This is kind of a strange question, but I often have dreams that involve people that I know in the dream, but not in real life. These are sort of “dream extras” that my mind has invented. Of course in my dream, they fit whatever role the dream demands, but I was wondering if this is common. This question is prompted by a strange dream I had last night where I was making out with a man that I knew in the dream, but wasn’t anyone I knew in real life (doubly strange, since I’m a lesbian, but there you have it)
Not a strange question at all. Kinda makes one think…
For me, as best as I can tell, it’s about 50/50.
Which now has me wondering, where on earth does my brain get these strangers from? 
Most of my dreams involve people I know, but every now and then, my mind invents some very interesting strangers.
Just last night I was dreaming that I had dated a certain person several years ago. The person in my dream is a real person, but I’ve never met him–my only interaction with him was through my last job, at CPS. In my dream, I then investigated his family on allegations of child abuse (and didn’t tell them that I used to date the guy). I then went back to his home because he was returning from an LDS mission, and I had to apologize to him for something. Somehow or other, I ended up handcuffed and chained to a bed while a gun was held to my head and people were threatening to kill me. I very calmly explained that since I worked for CPS, when my dead body showed up, the very first people who would be looked at for my murder would be my clients. I managed to talk them into releasing me, and I went home.
It was such a bizarre dream, and I can’t imagine how my mind took this person that I talked to one time on the telephone and invented this whole elaborate scenario around him.
Mine are a mix. Last night I had stranger dreams filled with strangers. That is not unusual. But sometimes I dream about people I know or used to know.
The only time my loved ones appear, is in nightmares.
Except for Grandma. Each time she appears, I am aware is is dead, but it feels like she is visiting me.
lekatt, keep your opinions to yourself, & leave my Grandma out of it.
Mostly people I know, but sometimes they morph into other people over the course of the dream. Seems totally natural while I’m dreaming but if I remember the dream later I’m confused.
I rarely dream of strangers, but then, I rarely remember my dreams.
Word for word I was just thinking the exact same thing myself not more than two days ago.
MY dreams are mostly made up of strangers.
I also have a freakishly large amount of dreams that I’m in a lot of the tv shows that I like to whatch. Whcih can be kind of cool sometimes. (Especialy that time I made out with Barbra Eden <Jeanie> in the shower once!!)
Mine are a mix. The strangest thing is that sometimes people (including me) show up in different bodies. In the dream, I know who they’re supposed to be even though they look nothing like they do in real life. Dream Omega can also “leap” into other dream people as needed. My dream people are also able to morph into someone else. Slight hijack: Does anyone else get “movie dreams” where you just watch the events unfold without participating at all?
most of mine are people I know, even if only slightly
but sometimes one dream character is an almalgam of several real life people
sometimes I play dual roles
at least once a month I dream my ex (of more than 10 years) and I are either happy as friends (which could never happen IRL) or together and in love. Allusions are made to his divorce (which I doubt he will ever have) and he apologizes for mistreating me (only emotionally - he never IRL abused me physically - he was just a shcmuk) and for takin me for granted.
I wake up from these dreams pissed off at myself - I thought I had gotten him out of my system.
Sometimes in these dreams of my ex, I am him and he is me. Very weird
Also - it’s never bizarre that I can fly in my dreams (i use the “fall, and miss the ground” method) and I wake up thinking “why the hell CAN’T I fly IRL?”
Most of my regular dreams are people I know, or at least recognize from TV. Occasionaly it’s strangers.
What’s weird is that the women in my sex dreams are almost always strangers, but the settings and ‘supporting cast’ are always places and people that I know.
People in my dreams are often (but not always) people I know, but in roles they wouldn’t be in real life. Like my agnostic buddy would not have gone on a retreat with our Christian Fellowship buddies (who would not have taken a Hot Air Balloon/ blimp ride to get wherever we were headed). Or my professor from college showing up at my high school. Or the group of people that included people who I met while living in at least three different states who were walking together from KY to PA by way of NY (in a period of about eight hours. Let me tell you-- It takes much longer than that to DRIVE the planned route)
I still tend to dream about people I knew in high school. It’s been >8 years since high school, but that’s who I dream about, not college friends or current friends/acquaintences. I have no idea why.
Yeah, I dream up a lot of strangers. One of the most memorable ones was a grumpy-looking guy in a sombrero selling pictures of wagon wheels.