No matter how scary a horror movie might be, there is always the comforting fact that it’s ‘just a movie’.

But psychologists have found that the truth behind the films like Nosferatu or American Werewolf in London is no less strange and terrifying.

According to clinical psychologist Brian Sharpless, some classic movie monsters can actually be explained by rare psychological conditions.

From the real vampires compelled to drink human blood to people who believe they are zombies, these conditions are not only real but can remain hidden in plain sight.

Speaking to MailOnline, Dr Sharpless said: ‘Of course, if people are shy about disclosing how much they smoke or drink to their doctor, are they likely to say that they drink blood?’ 

Clinical psychologist Brian Sharpless told MailOnline that some terrifying movie monsters can really be explained by rare psychological conditions

Clinical psychologist Brian Sharpless told MailOnline that some terrifying movie monsters can really be explained by rare psychological conditions

Clinical psychologist Brian Sharpless told MailOnline that some terrifying movie monsters can really be explained by rare psychological conditions 

The real-life conditions behind horror movie monsters

 

Vampires – Renfield syndrome

A desire to drink blood for non-nutritional reasons, often related to sexual pleasure. 

Werewolves – Clinical lycanthropy 

Believing that you have become a wolf and exhibits wolf-like behaviour. 

Zombies – Cotard’s syndrome

The belief that you are dead or that you are missing some if not all of your internal organs. 

Body snatchers – Capgras syndrome

Believing that people around you are being replaced with identical imposters who are often seen as malicious. 

Freddy Krueger – Sleep paralysis 

Sufferers are trapped between waking and sleeping and can experience terrifying hallucinations.  

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Vampires 

While it may have been Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula that pushed vampires into popular culture, their legend stretches far further back.

From the Strigoi of Eastern Europe to the Malaysian Penanggalan, tales of blood-sucking fiends rising from their graves to torment the living can be found all over the world. 

However, these legends may actually have their origins in a real psychological condition called Renfield syndrome.

Named after the blood-hungry mental patient in Bram Stoker’s novel, this condition manifests as a compulsion or desire to consume human blood. 

Dr Sharpless says: ‘Renfield syndrome or clinical vampirism is a condition in which a person ingests human blood to satisfy a non-nutritional need.’

As to why someone might be compelled to drink human blood, the reasons vary from person to person.

 In what is now a trope of vampire films from Bram Stoker’s Dracula to Only Lovers Left Alive, drinking blood often has an element of sexual gratification or intoxication.

‘People with this may experience sexual arousal – or even orgasm – when they drink human blood. The sight alone may be sexually arousing,’ Dr Sharpless says.

He adds: ‘Other people report feelings of powerfulness or a oneness with the universe when they consume the red stuff.’

The real-life Dracula (pictured) may suffer from a condition called Renfield syndrome, named after a character from Bram Stoker's Dracula

The real-life Dracula (pictured) may suffer from a condition called Renfield syndrome, named after a character from Bram Stoker's Dracula

The real-life Dracula (pictured) may suffer from a condition called Renfield syndrome, named after a character from Bram Stoker’s Dracula 

Just like in the modern vampire movie, Only Lovers Left Alive, drinking blood gives people with Renfield syndrome a feeling of sexual gratification or intoxication 

The condition isn’t part of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – the standard for diagnosing mental illness – but can be associated with other conditions.

A history of abuse is particularly common with 43 per cent of self-described vampires reporting physical or sexual abuse.  

While the blood taking is done with a partner’s consent, there have been cases of violent vampires such as serial killer Richard Chase who drank the blood of several victims. 

However, even though this condition seems extremely unusual, Dr Sharpless says he has spoken to a number of people with a desire for blood.

He says: ‘I’ve met people with sexual fetishes involving blood, but none of these folks told me that they consumed it.’ 

Unlike Bram Stoker's Dracula (pictured), many with Renfield Syndrome actually take blood from consensual partners as part of a sexual fetish

Unlike Bram Stoker's Dracula (pictured), many with Renfield Syndrome actually take blood from consensual partners as part of a sexual fetish

Unlike Bram Stoker’s Dracula (pictured), many with Renfield Syndrome actually take blood from consensual partners as part of a sexual fetish 

Zombies

Rest assured, the zombie apocalypse isn’t upon us quite yet, but there may still be ‘zombies’ walking among us.

Although modern representations like 28 Days Later, Train to Busan, and The Walking Dead use the idea of a zombie virus, this is a very recent notion in the history of zombies.

The word ‘zombie’ comes from the Haitian term ‘zombi’ which refers to someone who has had their soul taken by a magician and forced to work. 

Yet, the concept of the restless dead may also have some roots in the Norse myth of the Draugr who wandered from their tombs to torment the living.

