History Main / YourWorstNightmare

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Subtrope of TalkingInYourDreams. May be mistaken for PastExperienceNightmare, AnxietyDreams, DreamingOfThingsToCome, DreamSpying, or DreamingOfTimesGoneBy. Indeed, those tropes can be used by the attackers.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Film]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' episode "Power-noia", Him visited the girls in their sleep and tormented them with the aforementioned worst nightmares.
** This is inversely done to the Sand Man via the girls when he gets fed up with constantly having to put people to sleep and get no sleep for himself, thus leaving him to decide to just force everyone to sleep at once. The girls find out that they have the power to communicate through dreams and use this to give the Sand Man so many nightmares that he never wants to sleep again. [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality Yeah...]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy:'' The only way to claim Horror's Hand is to face its conjuration of your very worst fears, fight through it, and grab it. Billy and Irwin get wildly attacked by their monstrous fears (a spider clown mailman, and a grizzly bear comedy patron) and don't even come close. Followed by a subversion of what usually happens in the show when Mandy tries as nonchalantly as usual, and her biggest fear (growing up to be a well-adjusted, cheerful adult married to Irwin and with children) sends her away crying. Grim himself just walks up to it and grabs it utterly casually; he faces his very worst nightmare, being basically enslaved by a bunch of children to be their friend, every single day, so the Hand couldn't achieve anything.

* Happens in ''VideoGame/StarStealingPrince''. At first, the protagonist Snowe brushes it off as merely normal nightmares... [[spoiler: until the [[NightmareWeaver the Demon]] [[UpToEleven increases how often it happens]], as well as making each nightmare more and more horrific until Snowe's companions even take note of just how [[ExhaustedEyeBags badly his eyes have gotten unnaturally baggy.]]]] [[spoiler: The only way to truly halt this endless stream of nightmares (and secure the [[GoldenEnding Good Ending]]) is by having Erio [[DreamWalker enter Snowe's mind]] so that him, Snowe and Dream Astra (the final of which has been forced to [[ResurrectionDeathLoop die again and again]] via being [[ManonFire burned alive]]. Only after defeating the Demon causing said nightmares will they cease, and after they return from the DreamWorld, Snowe and Erio fall asleep after conversing with Astra about what Erio and Snowe were doing inside the tent, concluding with Snowe finally freed from those dreadful nightmares.]]

* In [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/19213330 this]] ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' oneshot, an EldritchAbomination disguises itself as a [[GeniusLoci haunted house]] attraction and abducts visitors in order to trap them in {{Lotus Eater Machine}}s and feed on their fears. Over the course of the story, we see it do this to Gaz (who finds herself once again inflicted with the pig-mouth curse, locked up, and with everyone laughing at her), Zim (who finds himself exposed as an alien, captured, and about to be dissected), and Dib (who finds himself in a post-AlienInvasion world where Zim rules). [[spoiler: Then it tries to entrap [[CloudCuckoolander GIR]] as well, and [[TooSpicyForYogSothoth his insanity overwhelms and destroys it]], freeing the others.]]

* In ''Ultraman Ginga S The Movie: Showdown! The 10 Ultra Brothers (2015)'', the BigDamnMovie for ''Series/UltramanGinga'', this is how the BigBad Etelgar attempt to prevent the alliance of Ultramen of various dimensions from [[StormingTheCastle invading his fortress hideout]]; by summoning Eteldummies, copies of their worst fears, where each Ultramen are forced to stay back and fight in order to proceed. Here are the greatest fears of the various Ultras featured, as depicted in the FinalBattle:

** ''Series/UltramanMax'': Sran Seijin
** ''Series/UltramanMebius'': Empera Seijin

* From ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', BigBad Amon is this to Korra.

* In ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'' in the ''[[JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind Claptastic Voyage DLC]]'', Claptrap's fears, as protrayed as a [[ScaryJackInTheBox Jack-In-The-Box]] with a scarred [[ManipulativeBastard Handsome Jack]] as a head, tries to dig into Claptrap's worst fears. It shows [[CantUseStairs stairs]] and [[SelfDeprecation himself]], until it's revealed that Claptrap's biggest fear is [[spoiler:''other'' people's loneliness.]]

* In season 2 of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', Molly Walker is tormented by what she calls "the nightmare man," but she refuses to talk to anyone about it. The nightmare man is later revealed to be [[spoiler: Matt Parkman's father, who locks her down until Matt beats him in a mental battle]].

** Guess what? The only spell that can summon this abomination is an ''Epic'' spell, thus (almost) on par with spells that can, say, rains apocalypse from the heavens to an area as large as a city. Yeah, this creature is this trope, {{Exaggerated}}.
** In 3.5's Monster Manual II we get the Nightmare Beast which, surprise, can induce horrific nightmares to any intelligent creature from a distance. Add Its immense size, the ability to trample smaller creatures, and some pretty frightening spells, and you have a monster made for inducing nightmares regardless of whether you are awake or asleep.

** The Eater-of-Chains can actually be a noticeable aversion: [[spoiler: Its possible to ''breed'' an Eater-of-Chains to act as a companion to your character. From then onward, as long as you have one (not necessarily equipped, just in your inventory) there is a small chance of drawing a card that has the Eater-of-Chains stand guard while you sleep, which ensures a restful night.]]

