History Main / CatapultNightmare

* ''WebAnimation/Musophobia2012'': The elephant wakes up from their rodent-related nightmare in panic, clattering their teeth and finding that they have fallen out of bed and landed in some of the mousetraps they set up around the bed.

* In ''VideoGame/FallenLondon'', the icon for the "Nightmares" menace is [[https://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/fallenlondon/images/e/e5/Sidebarnightmares.png/revision/latest?cb=20130424143818 a little illustration]] of someone waking up this way.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', Tidus's nightmare concerning his dad during his stay in the Beside Island town hut, screaming "I hate you!"

[[folder:Asian Animation]]

[[folder:Eastern European Animation]]
* ''Animation/{{Clinic}}'' is a Russian MedicalHorror short film in which an old man staying in a hospital has a series of nightmares that frequently cause him to wake up screaming.
[[/folder]]

* Ava from ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10303398/1/The-91st-Annual-Hunger-Games The 91st Annual Hunger Games]]'' has one of these after a particularly chilling nightmare about District 4.
* Firefly experiences one at the beginning of chapter 18 of ''[[Fanfic/AceCombatEquestriaChronicles Ace Combat: The Equestrian War]]'', where the final attack on Gryphus ended up being a failure and Black Star choked her to death after crippling her. Thankfully, it's AllJustADream.
* ''Fanfic/{{Bait and Switch|STO}}'' begins in one of these, apparently a recurring nightmare for Eleya, and consisting of the time she was nearly killed repelling a BoardingParty. She catapults awake after her dream self passes out from blood loss courtesy of a knife to the kidney.

* In ''Fanfic/BookFiveLegends'', Korra awakens from a nightmare swinging and very nearly firebending as well.

* In the ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'' fic, ''Fanfic/BoysUndSenshado'', [[OriginalCharacter Akio]] has this when he has a nightmare about when his father died.
* ''Fanfic/BurningBridgesBuildingConfidence'' opens with Marinette dreaming about her wedding day, only for it to turn sour when Lila shows up and hijacks the event, fatally stabbing her before marrying Adrien instead. All of her classmates cheer her on, while heaping scorn upon Marinette, accusing her of faking her death just to get attention and ruin ''Lila's'' big day.

* Cassidy in the '' WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' Return to the Past, NOW! universe has her DreamingOfThingsToCome up until she unleashes the vortex. ''Fanfic/CodeWings30'' has her have regular nightmares, one of which a screaming one.

* Implied in ''Fanfic/ExTenebrisLux'' when it's mentioned that Cinderella sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night crying. Her husband doesn't understand why, but it's because she has nightmares about her past DomesticAbuse.

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10949901/2/Harry-Potter-and-The-Bonds-of-Punishment Harry Potter and The Bonds of Punishment]]'' Ron bolts upright and screams after having an EroticDream about Harry.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Consolers}}'', Sony has one [[http://consolers.tumblr.com/post/83262275246/after-selling-the-square-enix-shares-sonys-been after a nightmare.]]

* A [[http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/The_KAMics/4771257/ twofer]] in ''Webcomic/TheKAMics'' (also a bit of a MindScrew).

* [[http://www.misfile.com/index.php?page=265 Ash has a scare]] in ''Webcomic/{{Misfile}}''.

* ''ComicStrip/ThePerryBibleFellowship'': [[http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF044-Falling_Dream.gif Subverted]].

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':
** The ''Sun and Moon'' episode "Currying Favor and Flavor" opens with Ash going to face Olivia in the Kahuna Battle with her that he is slated to have with her that day. However, when he goes to throw a Pokéball to release one of his Pokémon, nothing happens and the ball just falls to the ground. After several failed tries, Ash picks one up in confusion, and the Pokéball suddenly turns into a Voltorb and explodes right on top of Ash and Pikachu. Cut to Ash screaming and bolting up in his bunk bed so hard that he hits his head and sends Sophocles flying out of the bunk above him. (And Kiawe thanks Ash for being his alarm clock.)
** A non-human example occurs during the ''Black & White Best Wishes'' series in the episode "Scraggy and the Demanding Gothita"; Axew, anxious that Ash will lose his upcoming battle against Katharine (and thus have to trade Axew's best friend Scraggy over to Katharine), bolts awake covered in sweat after having a nightmare about Ash losing, Scraggy leaving him forever, and then getting attacked by a giant version of Katharine's Gothita.

* The Baby Nightmare sequence in ''WesternAnimation/ShrekTheThird''.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles''. Helen has one in a deleted scene where she has a nightmare about losing her husband to a bunch of hot cheerleaders.

This does happen ''occasionally'' in the real world, but usually it's because someone is startled by an outside sensation (like a loud noise), not a nightmare. Most of the time, certain chemicals secreted while falling asleep prevent the sleeper from acting out their dreams, a condition known as "sleep paralysis", which stops us from hurting ourselves in our sleep. This extends to shortly before falling asleep or just after waking up. The rare times it does happen in real life involve a neurological disorder where the person is woken up from the dream by a sensation, not the other way around. Such sufferers often describe the feeling as being "pushed" upright. Nevertheless, the Catapult Nightmare happens ''every single time'' in fiction. If it's a DreamWithinADream, expect two. [[RunningGag Possibly more]]. Sometimes this trope is PlayedForLaughs, especially if the dream they were having was [[RealDreamsAreWeirder particularly silly]] or they catapult in an over-the-top or silly way. It's just as often PlayedForDrama to show how a character has been traumatized by a particular incident (with their guilt manifesting as [[TraumaButton someone who hurt them]], or [[MyGreatesFailure someone they failed to help]]).

This does happen ''occasionally'' in the real world, but usually it's because someone is startled by an outside sensation (like a loud noise), not a nightmare. Most of the time, certain chemicals secreted while falling asleep prevent the sleeper from acting out their dreams, a condition known as "sleep paralysis", which stops us from hurting ourselves in our sleep. This extends to shortly before falling asleep or just after waking up. The rare times it does happen in real life involve a neurological disorder where the person is woken up from the dream by a sensation, not the other way around. Such sufferers often describe the feeling as being "pushed" upright. Nevertheless, the Catapult Nightmare happens ''every single time'' in fiction. If it's a DreamWithinADream, expect two. [[RunningGag Possibly more]].

* ''LightNovel/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'' episode 9 opens with Mahiro having one...except that, what he considers a nightmare (saying "I love you" to [[ManicPixieDreamGirl Nyarko]] and kissing her full on the lips) probably wouldn't qualify in most other peoples' books.

* In [[https://twitter.com/amesbloom/status/1587268557339086849 this]] ''Manga/SpyXFamily'' doujin, Yor merrily arrives home with a gift for Loid and Anya, and then breaks down in tears and lets put a RapidFireNo when she sees her blooad-soaked [[ProfessionalKiller Thorn Princess]] persona standing over the murdered Loid, Anya, and Bond. When Yor wakes up screaming, Loid comes into her room to see what's going on, and he gives her a CoolDownHug when she tearfully says that she's scared.

[[folder:FanWorks]]

%%* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'', of all things. In fairness, Aragorn pulls a knife in the same motion, and has probably trained himself to do this every time he's suddenly awoken.%%ZCE; doesn't describe the trope; don't write justifying edits