Saru Yume: The Terrifying Japanese Urban Legend That Says Dying in a Dream Means Dying in Real Life

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In the world of Japanese urban legends, few stories are as haunting and bizarre as Saru Yume — “The Monkey Dream.” First posted in 2000 on a Japanese internet forum called 2channel (2ch), this tale has become one of the most infamous examples of Japan’s online horror culture, particularly within a subgenre known as “syare-kowa” (洒落怖) — short for “Stories too scary to be just a joke.”

Originally shared in a thread inviting users to post terrifying experiences, Saru Yume quickly gained notoriety for its grotesque content and its claim that reading or dreaming about the story could lead to fatal consequences in real life — a concept chillingly similar to a curse.

The Story: A Dream Train to Death

The original post describes a dream in which the narrator finds themselves at a strange, deserted train station. Soon, a train resembling a children’s ride with monkey motifs — often called the “Monkey Train” — arrives. The narrator boards and sits in the third seat from the back. Despite knowing it’s a dream, they begin to feel uneasy.

Then, an eerie announcement echoes:
“Next stop, Ikezukuri (live sashimi)!”
Suddenly, the person in the last seat is attacked by four small figures resembling dwarfs. They slice the victim open and remove their organs.

The next stop is announced as:
“Next stop, Eye Gouging!”
Two dwarfs approach a nearby passenger and, using spoons, scoop out their eyes.

Finally comes the announcement:
“Next stop, Minced Meat!”
A dwarf appears on the narrator’s lap holding a strange device. At that moment, they wake up — shaken, but alive.

Four years later, the dream returns.

Once again, the narrator finds themselves on the same train, watching similar horrors unfold. This time, they manage to wake up just in time. But before fully regaining consciousness, a voice whispers:
“Running away again? Next time will be your last.”

The implication is horrifying — one more dream, and death will follow.

Origins and Spread

While the story didn’t originally have the name Saru Yume, the term “Monkey Dream Train” emerged in 2001, and the title Saru Yume became widely adopted. Some believe the story was inspired by a 1999 post on a site called “Kowai no Kirai” (“I Hate Scary Things”) and was edited and reposted during the early days of syare-kowa culture.

The legend took on a life of its own. Variants titled Saru Yume Plus and Saru Yume Egoma have surfaced, featuring increasingly gruesome “stops” and suggesting that simply reading the story could cause someone to experience similar dreams — or even die.

Similar Tales and Cultural Parallels

Stories similar to Saru Yume have been found elsewhere in Japanese horror culture. One such tale appears in Gakkou no Kaidan B (School Ghost Stories B) by folklorist Toru Jomyo. In it, a man dreams he’s walking along train tracks. Despite signs warning him to stop, he continues until a train nearly hits him, waking him up. A year later, he dreams the continuation. This time, as he turns to run, the train chases him — and just before impact, he wakes up again. But a voice whispers: “Next time will be the last.”

There are also strong similarities between Saru Yume and the American horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street, in which a clawed killer named Freddy invades people’s dreams and kills them — resulting in real-life death. Some even speculate that the name Saru Yume could be a Japanese corruption of Elm (“Enmu”) rather than “monkey dream.”

Japan’s Dark Web of Horror

Saru Yume remains one of the most disturbing Japanese horror stories born from the internet. Its gruesome imagery, psychological terror, and the meta-concept of a “cursed story” have solidified its place in the country’s rich tradition of digital urban legends. Alongside classics like The Slit-Mouthed Woman (Kuchisake-onna) and Tomino’s Hell, Saru Yume continues to be discussed, retold, and feared on forums, blogs, and YouTube videos to this day.

As Japan’s urban horror culture reaches more global audiences, Saru Yume stands as a grim reminder:

Some dreams are best left unremembered.

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