In principle, somnambulists - sleepwalkers - are quite harmless: immersed in deep sleep, they wander around the rooms, less often go out into the street, and in the morning they do not remember what happened to them. But there are also unfortunate people among them, for whom somnambulism becomes the curse of their whole life. Without realizing it, the harmless lunatic suddenly turns into a bloodthirsty monster and commits terrible and completely senseless murders. Here are two recent cases in England.
Brandon McGill, suffering from somnambulism since childhood, could go out at night naked from the house and walk like that through the streets until he was detained by police for disturbing public order. Three times his wives left him, who did not want to put up with their husband's night trips, several times Brandon ended up in psychiatric hospitals. However, tranquilizers and other medications did not help him. At best, he slept peacefully for a month or two, and then bouts of somnambulism resumed. On a May night in 2002, McGill left the house and walked leisurely down a quiet street to someplace unknown. To his misfortune, an unlocked car with a key in the ignition was standing near the supermarket on the way. Brandon got behind the wheel, started the engine, and raced through the city downtown without following any rules.
The intruder was chased by a police patrol, demanding that he stop immediately. But the sleepwalker, on the contrary, increased his speed and at one of the intersections knocked down two midnight passers-by. Brandon then knocked to death a police officer who tried to block his path. Then the pursuers opened fire on the wheels of the car, which led to a new tragedy. The car on which the somnambulist was racing was thrown aside and he drove into a convenience store, running over the seller.
Only after that, McGill, who was slightly injured, finally woke up and turned gray with horror. While he was trying to figure out what had happened, the police arrived in time and tied him up. A blood alcohol test was negative. This testified in favor of the sleepwalker, who was initially mistaken for a roaming alcoholic. During the examination, doctors confirmed that McGill had committed criminal acts in a state of complete insanity. And yet his fate was to be decided by the court. The jury's opinion was divided: some insisted that the legally accused was not subject to jurisdiction and should be treated; others believed McGill deserved the most severe punishment. Fortunately for him, the supporters of the first opinion were in the majority, and the somnambulist was sent to a psychiatric hospital.
In another case, 34-year-old Christopher Paris became the real "sleeping killer". He was an unremarkable office clerk who liked to watch bloody thrillers on TV in his spare time, disregarding the warnings of a neurologist. For a long time, the sleepwalker Christopher did not have any problems, because during night walks he did not leave his house. But in the spring of 1998, he and his wife got into a car accident. The wife died, and Paris escaped with bruises and a concussion. Obviously, it was the head trauma and mental stress that changed the course of his illness.
In his testimony during the investigation, Christopher said: “The most terrible thing for me was that I did not remember anything about what I had done. My first murder, like everyone else, I overslept. I had some kind of nightmares, it seems that the living dead were chasing me. When I woke up, I saw my pajamas and my hands were bloody, and a bloody kitchen knife was lying near the bed. I turned on the TV and heard that an unknown maniac had killed a 30-year-old man in one of the neighboring streets at night. I suspected that this was my handiwork, I was terribly worried and did not know what to do. Going to the police was scary, no one would have believed me. I was also afraid to go to psychiatrists. I wanted to believe that all this is an annoying misunderstanding that will never happen again …
The next nightmare incident happened about a month later. When he woke up and realized that he had become a murderer again, he went into hysterics. Then he found a severed female ear with an earring on the floor and almost went mad. On TV, the news program announced: killed 47-year-old Barbara Smith, whom the maniac overtook in the alleyway, cutting off his victim's ear. Then he even tried to commit suicide, wanted to hang himself, but a hook flew out, to which he tied a noose. Then he swallowed sleeping pills, slept for two days and ruined his stomach.
He tried in every possible way to prevent new attacks on people: he hid the knives in the safe at home, and handcuffed himself to the bed at night. But each time it turned out that the devil taking possession of him can kill without a knife, and finding the key and opening the lock of the handcuffs for him is not difficult. He was eventually caught. He woke up in great pain and saw himself lying on the sidewalk, surrounded by police. It turned out that he attacked a bystander and began to strangle him. But he managed to escape and reported the attack to the police."
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In total, five people became victims of Christopher Paris, two of whom remained alive. Moreover, he attacked not only on full moon days. He could be sentenced to life imprisonment. However, experts proved that he committed crimes in a state of insanity, and the lunatic was sent to a psychiatric hospital for treatment.
So what is this attack, somnambulism?
Cases of sleepwalking have been known for many centuries, but science has not figured out this mysterious disease. It is believed that night walks and, in general, any physical activity is possible when the inhibition of the central nervous system during sleep does not extend to those parts of the brain that are in charge of motor functions. The reason for this failure is nervous disorders or damage to the cerebral cortex.
But this scientific explanation does not explain the mystery of somnambulism. After all, a sleepwalker does not just randomly move his arms and legs, but performs very complex actions. He is even able to drive a car and kill people, stabbing or showering with his bare hands. This is impossible without the coordinated work of many centers of the brain that control our behavior. Besides, the brain must receive and process information about the environment. The somnambula is not aware of what he is doing, but at the same time he behaves reasonably enough: he exits and enters through the doors, avoids obstacles, and does not bury himself in them, picks up various objects and uses them purposefully.
The actions of a sleepwalker are similar to the behavior of a zombie person or a biorobot that someone controls. But who? Paris's killer says it's the devil. Let's not be so categorical. According to parapsychologists, one thing is indisputable: some essences from the subtle world infuse lunatics.
Their victims are neurasthenics and psychopaths, in whose protective energy cocoon holes appear due to mental trauma. They can also arise as a result of severe stress, and in children - because of the not yet strong energy armor. When the brain's control over the body weakens during a night's sleep, an invading otherworldly entity takes its place and uses the person as a biorobot. It is difficult to judge why she performs certain actions. But sometimes it seems as if a malicious demon actually possessed the somnambulist.
According to medical statistics, intermittent somnambulism is observed in five percent of children, but as they mature, most get rid of it. However, later, under the influence of severe stress or a nervous breakdown, night walks sometimes resume.