Dream World

"Dream World" by R. A. Lafferty is a surreal science fiction novel written during the early 1960s. The narrative revolves around the concept of shared dreams, specifically a grotesque and nightmarish world that many individuals begin to experience simultaneously. The story explores themes of reality versus illusion, societal panic, and the interplay between dreams and the waking world. In "Dream World," the protagonist, Bascomb Swicegood, discovers that he shares a horrific dream with a stranger, Teresa Ananias, leading to a widespread phenomenon where an entire population is plagued by nightmarish visions. As people report encountering repulsive images—like wart-hogs and strange bodily experiences—they sink into despair and confusion about the nature of their reality. An influential figure urges society to make a decision about which world is real, resulting in a mass return to a more mundane existence. Ultimately, the nightmarish shared experience fades, leaving a sense of eerie normalcy, as the characters are left to reconcile their memories of horror with their everyday lives.