The earliest dream I can remember featured aliens that looked like Gumby sideways landing in my backyard. Their spaceship was just a flat piece of cardboard. My brother, sister, and I were watching, terrified, from around the corner of the patio.
Until recently, I thought I had outgrown nightmares. A few weeks ago, though, I had a dream in which a bunch of regulars from this very forum and I were hanging out at someone's house, then decided to go somewhere. The driveway was full of cars and trucks and a small, furious alligator. It was perhaps four feet long. Everyone piled into the cars, and I was left with the last available seat being the passenger seat of a pickup directly above the furious alligator. I think TYP was the driver. We came up with a plan to have him back out into the street, and then I'd jump in and we'd burn rubber out of there. Unfortunately, he backed over the alligator, which only made it even more furious than before, and it chased the truck. I made a move for the door, and the alligator (still furious) lunged at me, scaring me awake. I woke up with my heart pounding so hard I thought I might have to call for help.