A few days ago, my dear friend Sara told me about a nightmare she’d had the previous night, probably a nightmare everybody’s had at some time or other. She dreamed that her teeth were falling out.
I asked if it was that kind of dream where your teeth sort of crumble, like old concrete left out in the sun too long. Because that’s how my dream went, back years and years ago when I last had it. She said no, but she didn’t elaborate. We changed the subject as fast as we could.
Not fast enough.
This morning at around four o’clock I sat straight up in bed and ran my tongue over my teeth again and again, big sloppy, wet circles, again and again, counting, looking for gaps. “Oh thank God,” I finally whispered, before diving back under the covers to toss and turn for three hours.
I told Sara about it this morning.
“I didn’t know dreams were contagious,” she said.
“Neither did I,” I lied. See, I’ve always known dreams are contagious. I became infected with somebody else’s dream about six months ago, and it’s turned into a full-on outbreak since — more about that later, probably. But what I didn’t realize is that nightmares are just as contagious as dreams.
Turns out they are.
Comments
All comments are the property of their owners and do not reflect the opinions of this Web site or, well, basically anybody at all. The author of this Web site reserves the right to edit the hell out of any and all comments. Participate at your own risk.
I’ve had this dream probably half a dozen times over the last 3 years, but I assumed it was because I knocked my front teeth out in grade school and my mouth has been a dental nightmare ever since. (In my dream, they didn’t crumble, they kind of split apart vertically and fell out piece by piece.)
Christopher Finke
Wednesday, December 5th, 2007, 11:09 am
I’ve had that dream for years, but I can’t remember if I started having it before or after reading The Tommyknockers. When I have it, the tooth comes out whole, though usually without the root.
DragonLady
Wednesday, December 5th, 2007, 8:20 pm
Oh man, I hate the tooth-losing dream! =(
Mine just sorta… fall out, rather than dissolving.
Sammi
Thursday, December 6th, 2007, 11:37 am
My wife’s dream dictionary says that dream indicates sexual frustration.
Damn that Freud!
Stephen R
Friday, December 7th, 2007, 11:20 am
Auugghhh! I’ve had that dream, and it was so bad it’s one of the only things I consciously fear. Sudden massive tooth loss, evil clowns, and possums. Dreadful.
Jeff St Real
Friday, December 7th, 2007, 3:49 pm