The Gallery of Horrors

Nightmares cripple us. They catch us at our most vulnerable, turning our anxieties, fears and insecurities into monsters and monstrous situations. It might even be your brain trying to find some form of order in the chaos of your mind. We’ve all had them. Thankfully most of them have faded. Some, however, we remember unfortunately. Those seconds when you feel trapped, chased, frightened, humiliated—until thankfully you wake up and your heartbeat returns to normal. But the ones that you do remember—they’re the ones that haunt you, hanging like unwelcome cobwebs in the corners of your mind. We decided to share some of VICE India staff’s most recurring nightmares through some incredible illustrations. It’s time to take a walk on the dark side. Join us?

“I had this dream that I was in Hogwarts (yay!) and it was my first year. In the dining hall, people were slicing snakes and drinking the juice that came out. It wasn't blood. It was some kind of juicy liquid and it totally freaked me out. But no one else seemed surprised. Even the first year students drank it like it was pretty normal. But that was some sort of tradition for the new students. Each one was served a snake each along with a sharp knife. They had to cut it vertically along the length of the snake and pour out the juice, and then drink it. For some reason, I clearly remember these scenes.”
—Sanskrita Pathak, HR Associate

“My nightmare found me on top of a building (something like the the Empire State building with an antenna on top), and I’m sitting on a chair on the pinnacle of the antenna. The chair is rocking in the wind, and at the base of the building are all my friends and family. Next to me, a friend appears and just says, ‘Jump’. And the people below me are calling me out to jump as well.”
—Kanika Unnikrishnan, Head of Platforms, Video

“In my dream, I wake up and there are a hundred crows all around my bed. I am petrified of birds.”
—Aashna Sharma, Researcher

“I’ve dreamt that a very skinny man is chasing me. He’s on all fours. But he’s moving towards me backwards.”
—Prianka Jain, Designer

“I dream that maggots are coming out of me.”
—Sidhant Gandhi, Head of Design