- A dream about killing someone is traditionally read by the circumstances: Miller says killing a defenceless person means sorrow and failure, killing in defence means victory.
- Psychology reads killing in a dream as ending something, an influence, a habit, a role, rather than a wish to harm.
- Aggression appears in nearly half of men’s dreams and a third of women’s in the classic content analysis.
- Killing dreams are common among gentle people and say nothing about what they would do awake.
- Dream interpretation is a tradition of reading symbols; it does not predict events.
What does it mean to dream about killing someone?
Folk dream books read killing by its circumstances. Miller (1901) writes that to dream of killing a defenceless man prognosticates sorrow and failure in affairs, but that killing in defence, or killing a ferocious beast, denotes victory and a rise in position. Other books read killing a stranger as ending a worry, killing a relative as a quarrel in the family, and killing an animal as overcoming a temptation. Blood on the hands afterwards is read as guilt that follows a decision. Being unable to finish the killing, a common form of the dream, is read as a problem that will not be resolved quickly.
Three ways to read a dream about killing someone
| Reading | Who says it | What the dream is taken to mean | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dream books | Folk tradition, Miller (1901) | Folk dream books read killing by its circumstances. Miller (1901) writes that to dream of killing a defenceless man prognosticates sorrow and failure in affairs, but that killing in defence, or killing a ferocious beast, denotes victory and a rise in position. Other books read killing a stranger as ending a worry, killing a relative as a quarrel in the family, and killing an animal as overcoming a temptation. Blood on the hands afterwards is read as guilt that follows a decision. Being unable to finish the killing, a common form of the dream, is read as a problem that will not be resolved quickly. | Custom |
| Psychology | Freud, Jung and later authors | Psychology reads killing in a dream as ending, not murder. The person killed usually stands for something: an influence the dreamer wants out of their life, a role they have outgrown, a habit, or a part of themselves they cannot accept. Freud read such dreams as disguised hostile wishes, often toward people the dreamer also loves, which is why they leave such guilt on waking. Jungian writers read killing the shadow figure as the wrong way to deal with it: it returns. Killing in self-defence in a dream usually mirrors a boundary the dreamer is trying to hold by day. | Clinical interpretation |
| Sleep research | Sleep laboratories, surveys | Hall and Van de Castle found aggression in nearly half of men’s dreams and about a third of women’s, most of it directed at the dreamer, but a share of it committed by the dreamer. Dreams of killing are reported by ordinary people with no violent history, which supports the reading that dream aggression tracks emotion rather than intention. Threat-simulation theory reads fighting and killing as rehearsal of defence. The continuity hypothesis adds the sources: anger by day, a conflict, a violent film or game, and the guilt on waking that many report. | Measurements and surveys |
Killing someone in the dream books
What each source says, in its own terms. Dream books are quoted as tradition, not as fact.
To dream of killing a defenceless man prognosticates sorrow and failure in affairs. To kill one in defence, or to kill a ferocious beast, denotes victory and a rise in position.
Killing a stranger ends a worry; killing a relative means a quarrel in the family; killing an animal is overcoming a temptation. Blood on the hands afterwards is guilt that follows a decision.
Dreams of the death of persons the dreamer loves belong to the typical dreams; Freud read them through hostile wishes that coexist with love and are pushed out of awareness by day.
Killing someone dream meaning, by variation
The details change the reading.
| In the dream | Traditional reading | Psychological reading |
|---|---|---|
| Killing in self-defence | Victory over an enemy | Holding a boundary that is being pushed |
| Killing a stranger | An end to a worry | Ending an influence you cannot name |
| Killing a family member | A quarrel in the family | Anger at someone you also love; guilt on waking |
| Trying to kill someone but failing | A problem that will not resolve | An influence you cannot get rid of |
| Killing an animal | Overcoming a temptation | Suppressing an instinct or appetite |
| Hiding a body | A secret that weighs on you | Something ended that you have not admitted |
| Killing someone by accident | Harm done without meaning to | Guilt about a consequence you did not intend |
| Killing an ex or a rival | Ending an old bond | Wanting the past out of your present |
When in the night do such dreams happen?
Vivid, story-like dreams happen mostly in REM sleep. REM periods are short early in the night and get longer toward morning, which is why a dream like this is often the last thing before waking.
Spiritual meaning of killing someone in a dream
Spiritual writers read killing in a dream as the death of a form so that a new one can live: an old self, an old loyalty, an old fear. In this reading the person killed is a mask the dreamer no longer wears, and the horror on waking is the ego’s attachment to it. They read killing in defence as the will to protect one’s path, killing in rage as a warning that the dreamer’s force is unowned, and hiding the body as refusing to grieve what has ended. The advice is to name what died.
What in my life do I want gone so badly that I would end it at once?
Whom am I angry at while also loving them?
What have I ended recently without admitting it, even to myself?
Questions people ask
What does it mean to dream about killing someone?
Miller reads it by circumstance: sorrow if the victim was defenceless, victory if the killing was in defence. Psychology reads killing as ending an influence, a habit or a role. Research finds aggression in a large share of ordinary dreams and ties it to emotion, not intention.
Is dreaming of killing someone a bad sign?
No. Killing dreams are reported by gentle people who would never harm anyone, and there is no evidence that dreams predict events. The dream reflects anger, a boundary or something ending, and the guilt on waking shows the dreamer’s conscience, not a plan.
What does it mean to dream of killing a family member?
Folk books read it as a quarrel in the family. Freud placed such dreams among the typical dreams and read them through anger that coexists with love. They are common after arguments and usually leave strong guilt.
What does it mean if I try to kill someone but can’t?
Dream books read it as a problem that will not be resolved quickly. Psychologically it shows an influence the dreamer keeps trying to be rid of, a person, a habit, a memory, that does not go.
What does killing in self-defence mean in a dream?
Miller reads it as victory and a rise in position. In psychological reading it mirrors a boundary the dreamer is holding by day against pressure from someone or something.
Why do I feel so guilty after a killing dream?
The feeling is the conscience waking before the images fade. Research shows dream aggression tracks emotion; the guilt shows how far the dreamer is from the act, not how near.
- Miller G. H. Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted, 1901
- Freud S. The Interpretation of Dreams, 1899
- Jung C. G. Man and His Symbols, 1964
- Hall C. S., Van de Castle R. L. The Content Analysis of Dreams, 1966
- Revonsuo A. The reinterpretation of dreams: an evolutionary hypothesis of the function of dreaming. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2000
- Folk dream books of Europe and North America
Each symbol page sets three readings side by side and names where each one comes from. Dream books are quoted as tradition. Last reviewed on the date in the header.