Monkey Dream is a creepy urban legend from Japan. They say that after you read this story, strange things will start happening to you in your dreams. If you are easily scared, you might want to skip this one.
I was all alone, standing on the platform of a deserted, dimly-lit railway station.
"Wow, what a boring dream," I thought to myself.
Just then, I heard an announcement come over the loudspeaker. A dull, monotonous voice was saying, "The train will be arriving shortly. If you get on board, you will experience something very scary."
Soon after this cryptic announcement, the train pulled into the station. However, it wasn't really a train. It looked more like the kind of train you see at amusement parks, like a rollercoaster or the monkey train they have at the zoo. There were a few men and women sitting in the cars and their faces were very pale.
"What a weird dream," I thought, but I was curious about the announcement I had heard. Would I really see something scary? What would it be? I decided to get on the train and find out. After all, how scary could it be if I was aware that I was just dreaming?
I sat down in the third car from the back. The air around me felt uncomfortably warm. Everything seemed so realistic that I began to wonder if I actually was dreaming.
"The train is now departing," said the announcement
As the train began to move, my heart was pounding with anticipation and anxiety. I wondered what was going to happen. Soon after the train left the platform, we entered a tunnel that was illuminated by an eerie purple light.
"I've seen this tunnel before!" I said to myself. It was the tunnel from a ghost train ride at an amusement park I used to visit as a kid. That's why I was dreaming about this weird monkey train. I was just remembering all the haunted house rides from my childhood. "This isn't anything to be scared of," I told myself.
Just then, there was another announcement. "Next stop, Ike-zukuri! Ike-zukuri is next!"
"Ike-zukuri?" I thought. "That's not a station, it's a rare Japanese dish!" A skillful Japanese chef can cut up a fish and cook it in such a way that it's still alive when they serve it to you. The poor fish lies on your plate, gasping for air while you eat it. It's grotesque, but in Japan, it's considered a delicacy.
I was still thinking about it when I heard a loud, piercing scream coming from behind me. I turned around and saw four hunchbacked midgets, dressed in rags. They were surrounding the man in the last seat. As I looked closer, I saw that the midgets were wearing monkey masks and brandishing large, sharp knives. Right before my eyes, they began cutting the man into pieces.
They were preparing him just like a chef prepares Ike-zukuri!
An overpowering stench filled the air and the man kept screaming and screaming as they pulled his bloody organs out of his body and scattered them all around the train car.
I noticed a sickly-looking woman with long hair sitting directly behind me. When the screaming started, she began to panic, but only for a moment. Then, she just became silent and faced the front, as if nothing was going on.
I was terrified by the horrible things that were happening behind me and I started to wonder whether or not I really was just dreaming.
When I turned around again, the man in the back seat was gone. All that remained were bloodstains and chunks of red meat. The woman behind me was still staring straight ahead, her face expressionless.
"Next stop, Scooping!" the announcement said. "Scooping is next!"
This time, two of the monkey-faced midgets appeared, carrying spoons with serrated edges. They began to scoop out the eyes of the woman behind me. Up until now, she had been expressionless, but the pain twisted her face in a look of horror. She began shrieking so loudly that I thought my eardrums would burst. Her eyeballs flew out of their sockets. The stench of blood and sweat was unbearable.
I was bent over, shivering in fear. This was my cue to leave. I couldn't take any more of this.
"Wake up!" I told myself. "I have to get out of here! Please, wake up!"
Then, a horrible thought struck me. Judging by how things had been going, I was the next in line...
"Next stop, Minced Meat!" came the announcement. "Minced Meat is next!"
I felt sick. It wasn't hard to imagine what was going to happen next.
I concentrated as hard as I could, trying desperately to force myself to wake up from the dream.
"Come on! Wake up!" I told myself. "It's just a dream! Wake up! Wake up!"
Suddenly, I heard a loud, metallic whirring noise. It sounded like a grinding machine. This time, the two midgets were sitting on my knees. They were holding a strange-looking contraption that I assumed was a mincing machine. I was terrified.
"It's all just a horrible dream! Wake up! Wake up!" I closed my eyes and prayed as hard as I could. "For the love of God, please wake up!"
Whiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrr!
The sound was getting closer and closer.
I could feel the wind from the machine on my face.
I was sure there was no hope for me. It was over. I was a goner for sure.
Then, all of a sudden, everything went silent.
I woke up in bed, soaked in sweat. Tears were streaming down my face.
Somehow, I had managed to escape from the nightmare.
I scrambled out of bed and went to the kitchen, where I got a drink of water and tried to calm myself down.
"That was horribly realistic," I thought to myself. "Thank God it was only a dream..."
The next day, at school, I told all of my friends about the terrible dream I had experienced. I expected them to be horrified, but they all just thought it was funny. I guess it was, in a way. After all, it was just a dream.
Four years passed and I finished college. I had completely forgotten about the dream.
However, one night I was working late at the office. It had been a busy day and I was very tired. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, just for a moment.
That's when it happened.
"Next stop, Scooping! Scooping is next!"
It was the same. Everything came flooding back.
The same two crooked midgets in monkey masks were gouging out the eyes of the same expressionless girl.
"It's just a dream! Wake up! Wake up!"
I started praying, but I couldn't wake up.
"It's just a dream! Wake up! Please wake up!"
"Next stop, Minced Meat! Minced Meat is next!"
"No! This is too much!"
Whiiiiiirrrrrrrr! It was getting closer.
"It's just a dream! Wake up! Wake up! Please, wake up!"
Suddenly, there was silence.
I had escaped again, or so I thought.
Just as I was about to open my eyes, I heard a voice say, "Are you running away again? The next time we come for you will be the last!"
I opened my eyes and this time I was really awake and in my room. But, the announcement I heard definitely wasn't in the dream. I heard it here, in the real world. I know that I did. There's no mistake about it.
Why me? What have I done to deserve this?
I haven't had the dream since then, but I know that the next time I have that dream, I will die.
It will probably be from a heart attack or something else like that.
In this world, it might seem like a heart attack, but in the other world, I know, I'll be minced meat...
