By: Terry G

In the annals of psychiatry, there exists a condition known as Folie à deux (literally, "a madness shared by two"): a rare psychiatric syndrome in which a symptom of psychosis is transmitted from one individual to another.

What significance might this phenomena hold, if held in the light of demonic possession? Is madness something that can be contracted from the afterlife?

Living with Ghosts

I’ve recently heard a story of a gentleman living with ghosts for years, and one day a family member notices that he isn’t quite the same person. He seemed to have the same memories, and cognitive personality, but seemed different and reacted irrationally to trivial occurrences. The family member then does a bit of research into the previous owners of the house and finds that horrible atrocities were committed inside or very near the residence by a crazed inhabitant. Could this be evidence of a spiritual folie a deux?

Here is a related link, however while the concept is essentially identical, they attribute this to more metaphysical means.

The Paranormal and Mental Illness

It goes without saying, that the paranormal and mental illnesses are very well acquainted. Paranormal activity (haunting, UFO encounters, and possession) is known to cause mental illness, and likewise mental illnesses caused by “normal” trauma (accidents, assault, and harassment) are known to assist in the cultivation of paranormal experiences, such as telepathy, precognition, clairaudience, clairvoyance and in some cases, UFO related activity.

Some will even go as far as to blame all mental illness on paranormal means, like demonic possession. A recent court case comes to mind, where a mother, said to be mentally ill by her doctors, dismembered her child. Her minister claimed that she was not at all mentally ill, but rather possessed by demonic spirits, and that there was no mental illness in existence that cannot be attributed to demonic possession.

We’re getting a bit off topic, but let us ponder the thought that perhaps individuals suffering from multiple personality disorder (pun not intended), aren’t “insane” after all, but merely consciously aware of his/her existence in other places in the multiverse? (more on this in a future article, but for now, Onward!)

Insane asylums and insane blogs

What exactly is the allure to haunted insane asylums? Sure you have the possibility of witnessing an apparition or seeing something strange, but why does the fact that the aforementioned apparition was diagnosed with a mental illness enhance the spook factor? Perhaps sub-consciously we are thrilled at the perceived ability of something like this to happen, or worse, actually becoming possessed by an insane spirit.

Our last examination happens to be something a bit more recent. Throughout my research, I stumbled upon a fascinating blog, which is now defunct, but is related to this article. It should be mentioned at this time, that the authenticity of this case is debated. There is however no definitive evidence of this being a hoax. The blog starts off like a normal personal blog. The writer then experiences relationship troubles with his girlfriend. This is where the story takes a darker turn. Obviously distraught, he begins to see ghosts and hear strange noises in his apartment. Things become truly odd at this point. The writer starts mentioning something he calls “Behalah”. It is said that Behalah is a jewish term for terror or fear. Now, interestingly enough, upon close scrutiny, many have found that there are bizarre messages hidden within the entries. One such entry is that of December 31, 2004. Nothing at first catches your attention besides the odd final new years resolution; “Bring every holy answer low and hear.” If you take the first letter of each sentence it spells out…Behalah, twice. Then he lists his New Years resolutions. Again, look at the first letters. This is a running “coincidence” in the blog entries from this point forth. At this point also, there is the appearance of latin text regularly throughout the remainder of the blog. To truly understand the strangeness of this blog, I insist that you read it in its entirety. http://www.jdsspace.blogspot.com/

Could it be that he had a pre-existing mental condition, and the breakup trauma induced and intensified this condition, or that this “Behalah” spirit induced his insanity? I suppose we’ll never know, but hopefully next time someone recounts a story of insanity and the supernatural, you’ll think back to this article, and consider the possibility of an other-wordly folie a deux.

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