Case File 3 “Static”
“I have tried for years to understand the workings of the human mind, and though as the saying goes “I stand on the shoulders of giants,” I am still aware of how little I know. This is especially true due to the focus of my work; abnormal psychology. Although there is some repetition, the ways in which a mind can break are astonishing. But the one case that haunts me still is when a patient of mine was discovered dead in the main sitting room of the sanitarium, the TV set to static.
I initially began the man's case several years before, when he confided in me increasing feelings of paranoia and overwhelming fear. It had begun to affect his day to day life, and at first it seemed to be perfectly manageable. Though he had no previous history of mental illness, I normally believe that someone is rarely beyond my care. But sometimes we can catch someone late, and recovery can become much more difficult.
When I asked him what was it that he was afraid of, he told me that he had been seeing someone stalking him wherever he went.
I did the normal analysis, beginning with his home and work life. Although these areas were clearly being affected, it was also clear that the source may not be found there. His home life with his wife was supportive and relaxed, something that was confirmed after conversations with her.
His work life was also without error, and although I imagined it would be the source of the fear, it was obvious within a short amount of time that it was something that he not only enjoyed, but was passionate about. As the weeks passed I continued to talk with him, but had little success. Despite my efforts and the introduction of medicine, his condition continued to get worse, eventually reaching the point where he was unable to leave his home for long.
Then all of a sudden his condition seemed to flat line, failing to get better or worse. Although this was not necessarily progress in a traditional sense, it did suggest that it was at least at the moment at a solid place. Over the course of the following weeks the man continued to see me, and soon the image of the strange person following him seemed to become less and less frequent. After three months of treatment the man reported that he had not seen the figure for several days, and had been able to return to work.
I was...hesitant...in accepting any feeling of accomplishment. Issues of the mind are rarely something that is resolved quickly, and I continued to insist that he see me. He refused, and it was several weeks more before I heard from him again. Only this time it was from the police station.
He told me that he had been charged with murdering his wife. What is more, he said that he had seen the figure again, only this time it was in his home.
He claimed that he had not harmed his wife, that the figure had done the killing. However, the physical evidence had been damning, and after a great amount of negotiating with the lawyers involved as well as the man himself, it was determined that he should be declared insane and brought to the local asylum to undergo further treatment.
By the time he arrived his condition had degraded significantly. He claimed to see the figure all the time, and though I visited him almost daily, I could not firmly get a grip on what was the source of this delusion, even after all these months. He began to claim that he was hearing a voice, speaking to him through static on the TV. Eventually, he was banned from viewing any television whatsoever, and was barred from the sitting room during what hours were allocated.
Months went by, and little improvement was seen. Then, a few days after my last conversation with him, he was found in the sitting room by one of the officers on staff. The cause of death was later determined to be strangulation.
On the screen was a significant amount of static. But every five seconds a message would show up.
It read “I am only your shadow...the thoughts were yours...I only held the knife...I placed it where it belonged.”
It was discovered that the old TV had been set up to a VCR, though the tape that had been placed within it lacked any evidence. It was determined that someone likely had set up the tape and encouraged the man to visit the sitting room at night, though it is unknown at this time as to exactly who would have wished to have done so or why. It is also unknown how the man managed to escape his room. Despite the violence of the crime, no DNA evidence could be drawn to suggest the identity of the perpetrator.
According to Jung, the shadow is representative of parts of ourselves that we refuse to claim as our own, be it dark or violent thoughts, or even positive ones in the case of people who are depressed. However, I do believe that in this case the figure in question may well have been the man's actual shadow, which helped to explain why he so frequently saw it outside, but rarely experienced it inside. Known as sciophobia, like many phobia's it would be drawn from a young childhood trauma.”
