History Main / DreamStealer

* The baku (listed below) makes an appearance in ''LostGirl'' as a heroic creature who helps people by eating their bad dreams.

* ''City Of Lost Children'' is about a ''madscientist'' who cannot dream and kidnaps children to try to steal their dreams.

* ''City Of Lost Children'' is about a [[madscientist]] who cannot dream and kidnaps children to try to steal their dreams.

* [[{{Darkstalkers}} Morrigan Aensland]] is said to be of a particular kind of succubus that, [[HornyDevils in addition to the usual features]], can also feed on the dreams of mortals.

The opposite of a DreamWeaver, this is a character that steals/destroys/eats the dreams of others, usually because he gains something from doing so. Perhaps he himself is normally unable to dream and wants to experience it, perhaps dreams are the food source of his species, or perhaps he's just doing it for fun.

* ''Dreamfall'' is ALL about this (the title is a hint). The most obvious example would be the Starkian BigBad [[spoiler:Alvin Peats]] who literally leeches off people's dreams. We also have an EldritchAbomination called Undreaming, which is implied to be this UpToEleven.

!!Examples

* Muma (Dream Demons) in YumekuiMerry can do this, though they usually just place themselves in the dreams their host have

* The move "Dream Eater" from ''[=~Pokémon~=]'' is a powerful HP-draining attack, but works only when the opponent is asleep.
** The Pokémon species Drowzee is particularly famous for this in the games' [[GameplayAndStorySegregation canon]], where it has been known to [[MemeticMolester kidnap children]] to feed off their dreams.

* In ''SamAndMax: The Devil's Playhouse'', after [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity unleashing his full psychic potential, going insane and becoming an]] [[EldritchAbomination Elder God]], Max subsists on making people fall asleep and eating their dreams. One of his [[LiteralSplitPersonality aspects]] can be asked what nightmares taste like, to which he has eight different responses, one of which is "Pepsi".

[[foldercontrol]]

[[AC:Mythology]]
* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baku_%28spirit%29 baku]] of Japanese mythology is a creature which devours bad dreams, and is the base for many references in anime and manga series.

* The 'Cubi race from ''DanAndMabsFurryAdventures'' are the mind-reading {{Emotion Eater}}s, but are advised against entering people's dreams because [[AlwaysABiggerFish bigger]] [[EldritchAbomination fishes]] like to do it, too.

Dream Stealers are usually villains, although [[BadPowersGoodPeople heroic and neutral examples do occur]].

[[AC:Mythology]]
* A dream eater monster (a "baku", if I recall correctly) is a benevolent figure in some Japanese folklore, as it only devours bad dreams. One appears in the second ''UruseiYatsura'' movie to help bring the (extra) weirdness to a close.

* Campari from ''KingOfBanditJing'' has the ability to steal dreams from other people and encapsulate them in a ball. He usually sells them to other people so they can dream about some specific thing, though he can also turn them into reality in emergency situations.

* Synonamess Botch's vulture minions from ''TwiceUponATime'' will sometimes find Figmen, who provide good dreams to people, and kill them, destroying the good dreams with them. (The vultures deliver nightmares.)

* [[http://magiccards.info/lw/en/145.html The faeries of Lorwyn]] in ''MagicTheGathering''.

* The move "Dream Eater" from ''[[{{Pokemon}} Pokémon]]'' is a powerful HP-draining attack, but works only when the opponent is asleep.

[[AC:{{Webcomics}}]]

* [[spoiler:[[EldritchAbomination Annona]]]] from ''{{Bionicle}}'' is an entity that feeds on dreams, inducing madness in its victims.

The opposite of a DreamWeaver, this is a character that steals/destroys/eats the dreams of others, usually because they gain something from doing so. Perhaps they themselves are normally unable to dream and want to experience it, perhaps dreams are the food source of their species, or perhaps they're just doing it for fun.

The effects of having one's dreams stolen vary greatly. They may [[TheSleepless become unable to sleep properly]], [[CreativeSterility lose their creativity]], or even go completely insane. In some cases, there may not be any side effects at all, particularly if the dream is merely being shared or copied rather than completely removed.

{{DreamStealer}}s are usually villains, however, [[BadPowersGoodPeople heroic and neutral examples are not unheard of]].

[[AC:{{Anime and Manga}}]]

* ''[[HelloKitty Hello Kitty And Friends]]'' had an episode where a monster was eating the dreams of Kitty and her friends. The monster was part of a race of monsters whose job was to eat nightmares, but this monster was a mischievous child who was eating pleasant dreams because they tasted better...until they gave him a stomachache.
* {{Digimon}} has Tapirmon, who is based off of the dream-eating Baku and is said to have the same abilities.
* HellTeacherNube - A baku is one of the creatures encountered in the course of the plot, and this one is the kind who eats ALL dreams and eventually [[spoiler: steals the disillusioned souls of its victims to add to its growing bulk]].

* A dream eater monster (a "baku" if I recall correctly,) is a benevolent figure in some Japanese folklore, as it only devours bad dreams. One appears in the second UruseiYatsura movie to help bring the (extra) weirdness to a close.

* The move "Dream Eater" from ''{{Pokemon}}''. It is a powerful HP-draining attack, but only works when the opponent is asleep.
** The Pokemon species Drowzee is particularly famous for this in the games' [[GameplayAndStorySegregation canon]], where it has been known to [[MemeticMolester kidnap children]] to feed off their dreams.

* The 'Cubi race from ''DanAndMabsFurryAdventures'' are the mind-reading {{Emotion Eater}}s, but are advised against entering people's dreams because [[AlwaysABiggerFish bigger]] [[EldritchAbomination fishes]] like to do it too.

* In ''StrawberryShortcake: The Sweet Dreams Movie'', The Peculiar Purple Pieman of Porcupine Peak takes over the Land of Dreams and plans to keep all the dreams for himself, because he never got any dreams as a child.

* The 'Cubi race from ''DanAndMabsFurryAdventures'' are the mind-reading {{Emotion Eater}}s, but are advised against entering people's dreams [[AlwaysABiggerFish bigger]] [[EldritchAbomination fishes]] like to do it too.

* The "'Cubi" race from DanAndMabsFurryAdventures are the Dream Eater variety.