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Lycanthropy: alive and well in the twentieth century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Paul E. Keck ,
Harrison G. Pope ,
James I. Hudson ,
Susan L. McElroy  and
Aaron R. Kulick
Paul E. Keck*
Affiliation:
From the Epidemiology Laboratory, Laboratories for Psychiatric Research, Mailman Research Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Harrison G. Pope
Affiliation:
From the Epidemiology Laboratory, Laboratories for Psychiatric Research, Mailman Research Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
James I. Hudson
Affiliation:
From the Epidemiology Laboratory, Laboratories for Psychiatric Research, Mailman Research Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Susan L. McElroy
Affiliation:
From the Epidemiology Laboratory, Laboratories for Psychiatric Research, Mailman Research Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Aaron R. Kulick
Affiliation:
From the Epidemiology Laboratory, Laboratories for Psychiatric Research, Mailman Research Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
*
11Address for correspondence: Dr P. E. Keck, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA 02178, USA.
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Synopsis

Lycanthropy, the belief that one has been transformed into an animal (or behaviour suggestive of such a belief), has been described by physicians and clerics since antiquity, but has received scant attention in the modern literature. Some have even thought the syndrome extinct. However, in a review of patients admitted to our centre since 1974, we identified twelve cases of lycanthropy, ranging in duration from one day to 13 years. The syndrome was generally associated with severe psychosis, but not with any specific psychiatric diagnosis or neurological findings, or with any particular outcome. As a rare but colourful presentation of psychosis, lycanthropy appears to have survived into modern times.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 18 , Issue 1 , February 1988 , pp. 113 - 120
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

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