The dream snake

In Short

Set during a quiet night on a country veranda, this tale centers on a man named Faming who confesses his lifelong burden to a group of acquaintances. He is tormented by a reoccurring, terrifyingly vivid nightmare in which he is trapped in an isolated African bungalow while an enormous snake stalks him through the surrounding tall grass. The dream never changes, save for one detail: the creature draws closer every time he sleeps. This atmospheric horror story endures because it blurs the boundary between sleep and wakefulness, exploring how unchecked terror can physically manifest to shatter a person's life.

The Story

On a remarkably still evening, a group of friends sits on a broad veranda, silently taking in the shadowy lawns and the dim mountains along the horizon. When the moon rises, casting a spectral radiance over the land, a sudden breeze causes the tall, unmowed grass to sway in sinuous waves. This motion triggers a violent reaction from one of the men, Faming. Pale and visibly shaken, he bites his own lip until it bleeds, then angrily snaps at his bewildered companions. To explain his outburst, Faming admits that he is haunted by a recurring nightmare that has plagued him since infancy.

In this dream, Faming finds himself living in a remote, small bungalow atop a lone hill in the middle of vast African grasslands. He shares the dwelling with a Hindu servant, though both are vaguely understood to be fugitives from justice. Unlike ordinary dreams, Faming possesses no waking awareness that he is merely asleep; the experience feels absolute and frighteningly real. The dream always begins at sunset as Faming returns from an unsuccessful hunting trip carrying a broken rifle. Entering the bungalow, he finds the main room in utter chaos—furniture smashed and his servant’s dagger left on the floor, though there is no blood to suggest a struggle or an animal attack.

Noticing a wide track of flattened grass leading up the hill, Faming realizes that a giant serpent has taken his companion. Unarmed and terrified, he bolts the doors and windows to endure a agonizing night while the unseen monster swishes through the high grass outside, pressing against the creaking door. The next morning, too terrified to remain or venture out into the unknown open terrain, he waits until sunset forces him to lock himself inside once more. Day after day, the terror mounted in the dream causes his hair to turn entirely white, driving him to flee wildly across the plains toward distant hills. Yet as he glances back in the silvery light of a blood-red moon, he sees the tall grass parting in a sinuous line as the beast rapidly closes the distance.

Each time he experiences the nightmare, the monster gets closer to catching him. Faming abruptly stops his tale, warning that if the beast ever catches him or peers through the glass, his sanity will be permanently destroyed. He then retires to his room for the night. Hours later, the house wakes to the sound of hideous, maniacal laughter followed by a blood-curdling shriek. The guests burst into Faming's room to find him lying dead on the floor. Though his body bears no visible wounds, his face is horribly contorted, frozen in the agony of someone crushed by an immense, unseen strength.

How It Unfolds

A restless evening As a bright moon rises over the quiet veranda, the subtle swaying of the lawn grass causes Faming to gasp, bleed from his lip, and lash out at his companions in sudden distress.

The nightmare confessed Faming explains that a lifelong dream haunts him, transporting him to an isolated African bungalow where he lives alongside a Hindu servant while hiding from the law.

Signs of the beast Returning to the bungalow with a broken rifle, the dream-self finds the living quarters wrecked, his servant missing, and a wide track in the grass indicating a giant snake's arrival.

Night of siege Lacking weapons, Faming barricades the small home while listening to the heavy weight of the serpent dragging through the tall grass and straining against the creaking wooden front door.

Flight across the plains Driven mad by fear after his hair turns white, Faming bolts into the open grasslands, desperately trying to outrun the sun and reach the safety of distant mountains before darkness falls.

The closing predator Looking back under the moonlight, Faming watches the tall grass sway in a straight, sinuous line, signaling that the invisible creature is gaining ground with every single dream.

A horrific conclusion After Faming retreats to bed, his companions are awakened by maniacal laughter and a shriek, discovering Faming dead on the floor with his face contorted as if crushed by a giant python.

The People

• Faming wants desperately to break free from the terrifying nightmare that has tormented him since his early childhood. Normally an unimaginative man, his life is entirely dominated by the terror of a giant serpent that edges closer to him every time he falls asleep. He carries the fear that looking at the creature will permanently destroy his sanity. By the story's end, his desperate attempt to confide in his peers fails to save him, and he perishes under the physical weight of his own psychological horror.
• The Hindu Servant exists only within Faming's dream reality, acting as his sole companion in the isolated African bungalow. As a fellow fugitive, his sudden and bloodless disappearance serves as the initial catalyst that reveals the presence of the lurking monster.
• The Narrator and Veranda Guests desire a quiet, pleasant evening together, but end up acting as the captive audience for Faming’s disturbing story. Moved from confusion to shared dread as they listen to his words, they ultimately become the tragic witnesses who discover Faming's lifeless, twisted body in his bedroom.

In Its Own Voice

"Faming was leaning forward, clutching the arms of his chair, his face strange and pallid in the spectral light; a thin trickle of blood seeping from the lip in which he had set his teeth."

The narrator observes Faming's immediate physical distress on the veranda just before he begins recounting his nightmare.

"There is no breeze, but the tall grass parts and sways in the moonlight, in a narrow, sinuous line--far away, but nearing every instant."

Faming describes the chilling sight of the giant snake tracking him across the open plains of his dream world.

"There was no mark upon him, but his face was terribly distorted; as the face of a man who had been crushed by some superhuman force--such as some gigantic snake."

The guests discover Faming's body after hearing his final shriek in the middle of the night.

What It's Really About

This story explores the terrifying boundary between the human mind and physical reality. It examines how inescapable fear can corrode a person's sanity from within, treating dreams not merely as harmless imagination, but as an active, destructive force. Faming’s isolation—both in his remote African bungalow and in his private mental torment—highlights how absolute dread isolates a person from human comfort. The plot raises troubling questions about whether the mind can generate experiences so powerful that the body succumbs to them, suggesting that the terror we construct in the dark corners of our consciousness can ultimately destroy our physical lives.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy short, atmospheric horror and classic tales of psychological dread will appreciate this quick, potent read. It captures a mounting sense of claustrophobia and helplessness that builds steadily despite its brevity. The prose relies on mood and tension, making the reader feel the heavy, motionless silence of the night alongside the characters on the veranda.

The story moves briskly, making it easily consumable in a single sitting. However, modern readers should note that it contains period attitudes and tropes typical of early twentieth-century pulp fiction, particularly in its generic, exoticized depiction of Africa and its brief mention of the servant character. Despite these era-bound elements, the core dread of being hunted by an inevitable force remains universally unsettling. The image of the tall grass swaying without a breeze as an invisible terror approaches stays with you long after the final page is turned.