out to get you. Whatever the case, we’ve all been there in our sleep, and we’ve all wished we hadn’t. The sensation of being stalked or pursued often stays with us during the day, especially if we were injured in the dream - making these kinds of nightmares the absolute worst.