Emotions & situations

Nightmare

Historical archive

4 historical accounts to explore.

IN SHORT

Miller wrote: “To dream of being attacked with this hideous sensation, denotes wrangling and failure in business.” Compare 4 historical dream books.

ATTRIBUTED HISTORICAL WRITING

Compare the historical accounts

These are the authors’ historical interpretations. Their forecasts and period judgments are preserved as source material, not as predictions or established meanings for your dream.

SOURCE ACCOUNT

Gustavus Hindman Miller

Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted; Or, What’s in a Dream · Gutenberg #926; bibliography identifies the 1901 original and subsequent reprints

Nightmare · Heading 1391; source lines 15933–15940 · Text transcription

Original source (English)

To dream of being attacked with this hideous sensation, denotes wrangling and failure in business. For a young woman, this is a dream prophetic of disappointment and unmerited slights. It may also warn the dreamer to be careful of her health, and food.

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SOURCE ACCOUNT

A. H. Noe

The Witches' Dream Book; and Fortune Teller · New York, Henry J. Wehman, 1885

Nightmare · Dream section, heading 347; source lines 1359–1360 · Text transcription

Original source (English)

To dream of being ridden by the nightmare is a sign that a woman so dreaming, shall be domineered over by a fool.

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SOURCE ACCOUNT

Anonymous

Everybody’s Book of Luck · Whitman Publishing Company edition; date not stated in transcription

Nightmare · Dream section, heading 188; source lines 3997–4001 · Text transcription

Original source (English)

To dream of having a nightmare is a sign that the dreamer will be immediately married, and (if a man) his wife will turn out a shrew.

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SOURCE ACCOUNT

Katherine Taylor Craig

The Fabric of Dreams: Dream Lore and Dream Interpretation, Ancient and Modern · New York, E. P. Dutton & Company, 1918; original US edition

Nightmare · Printed p. 237; NLM OCR lines 11060–11063 · OCR transcription

Original source (English)

To be ridden by a nightmare signifies that a woman shall suddenly marry; that a man shall be domineered over by a fool (Artemidorus).

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Attributed historical writing. Historical claims are not established predictions or universal psychological meanings. Updated 2026-10-12. Read our approach and sources.