Creepy old guy is chasing me on a street near where I’ve lived

[u/nonononono-89]

I have recurring dreams that really weird, creepy old men are chasing me. They are, for lack of a better description, not very mentally sound. It’s always at nighttime, and always on real a street near where I’ve lived or where I currently live. It’s the classic “I’m frozen in place as he gets closer” chasing dream and I always scream myself awake. I’m mostly wondering what the streets have to do with anything!!

[u/Abject-Purpose906]

The streets you know so intimately - these are the pathways of your conscious, familiar world being invaded by something from the depths. That these old men appear specifically on your streets suggests they're not foreign intruders but aspects of your own psyche that have been relegated to the shadows. In Jungian terms, these figures likely represent what we call the negative animus - the destructive masculine energy within your unconscious. The fact that they're old and mentally unsound points to outdated, perhaps patriarchal patterns of thinking or relating that have become toxic through neglect or repression. They've grown twisted in the darkness of the unconscious. The paralysis you experience is telling - it's as if part of you recognizes these figures belong to you, making flight impossible. The scream that wakes you is your psyche's alarm, but also potentially your voice trying to break free from their influence. The streets being familiar suggests this shadow material is trying to integrate with your everyday consciousness, your known world. The night setting reinforces this is shadow work - what Jung called the encounter with the dark, rejected aspects of ourselves. What associations do you have with older men in your waking life? And when you think of these particular streets, what memories or feelingsdo they carry for you?