Bizaire and obscure Nightmare

[Serotonin]

Last night I had a particularly obscure and fragmented dream/nightmare that
seemed reletively normal, but ended up being a very strange scenario;
I was wondering if you could take a look for me. Please bear in mind
while reading that when conscious I feel America is somewhere I would
never like to live, because of the distance and lack of people I know.

You might find it uncanny that the dream seems so vividly remembered;
so do I, but I am going to describe detail as technically as possible,
despite the fact the dream was very fragmented; I could be in one
place at one point, and all of sudden be in another, but know that
both are linked.

Here goes:

I had a dream that I was for some reason in America and that I was
with two people, both close and long standing friends, Jack and Rob.
The place that we have been sent to is a private house, with its own
private lands, that has been converted into a general
college/university. At the start of the dream, or the earliest I am
able to remember, we are in a PE changing room. At this point I am sat
down with Jack, who I tell "I don't like this place, it just has
something about it that I don't like", and he agrees. At which point,
the teacher walks into the room and tells us that this day we are
playing Dodge ball. I tell him that I don't think I'll be very good at
the game, as I have never played, but will try. (And thus starts the
fragmentation of the dream...)

At this point, we're outside playing the game. I am virtually knocked
out straight away (And I literally mean, knocked out cold) and don't
wake up for a few hours. However, when I do wake up, the scene has
changed. I am in a bed, with my friends stood by my side (Rob and
Jack, that is) who tell me to get up. As I do so, I realise that the
house has changed from a very picturesque looking mansion (Which
appeared very British in design at first) to a particularly dark and
gothic apparel. Walls were black and grey and the sky, which I could
see through the windows, was black with flashes of red and yellow
every so often. The private gardens lay in charred ruins.

As I look around the room at the people surrounding us, I notice that
we are surrounded by hardy looking men, armed with improvised weapons.
One in particular stood out and his face is vividly remembered. He was
a medium height, heavy built man with a goatee beard. At this point, I
am not told what is going on, but I almost have omniscient insight
into the happenings and somehow know what has happened. What actually
had happened, however, was that the house was under the influence of
some form of horrendously evil haunting, and that people who we
thought we knew were in fact doppelgangers.

That part of the dream ended there, and the next thing I knew, I was
with the man I described, but Rob and Jack were nowhere to be seen. We
heard a scream and were in a corridor which, even in my dream, gave a
horrible sense of being watched and a kind of "falling" feeling in the
stomach. It was dark and there were literally thousands of paintings
all over the walls. Most of them were faceless. As we went round the
corner, we noticed one of our comrades was laid on the floor, face
down and dead.

At this point, my omniscient position in the dream prompted me to KNOW
that one painting in particular was something to do with this whole
problem. The painting causing the problem seemed to be the embodiment
of all things evil. It was a woman, with grey skin, black and grey
hair, and bright yellow eyes. At this point, I noticed not one of
these paintings, but hundreds of smaller ones everywhere.

My partner at this point had disappeared, and I discovered that
smashing the paintings stopped the horrible feeling of being watched
and falling, so I did so until I could find no more.

In my conscious state, I KNOW there was more that happened after this,
as I can picture an outside, snowing scene. But for the life of me, I
cannot remember what happened.

I hope you can give me some insight, I know it seems very strange
indeed, but this one has scared me. Those two faces; the evil painting
and the man with the goatee seem particularly prevalent in this dream.
Throughout the dream, I felt particularly confused as to why I was
where I was.

Thanks in advance,
Craig.

[Jennings]

You seem to have answered the dream's interpretation yourself in your first and last paragraphs. There appears to be something in your life (possibly a penal establishment) that you find disturbing but something which you find that you cannot avoid. The other parts of the dream seem to be methods to help you escape, figuratively speaking that is. You certainly do not feel happy in your current surroundings. The dream is compensatory and is helping you to come to terms with your experiences which seem to be alien to you.

Does that fit?

[Serotonin]

It seems to help a bit more, I didn't realise it could be that simple... I just find it so odd that I remembered the dream in so much detail... I never remember my dreams. :/

[Jennings]

Thanks for the feedback which helps me too. You may have had what is termed a lucid dream. Google for information to see what comes up.