I'll try to make this lengthy story as short as possible. It was the late 90's, suburban Chicagoland, I was 19 or 20. I went to bed like any other evening. I awoke into a dreamscape that was insanely vivid. You know, that "more real than real life" feeling, that some people experience. I was on the steps of an old castle, ivy was growing down from the highest towers, it was stormy (rain, thunder, lightning), although it seemed like I wasn't getting hit by any drops of rain. Halfway up these steps was a glowing scroll with writing I had never seen before, however, it was clearly a magic spell pf some sort. So, I grabbed it and proceeded to the top of the steps. The steps led to an archway opening to the roof of the castle. The roof was a stunning chessboard made from what looked like the finest marble ever cut. I looked up and standing directly in the center of this board was a giant dark figure in a full body, metal suit of armor, complete with terrifying shuttered helmet with horns. He was, by my estimation, at least 8' tall. I could not make out a face, however, he had two eyes fiercely glowing red behind the helmet.
I asked, "Who are you?" It responded, not by speaking though, this was more like telepathy. He said, without emotion, "I am Jinn". I then asked, "What do you want with me?". He seemed to think about the question while staring right through my soul. I need to stress, he was not looking AT me, I could feel him, looking THROUGH me, like looking at the fundamental building blocks of who I am. After what seemed like an eternity in those few moments, he just disappeared with a giant flash of lightning and the thunderous clap of that strike woke me up and it was over. This dream left quite the impression on me, but I haven't even told you the F'n CRAZY part yet.
The CRAZY part is that I had no idea that when he "told" me that he was Jinn, I thought that was his name, not the name of the type of being he was. I had never heard of Jinn, or any of their mythology. I honestly figured that my video game playing, overactive imagination having self, invented some really cool "boss-fight" that got cut short. It wasn't until YEARS later when the internet took off and I stumbled across someone talking about a Jinn and my stomach dropped. I remember saying to myself out loud in shock/amazement, "You mean that thing was REAL?!?!"
You tell me, chat, what are the odds of my brain inventing the name "Jinn" for a character that closely resembles the folklore of these creatures??
Anyone else have a similar experience??