Whatever its origin, what is always common to zombies is that they are somehow dead yet still appear living. 

This feature also has its origins in a well-documented psychological condition.

In 28 Days later a zombie virus wipes out humanity. Although this is not supported by science the idea of the walking dead may be

In 28 Days later a zombie virus wipes out humanity. Although this is not supported by science the idea of the walking dead may be

In 28 Days later a zombie virus wipes out humanity. Although this is not supported by science the idea of the walking dead may be 

The condition was first discovered in 1880 by Dr Jules Cotard, whose patient, a 43-year-old woman, plainly told him that she was nothing more than a decomposing body with no brain or internal organs.

Named Cotard’s syndrome after that French doctor, this condition causes patients to believe that they are literally walking dead.

Dr Sharpless says: ‘Cotard’s syndrome is a disorder wherein a person has nihilistic delusions such as being dead, having their organs rotting from the inside, or even having no organs at all.

‘Many folks with Cotards believe that they’re essentially rotting, walking corpses, which would fit with our Hollywood idea of a zombie.’ 

People suffering from Cotard's syndrome may believe that they are walking, rotting corpses just like the zombies from Night of the Living Dead

People suffering from Cotard's syndrome may believe that they are walking, rotting corpses just like the zombies from Night of the Living Dead

People suffering from Cotard’s syndrome may believe that they are walking, rotting corpses just like the zombies from Night of the Living Dead 

Although people with Cotard’s syndrome might not describe themselves as ‘zombies’, believing that they are already dead is somewhat common symptom that can be associated with Parkinson’s or dementia. 

Between 1996 and 2016, the Mayo Clinic identified 12 cases of Cotard’s syndrome, eight of which involved patients who believed they were already dead. 

Dr Sharpless himself says he has worked with one patient who may have had the condition.

However, since their case involved many other delusions it was hard to tell if they met the criteria for the Cotard’s. 

Besides actually being alive, the main difference between sufferers of Cotard’s syndrome and Hollywood zombies is that they are more likely to bring harm to themselves than anyone else.

Patients with Cotard’s syndrome are at extremely high risk of suicide or self-harm due to the associated symptoms of depression, nihilism, anxiety, guilt, and in some cases delusions of immortality. 

Shaun of the Dead might have made zombies light-hearted, but the real-life zombie condition can actually put suffers at severe risk of harming themselves

Shaun of the Dead might have made zombies light-hearted, but the real-life zombie condition can actually put suffers at severe risk of harming themselves

Shaun of the Dead might have made zombies light-hearted, but the real-life zombie condition can actually put suffers at severe risk of harming themselves 

Werewolves

What list of classic movie monsters would be complete without the werewolf? 

From 1941’s The Wolfman right up to Teen Wolf, these part-man part-beast creatures rarely fail to captivate and terrify audiences.  

Legends of humans turning into animals date back as far as 44,000 years to half-human beasts found in cave paintings. 

However, the exact details of the legend vary from place to place and throughout the ages.  

In Estonia, for example, werewolves are known to break into houses and steal beer rather than maul errant teens as they might in modern movies. 

The common thread that connects all werewolves, beer-guzzling or otherwise, is the central notion of transformation from human to beast.

Whatever the version all werewolves in film transform from human to wolf, just like in the fantastic transformation sequences in American Werewolf in London

Whatever the version all werewolves in film transform from human to wolf, just like in the fantastic transformation sequences in American Werewolf in London

Whatever the version all werewolves in film transform from human to wolf, just like in the fantastic transformation sequences in American Werewolf in London 

From hallucinogenic plants to rabies, a number of different theories have been proposed to explain the surprising endurance of this myth.

One theory in particular really does sound like something out of a horror film.

Dr Sharpless says that the myth of the werewolf might just emerge from ancient serial killers. 

He says: ‘How would you make sense of finding a body that was not just murdered, but brutalized, with missing limbs and possibly even some direct staging of the body? 

‘You might not believe a human could be so cruel, and you may also doubt that an animal could be so intelligent. 

‘So you might instead believe that the killer was something that partook of both human and animal traits.’

Unlike in Ginger Snaps (pictured) people with clinical lycanthropy don't actually transform, they just believe that they turn into wolves

Unlike in Ginger Snaps (pictured) people with clinical lycanthropy don't actually transform, they just believe that they turn into wolves

Unlike in Ginger Snaps (pictured) people with clinical lycanthropy don’t actually transform, they just believe that they turn into wolves

However the myth began, it still persists today in the form of a rare psychological disorder named clinical lycanthropy.

This disorder is one type of clinical zoanthropy, a condition which causes people to believe they are animals.

‘People with clinical lycanthropy sincerely believe that they can transform into wolves and acquire their wolf-like characteristics,’ Dr Sharpless said. 

