What research shows
Vividly sensing a presence in the room scored 48.3% (Nielsen & Zadra, 2003), tenth of 55.
Dreaming about demons
Dreaming about demons is traditionally read as something experienced as external that behaves like part of you — the defining feature of demon dreams is that they are not negotiable. No survey has counted how often it occurs; in searches, the detail people add most often is “casting out”.
- Dream book of 1862
- Devil its heading in Fontaine
- Its lottery numbers
- 61 · 18 as printed in 1862
Dream book: Felix Fontaine, The Golden Wheel Dream-Book and Fortune-Teller (New York: Dick & Fitzgerald, 1862).
The psychological reading
Frequently overlaps with sleep paralysis, where the sensed presence has a documented physiological basis: the body is atonic and the brain supplies an explanation.
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When it turns up
Why this dream arrives when it does
Demon dreams overlap heavily with sleep paralysis, which has a documented physiology: the body stays atonic while awareness returns, and the brain supplies a presence to explain the pressure and the inability to move. Almost half of people report sensing a presence in the room at some point.
The version matters
Different ways this dream shows up
Being pursued by a demon reads differently from being held down by one; the second is usually paralysis rather than dream narrative.
Being held down by something
This is the classic sleep-paralysis experience rather than a dream narrative. It is common, it is harmless, and it is reported the same way across cultures with the figure changing name each time.
A presence in the room
Reported by close to half of people surveyed. The sense of being watched arrives without any image attached, which is what makes it so convincing.
Being pursued by a demon
A narrative dream rather than paralysis, and it reads like other chase dreams: avoidance with a frightening costume on it.
Casting one out
A very common version, usually in people from religious backgrounds where the practice exists. It tends to follow attempts to end something in waking life by force of will.
A familiar face turning hostile
The most unsettling form. It generally tracks a relationship where something has changed and has not been named.
Waking unable to speak
Also paralysis. Learning what it is removes most of the fear, and consistent sleep timing reduces how often it happens.
Which versions of this dream do people look up?
Searches for dreams about demons most often add “casting out”, “possession”, “fighting” and “attacking”.
Most people look up the dream of demons itself; only 6.4% of searches add a detail, 5 different ones in all. The commonest is “casting out” at 45%, ahead of “possession” at 33.1%.
Primary source
What a dream book said in 1862
“To dream of this enemy to the human race, denotes that many dangers threaten you, all of which you will overcome if you carefully withstand all temptations to do evil; in love it forebodes loss of the affections; in trade, opposition; to dream you are pursued by an evil spirit, is also a bad omen.”
Felix Fontaine, The Golden Wheel Dream-Book and Fortune-Teller (New York: Dick & Fitzgerald, 1862) — read the original text.
Like other American dream books of its time, Fontaine read dreams as omens and attached lottery numbers to them; under “Devil” it printed 61, 18. Today’s dream dictionaries still echo readings like this one.
What the traditions claim
The religious readings
Every tradition has a name for the figure that holds you down: the mare of Northern Europe, the jinn in Islamic accounts, the old hag in Newfoundland folklore, kanashibari in Japan. The consistency of the experience across cultures with no contact is the strongest evidence that the cause is physiological.
Set out because people look for it, not because it predicts anything. Why we include tradition at all →
Commonly claimed, and wrong
What this dream does not mean
These dreams are not possession, spiritual attack or a sign that something is attached to you. People spend money on removing curses because of them, which is the practical reason to state the physiology plainly.
How to record a dream, why the feeling matters more than the content, and when recurring nightmares are worth a doctor rather than a dictionary — set out once on the main page.
Asked most often
Questions about this dream
Why do I dream about demons?
Most such reports are sleep paralysis rather than dreaming. The body remains immobile as awareness returns and the mind explains the pressure with a figure.
Is sleep paralysis dangerous?
No. It is frightening and harmless, and it becomes less frequent with regular sleep timing and less sleep deprivation.
What does it mean to dream of casting out a demon?
It usually follows trying to end something by will alone. The framework comes from your background rather than from the dream.
Sources
Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Dreaming About Demons: What It Means.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/dream-dictionary/supernatural/demons/
For Wikipedia
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