Modern Hill Woman

What Dreams May Come

I was raised in the hills of southeast Missouri, the daughter of a man whose family came from Appalachia and of a woman who was an Arkansas sharecropper’s daughter. They were a superstitious lot and those superstitions are ingrained in my being.

Dreams were considered relevant and often foretold things to come or gave clarity to daily struggles.

This importance of dreams to our family may have stemmed from a strong belief in the Bible. In Biblical stories, God uses several ways to communicate with humans; through visions, angels, and signs. One of the most common means to convey his will is through dreams.

Daddy had a series of strokes in the late 60s which somewhat affected his speech. Mom awoke one night to the sound of a young man’s voice singing. It was my 80-something-year-old dad singing in a dream. She lay there listening in awe to an old man singing with the voice of a teenager until the song was finished. The next day he transcribed the words to my sister and they tried to recreate the melody. He couldn’t recall how he knew the song or ever singing it before. Mom always said it was one of the most beautiful things she had ever heard.

After he passed, she dreamed of him walking in a white jogging suit. He always wore overalls, except to church. She took it as a sign that he was in heaven, with full use of his legs again.

One of my sisters has a “gift” of the future being revealed to her, mostly in dreams, and often sees someone’s obituary to later hear of their passing. Mom said this ability came from being the seventh daughter of a firstborn daughter. Whether you believe it or not, she has dealt with this gift/curse her whole life.

Hill folk have their own dream interpretations. Dreaming of snakes meant the devil was after you. Falling off a cliff is insecurity about the future. Dreaming of a wedding foretold a funeral, and vice versa. Being naked in public revealed that you were hiding something and afraid of being found out. Flying signified being in control of your life. Dreaming of an empty house symbolized change.