Of course, the movies do get a few things wrong.

People with this condition don’t undergo any physical changes, nor does it appear to have anything to do with the phases of the moon.

Wolves the also not the only, or even most common animal for people to ‘transform into’. 

‘There are also people who suffer from clinical kynanthropy (dogs), boanthropy (cows), and even one case of a were-gerbil,’ says Dr Sharpless.

And, unlike in the films, this condition can be treated without any recourse to silver bullets and wolf bane.

With medication and electroconvulsive therapy, many people are able to overcome the condition and return to their normal, human, lives.  

Films like The Howling (pictured) suggest that werewolves transform with the moon, but those with clinical lycanthropy seem unaffected by the moon phases

Films like The Howling (pictured) suggest that werewolves transform with the moon, but those with clinical lycanthropy seem unaffected by the moon phases

Films like The Howling (pictured) suggest that werewolves transform with the moon, but those with clinical lycanthropy seem unaffected by the moon phases 

Body-snatchers

Another ancient terror that has found a home in horror cinema is the changeling.

In medieval folklore, fairies would steal newborn children and replace them with monstrous fey-children. 

This terrifying notion has transformed into the classic body-replacement trope found in science fiction and horror films alike. 

Behind the horror and special effects lies a psychological condition that genuinely might be scarier.

Dr Sharpless says that the plot of Invasion of the Body Snatchers maps almost perfectly onto a condition called Capgras syndrome

Dr Sharpless says that the plot of Invasion of the Body Snatchers maps almost perfectly onto a condition called Capgras syndrome

Dr Sharpless says that the plot of Invasion of the Body Snatchers maps almost perfectly onto a condition called Capgras syndrome

Capgras syndrome, as Dr Sharpless explains, causes you to believe that ‘one or more people in your life have been replaced with identical-looking phonies who may have even kidnapped your “real” loved ones.’

He adds: ‘I honestly have no idea if filmmakers were aware of a fascinating disorder called Capgras Syndrome, but its symptoms map almost perfectly onto movies like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Invasion, and The Stepford Wives.’

This condition can be hugely distressing for those experiencing it, leading to paranoia and confusion.

But what makes this condition so disturbing is how common it actually is.

Studies have found that it occurs in seven to 10 per cent of patients with Alzheimer’s Dementia and one in five patients with Lewy Body Dementia.

Dr Sharpless, who has worked with three patients suffering from the condition warned MailOnline: ‘If any of your readers work with elderly populations, they should be on the lookout for this troubling disorder, as it not uncommon.’

Those with Capgras syndrome believe that those around them are being replaced with imposters just like in The Stepford Wives

Those with Capgras syndrome believe that those around them are being replaced with imposters just like in The Stepford Wives

Those with Capgras syndrome believe that those around them are being replaced with imposters just like in The Stepford Wives

Dream monsters 

After all this talk of monsters, you might think that a good night of sleep would be just the thing to clear your head.

Unfortunately, the horror doesn’t stop when you drift off to sleep.

In fact, this is the time when you are most likely to experience one of the terrifying conditions behind the movies.

In the 1984 horror classic, A Nightmare on Elm Street, the ghost of serial killer Freddy Krueger returns to haunt the dreams of teenagers.

And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, the teens soon discover that if they die in their dreams they also die in real life. 

Of course, Freddy Krueger isn’t going to get you next time you take a nap, but you still might fall prey to sleep paralysis. 

During sleep paralysis, people are trapped between waking and sleeping.

While their eyes are open and they are conscious, the body’s mechanisms to ensure they don’t thrash in their sleep are still in place.

This means that people experience a feeling of being trapped or locked in while they lie in bed.

In A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Krueger (pictured) haunts the dreams of teens. In reality, people may be affected by sleep paralysis

In A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Krueger (pictured) haunts the dreams of teens. In reality, people may be affected by sleep paralysis

In A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Krueger (pictured) haunts the dreams of teens. In reality, people may be affected by sleep paralysis 

What makes this especially scary is that the paralysis is often accompanied by a powerful sense of presence and even terrifying hallucinations. 

This condition is so common that it is even believed to be the origin of many myths about demons visiting sleepers in the night. 

While it is usually harmless, just like Freddy Krueger it can lead to dangerous problems. 

Dr Sharpless says: ‘Though it’s extremely rare, people can be scared to death.

‘For people with Brugada [a dangerous electrical conduction problem] or other heart problems, frightening and seemingly unexplainable nocturnal events could be dangerous.’

Dr Sharpless stresses that sleep paralysis is normally absolutely safe and urges that you seek professional help if it is causing problems or worry in your life. 

To learn more about these conditions you can check out Dr Sharpless’ book: Monsters on the Couch.  

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk

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