Zombies Dream Meaning
Have your dreams been haunted by the undead? Zombies showing up in our dreams can certainly be terrifying, but don’t worry, there’s only a small chance you will soon be visited by flesh eating monsters.
According to Freud, the things we dream of are strongly influenced by our external stimuli and memories. If you have been exposed to zombies on tv/movies, in video games or books lately, this alone makes it more likely you will dream of them.
What do you think of when you hear the word zombie? Corpses that are driven by the need to eat your brains? Or does zombie mean something more mundane?
“I’m a real zombie in the morning before I’ve had my coffee!”
If you think about each, you will come to the conclusion that both associations really mean the same thing.
One informal definition of zombie is “someone who functions in a robotic or automatic manner, especially due to physical or mental fatigue.”
If you are exhausted because you haven’t been sleeping well, or if you are an undead corpse driven by blood lust, in each situation you are acting in a single minded, automatically driven manner. A mindless drive to survive, no thinking necessary.
Does this sound like you?
What it Means to Dream About Zombies
Detachment
A common theme among zombies in popular culture is that they are detached from humans. You don’t see many zombies having healthy loving relationships with their peers, among the walking dead or the living.
A dream of being a zombie could suggest you are feeling detached from other people in general or perhaps from someone specific in your life. Maybe you feel rejected or left behind.
A feeling of detachment is also commonly felt by people who are depressed, are grieving, or are experiencing burn out. Your dream may be telling you it’s time to reach out to someone. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.
Transformation
Zombies are nearly always corpses reanimated. Death, although brimming with negative associations for us in our lives, is actually a positive symbol of change. The undead physically undergo a major change to become their flesh eating, brain sucking selves.
Although it can be gross (and scary) dreams of zombies can represent positive change, growth, and new beginnings. When zombies appear they often go hand in hand with an apocalypse or an end of the world as we know it. This too is another powerful symbol of change or a fresh start.
Think about where in your life you could start anew? Your dream could be about a physical change or transformation you are already undergoing, or it could be an invitation to think about where in your life you need to grow.
Are you carrying around outdated ways of thinking or repeating patterns you know are not in your best interest? Are you currently on a healing journey? Transformation can come in any area of your life, physical, emotional, spiritual, etc.
Stress
Those zombies in your dream may simply be telling you that you are very stressed out and overwhelmed with something. Zombies taking over the world seems like an impossible problem to solve, right? Is this how you feel about something in your life?
An undead hoard in your dream might represent something that feels insurmountable in your waking life, or a situation you feel you’ve lost control of.
Maybe you need to find away to take a step away, take a break and regroup. Maybe you need to ask others for help in shouldering your work load. Simply letting go of the need to control a situation can also be very freeing.
Think about where in your life you are feeling burned out. Is there anything you can do right now that would help lessen the load and allow you to relax?
Some other things zombies can represent in your dreams are:
- Not thinking for yourself (blindly acting on someone else’s orders/wishes)
- Fear of the unknown
- Negative impressions of people around you
- Hiding from your emotions
- Achieving goals
- Fear of danger
We will explore some of these below.
“He comes from the grave, his body a home of worms and filth. No life in his eyes, no warmth of his skin, no beating of his breast. His soul, as empty and dark as the night sky. He laughs at the blade, spits at the arrow, for they will not harm his flesh. For eternity, he will walk the earth, smelling the sweet blood of the living, feasting upon the bones of the damned. Beware, for he is the living dead.
—OBSCURE HINDU TEXT, CIRCA 1000 B.C.E.”
Now that we’ve covered some common themes your zombie dreams may represent, let’s take a look at a few scenarios you may have found yourself in that involve the undead.
Common Zombie Dream Examples & Interpretation
You are a zombie
As discussed above, if you find yourself a zombie in your dream, it can mean a number of things. It could be representative of a personal transformation or new beginning.
It could also suggest a fear of the unknown, fear of your own death, or fear of your emotions. You may feel out of control, or that you have lost control of a particular situation.
Consider what else is happening in the dream, and how you felt to better understand what this dream could mean for you. If you know that there are fears or problems you are grappling with in your conscious hours, then that is a good clue as to the meaning of this dream.
If these ideas don’t resonate, then perhaps the dream is more about your individual growth and a fresh start. Take some time to think about each possible meaning and how it relates to your life.
Being Chased by a zombie
Being chased by the undead (whether they are slow moving or crazy fast) strongly suggests you are running away from something. This could be an external situation, or an internal battle.
What are you trying to escape? Are you avoiding dealing with a conflict with a coworker, family member or significant other? Are you trying to ignore the warning signs of a physical illness? Are there any emotions you are trying to repress?
Any of these could be represented by the zombies in your dreams, hunting you down so they can force you to finally pay attention and deal with it. See related dream symbol: Being Chased Dream Meaning for additional insight.
