In my dream I was this girl who was probably a few years younger than I am with curly black hair. I (she) was traveling with these guys on a boat and got shipwrecked on a tiny litte swamp-like island. There was this big old house that's bottom floor was flooded with water. We swam inside and found another teenaged girl like me(her) who did nothing but sit on the balcany and stare into space. One of the three guys I was with suggested that we take one of the house's boats that were tied up outside, but I wanted to ask for permission first. Then this middle aged woman appeared from behind us, with sunken eyes, and offered us a cup of tea. I explained that we were in a hurry, and needed to take one of her rowboats. She then turned on me with an axe and told me that "it was time for me to die".
I freaked out and ran down to the bottom floor where my three guys were already getting away in a boat. I screamed for them to wait, but they insisted that "it was time for me to die, and there was nothing they could do to change that". Then I was suddenly on the balcony with a noose around my neck. I tried to pull it off but the strange teenaged girl pushed me off before I had a chance.
Then I was suddenly myself in a speed boat, with this new guy around my age, driving away from the house. He has reddinsh hair, and looked kinnda angry. I looked back at the house, and screamed when I saw the black haired girl hanging from the balcony from a really long rope.
That was enough to wake me up! It took me hours to fall asleep again, which is really unusual. Its been so long since I've had a nighmare. Anyone know what to make of this?

Wow!

Your dream reminds me of one I had years ago in which I saw myself hanging. It occurred in my grandmother's apartment. That dream stumped me as well.

There are some interesting symbols:
island
water
old house
boats
old lady
balcony

Plus, you see yourself at different ages, or stages of development. You play a double role.

In the first part of the dream, you seem emotionally detached. The the lady, who is like an authority figure, makes a life decision for you (which actually kills a part of you, metaphorically speaking).

Then after this part of you dies, a new phase of yourself emerges, wanting to live. The one that rescues you is angry, perhaps because an injustice was done to you.

So, what I get from the dream is stages of development that go from childhood with authority figures, to a more independent person breaking free from boundaries.

Wow! That makes sense. I just started a job as a P.A. in a corporate office, and its really stressful. Maybe my subconscious feels like the old me is being sacrificed so that I can survive in this independent world? Thank you for your interpretation.

Glad I could help.