The loss of control can be really scary. Even though you know it's a lucid dream, if you can't actually direct what's happening, like being unable to escape from a chasing monster. Another is the appearance of the unknown, such as strange, unidentifiable creatures or places that seem to defy logic. It creates a sense of unease.
Well, the sudden appearance of threats is a major scary element. You could be calmly exploring your lucid dream world, and then suddenly a horde of demons or some other terrifying entity shows up. The inability to wake up easily is also quite scary. You're stuck in this horror scenario in your mind, and no matter how hard you try, you can't seem to break free from the dream and return to the safety of reality.
One of the scariest things is the feeling of isolation. In lucid dream horror stories, often the dreamer is alone in a terrifying situation. For example, being in a big, empty haunted house with no one to help. Also, the distortion of familiar things. Imagine a normal street in your hometown but in the lucid dream, it's filled with menacing figures and the buildings are all falling apart. This warping of the known into the unknown is very frightening.
The sense of helplessness is very scary. Just like in a dream where you can't run away from the threat no matter how hard you try.
There was a man who had a lucid dream where he was in a hospital. He knew he was dreaming, but the hospital was filled with a sense of dread. He saw patients with strange deformities walking around aimlessly. When he tried to find an exit, the corridors kept changing direction. He heard screams and cries from the rooms. As he tried harder to escape, he suddenly saw a doctor with a large, bloody scalpel coming towards him. It was a truly horrifying lucid dream experience.
A person lucidly dreamed they were in a cemetery at night. Tombstones were everywhere, and a thick fog covered the ground. Then, they saw a figure rising from one of the graves. It had glowing red eyes and started chasing them. The dreamer tried to fly away but felt something pulling them back down, like an invisible force. It was terrifying.
One common element is the distortion of normal things. For example, in some scary lucid dream stories, people see normal objects like clocks with strange faces on them or walls that seem to be alive. There is also often a feeling of being watched or hunted. And sometimes, there are sudden and unexpected changes in the dream environment that add to the scariness. For instance, a sunny day suddenly turning into a thunderstorm with lightning striking all around you. It's really terrifying.
One common element is the sudden realization that one is dreaming. It's like a light bulb moment in the middle of the dream. Another is the urge to test the limits of the dream world, such as flying or changing the environment.
Well, I know a story where someone in a lucid dream entered a world made entirely of candy. The houses were gingerbread, and the trees were made of lollipops. It was a sweet and colorful adventure. They could even eat the scenery without any consequences.
In a lucid dream, someone found themselves in a derelict hospital. The lights were flickering, and there were strange noises all around. They saw patients with distorted faces and body parts in the wrong places. As they ran through the corridors trying to find an exit, they felt a cold hand grab their ankle. It was a nightmare within a lucid dream that left them shaken when they finally woke up.
The unknown is the scariest. In 'as is horror stories', things are often left in their natural state, so you don't really know what's lurking in the shadows or what's causing those strange noises. It's that sense of not having all the answers that makes it terrifying.
Isolation is also a key element. When characters are alone in a spooky place, like an abandoned asylum in one of the stories. They have no one to turn to, and that makes the situation even more terrifying as the horror unfolds around them.
The unknown is one of the scariest elements. When things are not clearly defined, like a strange figure in the fog in some stories from '1001 horror stories', it makes our imagination run wild. We start to create the most terrifying scenarios in our minds.