These dreams involve people who are dead, whether you know the person or not. The prevailing theory is that in some form, some aspect of that person is actually communicating to you through your dream. Apparition dreams may or may not be purely symbolic, but all apparitions come specifically to convey a personal message. This personal message may not be for the dreamer, though. It is common, for example, for apparitions to appear to people who didn’t know them very well, and to usually give a message to the dreamer to pass on to the loved ones the deceased left behind. Most often, this message is to let the family they love know that they are happy and to get on with their own lives.