Being attacked or surrounded by zombies
If you are being attacked by or surrounded by an abundance of zombies, this suggests you are feeling vulnerable to attack in your waking hours. You may feel a lot of stress, trapped, and possibly like you are being attacked in some way.
Do you feel like someone is taking advantage of you? Is someone overtly attacking your reputation or even your physical person?
Killing a zombie
Killing a zombie is a very positive dream symbol. This is likely about you achieving a goal or solving a problem. The act of vanquishing the terrifying monster in your dream is highly suggestive of you conquering the obstacles you are dealing with in your life. This dream speaks to the perseverance and bravery you will need to embody to achieve your objective.
See related dream symbol: Killing in Dreams Meaning
Knowing someone else who turns into zombie
When someone you know shows up undead in your dream, this is representative of how you feel about that person. Maybe you feel like you don’t know them anymore… perhaps they have changed suddenly (for better or worse).
This dream could also be about a misunderstanding, or some sort of confusion in that relationship. It could be that you don’t know where you stand and don’t know how to proceed.
To understand more about what your dream means, ask yourself these questions:
- How do you feel about zombies?
- Do you have any personal associations with zombies?
- What other symbols appeared in the dream?
- Are you going through any major changes right now?
- Is there something you are avoiding in your life?
- Do you feel stressed or burnt out?
- Is there anything confusing going on in your life?
Did you have a dream about zombies? Tell us about your dream and what it means for you in the comments section below!
I had a dream about zombies for two nights. On one of the nights, I dreamed that two of my friends and I were zombie fighters. We were outside at a boat shipment dock, and all these zombies started coming out of different places and started chasing us, but at some point, we stopped running and started fighting and killing the zombies. We put on these padded shields over our clothing so that if a zombie try’s to bite us, it won’t penetrate our skin. It felt like we were in the show “The Walking Dead,” which I hadn’t seen in a long time.
On another night, I dreamed that I was a zombie. I wasn’t scared or freaked out about it. On the contrary, I was excited and Ok with it. I was going around eating people, and I was proud of it like it was natural.
I interpreted from these two dreams that I am running away from something in my life, but now I’m ready to protect myself and deal with whatever the issue is and fight it. The other dream is about me going through a transformation in my life. A change that I’m excited and proud about. A shift that is happening naturally.
I had a dream that I was the cure for zombies. I was running to them so they would bite me and be cured of the zombie virus.
I dreamt that I was visiting New york(havent been there ever, and also not planning to anytime soon) and i was in a theater. As I walked up the stairs my dream transformed in a Walking dead episode. I hear ppl talking above me and they say white walkers. i imediately walk back down the stairs. Pick up some books that are on the ground and pack em in my backpack. I emerge from a side door onto the streets. I see nothing as I come onto the streets that have an indication that the apocalypse is here( like first few episodes of fear the walking dead) I do warn ppl as i walk the streets. all of a sudden i see a military vehicle and ppl getting onto it as to take em to safety. i join them and then i wake up.
Had a dream a few years ago that I was in a shopping mall somewhere in California. An announcement came over the P.A. system that zombies had invaded the mall and all shoppers were being warned to either evacuate immediately or ‘take cover’ somewhere. Naturally I wasn’t trying to stay in the mall with zombies so I ran outside and was heading to my car. There was a crowd of people running in every direction. I was very careful to watch everyone around me to make sure there were no zombies already in the crowd. My biggest fear was being bitten by a zombie and becoming one myself. Thankfully I woke up at just that moment. if zombie dreams are bout detachment then i definitely have a detachment from California and California natives. I’ve met a few people from Cali and they were all entitled, super arrogant and acted as if they own the universe. it’s not someplace I’d ever care to live as I am very TURNED OFF by the culture. I have had the opportunity to visit Florida and all the people there made me feel very welcomed. I would DEFINITELY make Florida my home before Californ-I-A!
I dreamt I was in the building where I asked someone to checkout the restrooms, then suddenly there was a random person running out of the restrooms, jumped through the window and landed on the road, this guy turned into a zombie. I can’t remember how I got in the jet plane but I was telling the pilot to rev and fire up the engine to burn that zombie. But once he was gone, then suddenly there were more zombies everywhere and pilot was attacked by one of zombies. I released the pilot’s seat up in the air with the zombie leaving the jet flying without the pilot. And during in that dream, I kept getting chased by zombies. Then I caught a NASA rocket to fly out of Earth, landed on Mars and became a creature after eating something on Mars. After that I woke up… it was very strange and I woke up feeling really hot.
Hey there , had a wierd dream about being in a pitch black field, I could see the lights of the city where I wanted to go and lights where I knew was the wrong direction. I found a light to escape darkness but when i turned the light on there were hundreds of zombies slowly coming for me . I was very scared but as the first zombie appoached me i punched it and it fell over . So i took off runnong for the city lights punching every zombie that got in my way. Until i got to a gas station that i did not recongnize and after i entered i could not get out untill i woke up drenched in sweat