Horrormoviescanrevealmuchmorethanwerealizeaboutpsychologicaldisorders--andclinicalpsychologyhasalottoteachusabouthorror.Ourfears--mortality,failure,loneliness--canbejustasmotivatingasourwishesordesires.Horrormoviecharactersuniquelyrevealallofthesetoawideaudience.Ifexploredinanhonestandseriousmanner,ourfearshavethepotentialtoteachusagreatdealaboutourselves,ourculture,andcertainlyotherpeople.Frompsychologist,researcher,andhorrorfilmenthusiastBrianA.SharplesscomesMonstersontheCouch,anexplorationintothereal-lifepsychologicaldisordersbehindfamoushorrormovies.Accountsofclinicalsyndromeseverybitasdramaticasthoseonthesilverscreenarejuxtaposedwithfascinatingforaysintothescienceandfolklorebehindourfavoritemoviemonsters.Horrorfansmaybeobsessedwithvampires,werewolves,zombies,andthehumanreplacementsfromInvasionoftheBodySnatchers,butevenmanymedicalprofessionsmaynotknowaboutthecorrespondingconditionsofRenfield’ssyndrome,clinicallycanthropy,Cotard’ssyndrome,andthemisidentificationdelusions.Someofthesedisordersaresurprisinglycommoninthegeneralpopulation.Forinstance,anumberofpeopleexperienceisolatedsleepparalysis,adisorderimplicatedinghostandalienabductionbeliefs.Asthesetalesunfold,readersnotonlylearnstate-of-the-artpsychologicalsciencebutalsogainabetterunderstandingofhistory,folklore,andhowHollywoodoften--butnotalways--getsitwrongwhentacklingthesecomplextopics.
