What Does Murdering in Dreams Mean?
Every so often I will meet a client who feels mortified to admit they had a dream of murder and yet desperately want to understand its meaning. Like any dream I hear, my 6 Point of Entry method will work, though it seems to me, especially when it comes to murder, killing, and dying, “play on words or puns” is often most effective. Much the same as we use them in our waking language, a pun or play on words will often reveal the dream’s meaning, and also leave us smiling at the fun of it.
You may already know that whether you remember your dreams or you don’t, dreaming is an internal, problem-solving conversation that takes place between your conscious and your unconscious mind.
Further, at the surface, every dream is triggered by a very specific waking situation in the dreamer’s life. It’s about something that either happened to you, or something that you thought about the day before you had the dream. Most importantly, it’s something that’s bugging you, and the dream provides a solution.
Because the solution to the problem appears in the dream before you get it consciously, if you understand: a) how to connect your dream to the waking life situation you were discussing with yourself and b) how to recognize a solution when it comes in the form of a metaphor, you can accelerate your problem solving!
Since you get the solutions to your problem faster when you know how to understand the dream, let me begin with some typical examples of dreams on this subject using puns and play on words.
One of my favorite examples is the woman who said, “I spent so much money on that handbag, if my husband finds out, he’s going to kill me.” And next thing was her sharing a dream about how a murderer was after her! It was not that someone was trying to kill her in a literal way. The dream reflected her worries concerning her husband’s reaction to the dreamer spending too much!
Other typical expressions we use that might trigger a dream and then also help point a dreamer to the discussion at hand are, a young man recounting the story of how he slipped and fell in front of so many people said, “I was so embarrassed I thought I would die.” This incident triggered a dream in which this fellow learned he was going to die.
We can’t discuss murdering in dreams, without discussing a “feelings” point of entry.
It’s fair to imagine that dreaming of murder will probably fall into the nightmare category.
Humans are self-regulating organisms; in other words, we are always in a state of balancing. Unexpressed feelings are a common predicate for a nightmare, and are a display of our regulation mechanisms at work.
The nightmare becomes the over-reaction to your underreaction; hence, a balance is created. This over-reaction is bound to succeed in grabbing your attention, which is exactly its intention. Hopefully, the provocation in nightmares is exactly what inspires a dreamer to take the internal conversation outside to waking life.
I, myself, recently had my first “murder dream”, in which I was in jail in the cell across from the doctor who did my angiogram. My test was a very painful experience for which I suffered almost a month after. Around that one-month mark, I had a dream in which I walked out of my cell and stabbed the doctor with a bread knife!
My dream was in response to the fact that I never expressed my frustration and anger towards him. It was the holding-in that triggered my murdering in dreams. The dream accomplished two goals in one swoop. The first that I expressed my feelings to the doctor. The second, appreciating the humor with which our unconscious often sends its messages, was the bread knife. It’s appearance so cleverly pointed me to my responsibility in the whole fiasco, that being the need to be more attentive to my eating habits!
16 Responses
I had a dream that my 10 year old son murdered he’s friend and an old man and did unimaginable things to them I cried when I woke up it’s really freaked me out it’s traumatising my son is the most kind lovely loving person he would never do anything like that I would love to know what my dream means ???
Hi. I only just saw your post. Sorry about that, but it’s not too long ago so perhaps you will still catch the meaning of this dream. Since I hope you gathered from reading my post, the dream is reflecting a current waking situation you are discussing with yourself. In trying to help you name the situation your dream was reflecting, I can tell you the thing that struck me most—–If this was my dream, I would be looking for a recent waking situation in which I watched someone who I consider is typically kind, warm, and loving—-lose their temper—-or take some action that was very hurtful. ALSO—-Another avenue I might travel with this if it was my dream, would be to look for and name what recent situation in my life needs me to cry….to express my sadness and perhaps my surprise too. This dream helped you CRY. If you have been holding in your sadness about something, this dream provided the solution! It gave you a “rehearsal” — a starting point to let your tears flow. = a good thing. And remember to look for someone who did not behave as you would normally expect them to. I hope that helps.
