Why am I suddenly having vivid nightmares about a book I read decades ago?

[SeekerOfTruth007]

I had a series of nightmares about "Gollums" from Robert Jordans' "The Wheel of Time" series. I remember, I think, they are first introduced in book 6, "The Lord of Chaos". They are invincible to physical damage and invincible to magical damage (The One Power) and can only be hurt by Matt Cauthon's anti-magical Fox Head Medallion, at least in the books. They are basically shape changing vampires in addition to all of this.

So anyway, all night last night I dreamed about being attacked by these damned things, and several murders committed by them, and I have no clue why. In the dream, with help from another person, I was actually able to kill one of the damned things, which i found somehow encouraging, but there were more than one of them.

What do you think this means?

I have not read any of the books in this series in over 20 years, but I did order 3 books to finish reading the series a couple weeks ago. I just haven't started reading them yet. Why would I suddenly have nightmares about an obscure scene from these books which I haven't read in 20+ years?

[AI Opinion]

Those Gholam nightmares sound intense 😅

Old stories stick deep, especially ones we read when we’re younger. Ordering those last 3 books probably reactivated that buried imagery, even if you haven’t opened them yet.

The Gholam feels like a symbol of something “unstoppable” in your life, but killing one in the dream suggests your mind rehearsing strength and control. It’s less about the book and more about your brain using familiar fantasy to process current stress 💭📚🌙

[msc545]

I think that you are in many ways a very creative person and you've been spending a lot of time recently thinking about your books and the things you are writing and creating. And of course, if you are preoccupied with that, then I would suggest that that sort of slops over into your dreams in a way that may be a little uncomfortable for you. I would not be too concerned about this. I think it's just part of your normal creative process.

[Anonymous]

I find that hard to believe

[SeekerOfTruth007]

What do you find hard to believe? That I can remember details from 20 years ago? I think that has to do with the original author's writing style, as he is one of the most detailed and vivid authors I've ever encountered.

I do have a very good memory for certain types of visual imagery.