** In the season 3 premiere, [[spoiler:[[BigBad King Sombra]] turns out to have set a trap like this to prevent anypony else from getting to the Crystal Heart. Twilight Sparkle falls into it and sees a vision where Princess Celestia angrily tells her she failed her test and she should just give up on her magical studies. Spike manages to free Twilight, only to fall into it himself and be treated to a vision where Twilight tells him he's not needed anymore as her assistant and tries to send him away.]]
** The Tantabus, which appears halfway through season 5, is a creature of dark magic that travels from dream to dream, turning each dream it invades into a nightmare and growing in power as it does. [[spoiler:The true source of its strength is [[EmotionEater the guilt of its creator]].]]

* In ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'' in the ''[[JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind Claptastic Voyage DLC]]'', Claptrap's fears, as protrayed as a [[ScaryJackInTheBox Jack-In-The-Box]] with a scarred [[ManipulativeBastard Handsome Jack]] as a head, tries to dig into Claptrap's worst fear. It shows [[CantUseStairs stairs]] and [[SelfDeprecation himself]], until it's revealed that Claptrap's biggest fear is [[spoiler:''other'' people's loneliness.]]

* Happens in ''VideoGame/StarStealingPrince''. At first, the protagonist Snowe brushes it off as merely normal nightmares... [[spoiler: until the [[DreamWeaver the Demon]] [[UpToEleven increases how often it happens]], as well as making each nightmare more and more horrific until Snowe's companions even take note of just how [[ExhaustedEyeBags badly his eyes have gotten unnaturally baggy.]]]] [[spoiler: The only way to truly halt this endless stream of nightmares (and secure the [[GoldenEnding Good Ending]]) is by having Erio [[DreamWalker enter Snowe's mind]] so that him, Snowe and Dream Astra (the final of which has been forced to [[ResurrectionDeathLoop die again and again]] via being [[ManonFire burned alive]]. Only after defeating the Demon causing said nightmares will they cease, and after they return from the DreamWorld, Snowe and Erio fall asleep after conversing with Astra about what Erio and Snowe were doing inside the tent, concluding with Snowe finally freed from those dreadful nightmares.]]

* In ''Webcomic/ArthurKingOfTimeAndSpace'', Arthur's reaction to his worst nightmare is "[[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/2151.htm Still, things could be a lot worse]]".

* In the ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'' episode "Nightmare on Mother Brain's Street" Lana eats a poison apple and gets sent to a "Nightmare Warp". Kevin and the others must follow, and arrive in a place where their worst fears come to life. Lana is ugly, looking a lot like Mother Brain. Vain Simon is also made to look ugly, as his hair and teeth fall out, and his muscles turn to flab. Mega Man got frozen by Ice Man and Kid Icarus' arrow came to life and shot him. And Kevin? Turns out his worst fear is having to clean his room.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'' episode "Nightmare on Mother Brain's Street" Lana eats a poison apple and gets sent to a "Nightmare Warp". Kevin and the others must follow, and arrive in a place where their worst fears come to life. Lana is ugly, looking a lot like Mother Brain. Vain Simon also is made to look ugly, as his hair and teeth fall out, and his muscles turn to flab. Mega Man got frozen by Ice Man and Kid Icarus's arrow came to life and shot him. And Kevin? Turns out his worst fear is having to clean his room.

* ''Literature/CanYouSpareAQuarter'': Graham is trying to get something done about Jamie's nightmares, which involve the boy's father abusing him, and seeks temporary guardianship so that he can bring Jamie to a psychiatrist.

* ''Fanfic/CodePrimeR1Rebellion'': [[spoiler: Megatron's Dark Geass of Absolute Terror allows him to trap people in hallucinations of their worst fears, so intense that they eventually kill the victim.]]

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'', a band of intruders in the home of [[spoiler: the Tooth Fairy]] are menaced (and in many cases, killed) by a number of scary things from their childhood. One is literally swallowed up by darkness, another is devoured by a wardrobe with a creepy face in the woodwork, a third is chased off (and presumably killed) by a "Scissor Man" (read: a ''man made of scissors'' who threatens children that suck their thumbs), a fourth is attacked by an exaggerated version of a bully they knew in school, and one dies of a heart attack after being menaced by a giant version of his domineering, [[AbusiveParents abusive mother]].

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* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': This is the power of the boggart species. The fears seen range from mundane (Hermione being told off by a phantom teacher for failing a test, while Ron's six-foot-tall spider causes quite a few screams) to [[{{Tearjerker}} poignant]] (Molly Weasley seeing a vision of her dead children, plus Harry). Harry's worst nightmare, interestingly, is the Dementor - a creature that spreads fear by its very presence, meaning his worst fear is fear itself (when Lupin thought it'd be Voldemort, whose boggart is apparently his own corpse, so terrified is he of death). Notably, however, boggarts are not considered very threatening, as there's a simple spell for dealing with them and they're fairly simple to defeat: Boggarts are defeated by laughter. Boggart Snape ends up dressed like Neville's grandmother, while Seamus' banshee loses her voice.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' Fanfic ''FanFic/{{Moonlight}}'', this is what every pony affected by the mysterious being that is putting ponies to sleep has happen to them, from things that are affecting them recently to nightmares in their past.

** "[[Recap/CharmedS5E14SandFranciscoDreamin}} Sand Francisco Dreamin']]" pits the PowerTrio protagonists against their worst nightmares come to life after the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Demon Of The Week]] gets his hands on some Sandman sand.