I had a dream one of my bf friends was trying to kill me with a screwdriver I had this same exact dream before he was trying to stab me over and over again but he didn’t get the chance to because I took the weapon and stabbed him in his neck and called the cops. But this felt so real I woke up that morning confused and wondering did I actually kill somebody
I also had another dream. This one is different i remember there was an older man who entered my apartment when my bf left for work and would not let me and my son leave I had told him I had to go check the mail box. So he told me don’t do nun stupid so I rush downstairs while my son was in the apartment still and I try to lock myself in the laundry room and before I could he pushed the door open and the downstairs neighbor heard and opened the door to see what was going on when I finally got away again I ran into my downstairs neighbors door asked her to call the cops she said she can’t they don’t have any phones she gave me weapon I can’t remember what it was exactly but I remember stabbing him in his neck a few time once I knew I could go back upstairs to my apartment with my son. I did and my bf was sitting there on his game
Hi Kiley. I am so surprised by your dreams, but especially surprised by the second one. It looks and feel like you haven’t read my blog post!! I am teaching here that your dreams are a reflection of a very specific waking situation you are discussing with yourself in the dream……What situation do you think is going on in your life these past few weeks in which you are feeling “stuck”…..Not “allowed” to move….OR you are “trying to escape” from?? As I explain in this blog post, the first job to understand your dream is to NAME THE WAKING SITUATION IN YOUR LIFE that is making you feel the same way. Where in your life are you feeling “stuck”—“not allowed”—“trying to escape from”??? The great news is in this particular dream, you seem to have 1) ASKED FOR HELP and 2) You defended yourself!! This, in my option is very much two solutions you gave yourself in this dream. Now you will want to look at your real life situation that is making you feel this way and 1. Ask someone you trust for ideas—-for advice—for support—and 2. defend yourself!! Speak up. That’s my response. I hope it helps!
My dream was that I shot my mother and sister (who both died years ago) and was put into a women’s mental institution. My husband visited me but I felt an intense sadness because of what I had done and because I couldn’t go home with him.
The fastest and easiest way to uncover what subject you were discussing with yourself in the dream is to NAME the waking situation in your life inside the last week or so that is making you feel a similar way. This dream’s salient feeling sounds like guilt and remorse. You say, “I felt an intense sadness because of what I had done”. What happened in your life in these last few days that you are feeling guilt and remorse about? Talking about what is bothering us with someone who you love and trust, immediately lets some air out of the balloon. The other thing that happens once you move this conversation out of the dream —-to your life, is that whoever you trust to speak about this to, will offer, support and probably some ideas to help you resolve the matter. Bring the conversation OUT. That’s what this dream wants you to do! Good luck!
A visit from my now estranged son and his wife, I was awakened to a commotion coming from his room, I went to the window and he was sobbing I couldn’t tell who was assaulting who but it looks as though he was murdering his wife, I ran to get help, and was awakened from fright
Hi. If you read this blog post about murder……you probably read the dream is reflecting a very specific waking situation that you are discussing with yourself. Because you were “awakened from fright” —-if that was my dream, the first question I would ask myself is what’s going on in my life this week that has me feeling frightened…..nervous…..?? Also importantly, is the action in this dream. It’s all about something you seem to have witnessed. What did you see this past week—-something that has you feeling worried?? It does not necessarily have to do with your estranged son, but if this was my dream, I would be perhaps looking for a situation involving a family member. What’s got you anxious? The best part of your dream is how you “RAN TO GET HELP”. That’s the solution right there. You said it yourself. And you even rehearsed running for help in your dream. Once you NAME the situation you were discussing with yourself inside this dream…..reach out to someone you trust and love to discuss the matter. It seems like you already know that. Your dream was just here to remind you! Good luck.
