What Does it Mean to Dream About Dead People?

It’s not uncommon for people to wake up from their dreams with their faces soaked in tears or overcome with sadness or fear after encountering people from their past; People from their past who have died.  So, what does it mean to dream about dead people?

Seeing dead people in your dreams might just be memories replaying in your head of past experiences you had with them while they were still alive. Or, you could be seeing those you knew in a spiritual or ghost form, visiting you from beyond their grave.

There are many different beliefs when it comes to seeing people who have passed away while you are in a deep sleep. Some think it could be a loved one’s last visit, while others say its evil spirits bring bad luck. One thing many of these theories have in common is that these dead people are not a dream.

What Does it Mean When You Dream About Dead Loved Ones?

There are many common beliefs surrounding the reasons why we dream about the dead. Some people think it is just how we cope when we lose a loved one. Because we spend so much time missing them, our subconscious brings them back up to us while we are asleep. However, there are even more people who believe we are not necessarily dreaming about dead people as much as dead people are visiting us.

Are The Dead People in Your Dream Ghosts?

There are definitely times when you are dreaming about the dead that it is simply just a dream. A way to keep loved ones in your life and in your memories. Dreaming of the good ole days laughing and having a great time. But, that isn’t always the case.

After a person dies and their souls leave their bodies, they have the freedom to do things that would never be possible for the living, and that includes entering a person’s dreams—coming to visit those from their past to finish up some business or maybe send out a warning.

Visiting a person in their dreams may be the only way for ghosts to communicate with the living, to relay messages, ask questions, or see them for the last time.

There are many beliefs surrounding what visits from the dead may really mean.

Chinese Beliefs

The Chinese do not fear seeing the dead; they actually believe that dreaming about dead people is a good omen. Seeing your ancestors after they have passed can be a sign of spiritual protection for your entire family.

Christian Belief

According to the bible seeing the dead in dreams or otherwise is an “abominable practice,” and the deceased are unsettled spirits that have come to do deceitful and harmful things. It is frowned upon in the Christian religion to have any type of communication with the afterlife.

Wiccans Beliefs

Wiccans believe that when dreaming about a dead person, you are actually being visited by that person’s spirit. They are trying to communicate with you, maybe to get answers regarding their previous life or something else they want to understand before they can move on.

Apache Indians Beleifs

The Apache Indians believe that after a person dies, their spirits stay on earth, free to roam the lands. They believe that these spirits are evil and like to do their hauntings at night, creeping into dreams of the living to scare and torment those they are vengeful against.

Is It a Warning or Threat?

In my experience, it really depends on the types of dreams you experience and the deceased person as they were in life. Most often a dream like this has an undertone ‘feel’ to the dream. Even if you’re certain this is a dead friend or relative communicating with you there’s often a feeling of safety surrounding the rest of the dream.

Dead relatives (especially a dead parent for example) might appear in a dream to warn you about an external threat but they’re very rarely trying to threaten you themselves.

What if The Dead in Your Dreams Do Not Speak?

There is a theory floating around that says if you find yourself dreaming about a person who has already passed away and they are talking to you, then it is just a dream.

You are just having a conversation with someone you have been familiar with and replaying situations that may have already happened while they were alive or dreaming about talks you wished you would have had before they died.

However, If you have a dream about someone who has passed and you are able to see them, touch them, you are so sure they are really there, but they don’t say a word, then that is a ghost that has come to visit.

The interpretations of dreams are complicated so if the ghost isn’t actively speaking to you then you might need to look for something they’re trying to get your attention to.

• Are they pointing to anything?
• Does anything else stand out in the dream?
• Are there other people in dreams showing up around the dead person?

Can Dying People See and Talk to Dead People When They Are Dreaming?

It is a common belief that when people are dying, they have access to the land of the dead. They are able to see and speak with people who have already passed away. Although some skeptics may believe that this is something people do to find comfort in their final hours, many believe it is so much more.

Often times those who are on the brink of death can be heard mumbling or whispering to others who have already died. It is believed that these people are seeking help from the already deceased, looking for guidance into the afterlife. It is also thought that the dead will also come to people they love that are on their deathbed to offer support and reassurance that everything will be okay.

Dreaming About the Dead Can Be Therapeutic

For those who are struggling after losing a loved one, being visited by that person can be very therapeutic. These “dreams” can help tie up loose ends and offer final good-byes that may not have been possible before the death.

How Can You Stop Dreaming About Dead People?

Although there is no one size fits all solution here, there are a few different things that you can do when trying to keep the dead from entering your dreams.

• Burn some sage in your bedroom at night
• Try to determine why they are visiting and answer their questions
• Ask them to stop visiting
• Try to find out if unfinished business was left while they were alive and finish it.

More times than not, seeing dead people in your dreams is nothing to be concerned with. There is very little to support that anyone coming to visit you from the great beyond can actually harm you in any way. If you see the deceased in your dreams, try to find out why they are there and do what you can to help.