Although a questionnaire methodology was used to obtain data and draw conclusions in this study of a state hospital population, the results nonetheless offer some support to a number of previous clinical observations about the degree of psychopathology associated with patients who experience nightmares. The nightmare is defined operationally as a frightening dream that awakens the dreamer. Significant positive relationships between nightmare frequency and the following variables were found: fear of death, high manifest anxiety, low indices of ego strength, and other types of sleep disturbances.