Hi I’ve just had a horrific dream I was sat on holiday with my family eating and we were nearly killed by a helicopter crashing but it missed however there was then a war and soldiers were shooting everyone and we were lined up to be killed in a church yard I woke just before we were shot it was pretty vivid and terrifying
Hi Katie. As I hope you have read in all of my blogs and articles you are discussing a very very recent experience you’ve had inside your dream. The job is to match the dream to the recent experience. Given that your dream brings fear right to the forefront chances are you are feeling “a little” anxiety about something or someone this week BUT you haven’t been discussing it. So your dream brings the fear and worry forward—-the dream puts it right in your face. That’s how your healthy unconscious mind 1. Creates a balance in your system and 2. Calls out to you to discuss the matter in the day. What do you think you are concerned about inside that you’re not talking about? You can book a consultation with me by going to my site at http://www.thedreamanalyst.com
I had a dream last night where I was part of the family from the show modern family and cam and some of the others were talking about being attacked after talking in a nearby place. I thought it was a park but later in the dream it turns into like a landscape or welding shop. Cam and Claire both ran away scared from this character murderer until I heard about it and decided to drive there myself with Jay or Phil and Alex I think. But we get there and start investigating and I knew in my mind that when I turn around this character who I didn’t recognize their face but I interpreted as like a Michael Myers kind of character just with no mask was there. He comes and attacks and I try to anticipate it and get slashed in my left hand. where then Not Michael Myers makes his way to the car we arrived in and as he gets in the driver seat. I follow with a kitchen knife that just appeared in my hand and slash the back tire on the left side. He not leaving yet He’s trying to hot wire it i think. so i go to the other side and slash the right back tire and make my way to the back passenger seat and attack him. he tries to counter with his knife in his right hand and i slash his wrist so he drops the knife. as he does I look at him and I think I said “nobody hurts my family” and I then go to stab him in the heart. he tries to fight it but its a slow stab ala saving private ryan. I feel my heart racing so fast and I can tell the pain is going to hit my hand any second and as i pull out the knife it pulls out a chunk of flesh with it and i freak out and step out of the car and as I step on the ground, I wake up. In my life for the past weekish I have been trying to be more of myself. I think the dream is me killing of my fear? or a version of myself that isn’t trying to be themself. I work in landscaping and i don’t like it and i have hope and aspirations for a dream life and i have been very frustrated with myself that I for the past couple months settled into that. Like I settled into this empty life with an empty version of myself and after a deep conversation with my wife I felt like I woke up again as the actual me. its a lot to deal with but I’m curious if this is the situation that my dream is referring too.
Hi. Since every dream at the first level is triggered by something (or someone) very specific you thought about OR happened to you the day before the dream, “your job” is to name the subject (incident/situation) you were discussing with yourself in this dream. Try looking at your feelings in this dream. Sometimes the feelings are the easiest way no catch meaning in your dream. If you can remember how you felt in this dream, you can match how you felt to a recent waking situation that made you feel a similar way. I was about to ask you what situation recently made you feel the same as you felt inside the dream…..when I see you have already answered the question in a VERY intelligent way. BRAVO for you!! Here was your comment I am referring to: You said, “I think the dream is me killing of my fear? or a version of myself that isn’t trying to be themself. I work in landscaping and i don’t like it and i have hope and aspirations for a dream life and i have been very frustrated with myself that I for the past couple months settled into that. Like I settled into this empty life with an empty version of myself and after a deep conversation with my wife I felt like I woke up again as the actual me. its a lot to deal with but I’m curious if this is the situation that my dream is referring to.”……My thoughts? You seem to have caught your dream with your already experienced, intelligent mind. Excellent work.
I am having a dream most of them is to kill someone just to survive. like just last night I dreamed about I am killing someone just to protect myself and my family and everytime I woke up I can still feel how scared I am and my heart beat is fast. But yeah before that I’ve been bugging by my thoughts like to change into a new person, I joined a life group that related to church but yeah most of lesson I really get is to change, to repent. So ig this thing triggered my thoughts since I also read some articles it’s says that the person Iwas killing is my old self.
Hi Ali. That’s an excellent analysis!! I might also look at what specifically has you feeling frightened this week so you can bring it forward and talk about it. Once you’re discussing the situation you bring it to the light of day——which removes it from the dreams at night. Thank you for sharing.
I had a dream last night that my estranged son murdered a girl. I found that he had hidden the body in the couch and when I went to remove it it was like a big bunny chocolate egg with the side of its head smashed in. In the dream I still believed it was the girl. In part of the dream, the actor Paul Newman was in it and I was going to him for advice on what to do. (I have not thought about Paul Newman or even seen him in a movie in years). There was a lot more going on in the dream but it’s too difficult to describe here.
Hi Sinead. I’m not sure you are aware but I am not a psychic. I look at dreams from a psychological perspective. Every dream is an interior discussion that you have with yourself and at the first level you are going over something you either thought about or something that happened to you the day before you had the dream. Since you say you are disconnected from your son, in this dream you have used him as a symbol—-either for another person who is in your current life and who you are referring to in this dream. Since the symbols and our dreams are very personal I can’t tell you why you brought Paul Newman into your dream without speaking to you directly. If you want to analyze your dream here is the link where you can book an appointment with me. I’m quite confident if you and I have a conversation, by the time we are done you will understand EXACTLY how and why your son and Paul Newman too appeared in your dream as well as why it was a story about murder. Here’s the link. Looking forward to hearing from you. https://thedreamanalyst.com/dream-interpretation-consultations/