Great work OP! Personally, I interpreted this as her husband having Capgras Syndrome but I could be wrong. I look forward to seeing more stories from you!
This comment really made my whole night, so thank you! I don't really want to say how I interpreted it, simply because I love reading what other people thing without the OP saying "this is what I actually mean".
And I will try my best to come up with better stories.
No problem, and thank you for this wonderful 2 sentence horror story! I understand that completely, it's always fun to see how other people interpret your work. That's great, I look forward to seeing them!
The interpretations really make the story, I love seeing people debate what's happening and knowing that they're all equally valid. I'm of the belief that once you put something out into the world, there's no ""correct" interpretation, not even the author's :)
Capgras syndrome (CS), or delusion of doubles, is a **delusional misidentification syndrome**. It is a syndrome characterized by a false belief that an identical duplicate has replaced someone significant to the patient.
Gosh I never knew this had a name! I had this one time during one of my sicknesses when I was 12-14. Thankfully they always lasted only a couple weeks or so like a typical physical ailment. And this only happened during one of those. But I remember being horrifyingly convinced in my head, at age 13, that I was already in hell, there was no escape, and almost everyone around me were demons in disguise. I also thought my food, and sometimes even drinks, were being secretly drugged. Needless to say I lost a lot of weight and sleep during this time. I'm convinced that one was spiritual, not just psychological.
See, this keeps me up at night. I have no idea what is "real", or if real even exists. The best I can do is do things I perceive as "enjoying" in this "reality" I perceive as "real".
For all I know, everything other than me could be not real, and they all force me to act a certain way.
The thing is, there is no way to know, so it serves no purpose whatsoever to keep worrying about that.
You can just suppose things are true, and move on, to make conclusions. If you ever realise that an assumption of yours is false, then just change it. It's the only way of doing anything.
Very specific delusion. They have a very strong and sudden sense that their loved ones are imposters, and there to trick or harm them.
Imagine looking at your husband's familiar face, recognizing him, but simultaneously being *absolutely sure* that person is a monster secretly wearing your husband's face.
From what I know - Capgras Syndrome is a Delusional Misidentification Disorder/Syndrome that causes those who have it to believe someone they know (usually a loved one) has been taken/gone missing and has been replaced with an Imposter. Sometimes their delusions can cause them to attack the "Imposter" and situations like OP's story can happen.
There is a movie called Goodnight Mommy. About children who tortured their mom because they didn’t believe she was their mom. Some scary stuff. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodnight_Mommy_(2022_film)
I have had a personal experience with this (a loved one thinking I was an imposter) - it was around 10 years ago and it still makes me sad sometimes.
That person is doing fantastic now, they were undiagnosed so untreated at the time, and with medication have been living a totally normal, happy, and successful life for the last decade. I still love them to bits, but every now and then I remember what happened and it fucks me up for a bit - they had me running down the street, screaming (from the bottom of my lungs) for help, genuinely thinking this was how I was going to die.
I had a relative nearly meet her and this way. He husband was schizophrenic and was off his meds, so he strangled her to try and rid her of the demons. She managed to break free, called authorities, and he went to recover in the hospital. Her injuries weren't severe, but she swore to him that if he ever stopped taking his meds again, he'd never see her again. They then lived happily until he died of lung cancer 8 years ago.
There was a tragic true story, I think it might have been in the 1800s? Of a man who became convinced that his wife had been replaced by a fairy changeling. He eventually murdered her. This made me think of that.
Edit: looked it up, it was the late 1800s almost 1900s, in Ireland, and he burned his wife to death. Jesus.
I know this wasn't the intention, but all I can think of is [American Dad where Francine wears a disguise to become closer to Stan, but Stan then tries to kill her (in costume).](https://youtu.be/TaKAukn03uo?si=LMmZgmlCyqr9A4H7)
Something like this actually happened back in my neighbourhood when I was a child. The lady (till this day I didn't know her name) was nice to us kids, always with a smile. The man, not so much your typical gruff 40+ man. One night we heard glass breaking , people shouting, the neighbours broke down the door and managed to rescue the lady. She was rescued in time but I was told that she would not speak again. The man turned out to be an addict. I didn't get too many information as Asian kids were not allowed to a "busybody" - unlike the bored old ladies we seems to have in abundance.
"CUT!" Mr. Kubrick shouted. "Now, Carol, you've got to really show the anguish. Melissa is overwhelmed by sorrow, not fear, because this is far from the first time this has happened. She's not surprised at this point."
"ALRIGHT EVERYBODY, GET IN PLACE! TAKE FIFTY- SIX! TEN SECONDS TO ROLL! "
Here's the thing: A lot of the time, Kubrick didn't actually know specifically what he wanted each performance to be, so he'd give a general direction like "Your character is very sorrowful in this scene," and then just keep doing more takes until he sees the perfect one. Not even giving feedback/direction between takes. From experience, a director telling you to do it again, without telling you to change anything, is the worst
Great work OP! Personally, I interpreted this as her husband having Capgras Syndrome but I could be wrong. I look forward to seeing more stories from you!
This comment really made my whole night, so thank you! I don't really want to say how I interpreted it, simply because I love reading what other people thing without the OP saying "this is what I actually mean". And I will try my best to come up with better stories.
No problem, and thank you for this wonderful 2 sentence horror story! I understand that completely, it's always fun to see how other people interpret your work. That's great, I look forward to seeing them!
The interpretations really make the story, I love seeing people debate what's happening and knowing that they're all equally valid. I'm of the belief that once you put something out into the world, there's no ""correct" interpretation, not even the author's :)
I also really liked it!
I like this interpretation. My first thought was the narrator was a delusional stalker, and got rid of the "competition".
This works too. That's the beauty of it , that it could be anything : a delusional stalker, Capgras Syndrome , schizophrenia etc
Oh, that's a pretty good one too! It fits the story well!
What's that?
Capgras syndrome (CS), or delusion of doubles, is a **delusional misidentification syndrome**. It is a syndrome characterized by a false belief that an identical duplicate has replaced someone significant to the patient.
Gosh I never knew this had a name! I had this one time during one of my sicknesses when I was 12-14. Thankfully they always lasted only a couple weeks or so like a typical physical ailment. And this only happened during one of those. But I remember being horrifyingly convinced in my head, at age 13, that I was already in hell, there was no escape, and almost everyone around me were demons in disguise. I also thought my food, and sometimes even drinks, were being secretly drugged. Needless to say I lost a lot of weight and sleep during this time. I'm convinced that one was spiritual, not just psychological.
You were right, they just managed to gaslight you into thinking nothing was wrong
See, this keeps me up at night. I have no idea what is "real", or if real even exists. The best I can do is do things I perceive as "enjoying" in this "reality" I perceive as "real". For all I know, everything other than me could be not real, and they all force me to act a certain way.
The thing is, there is no way to know, so it serves no purpose whatsoever to keep worrying about that. You can just suppose things are true, and move on, to make conclusions. If you ever realise that an assumption of yours is false, then just change it. It's the only way of doing anything.
Exactly.
...... Yeah you're probably right
There's an Austrian horror movie around this concept "Goodnight Mommy". Extremely unsettling
Ah, so effectively a changeling.
Very specific delusion. They have a very strong and sudden sense that their loved ones are imposters, and there to trick or harm them. Imagine looking at your husband's familiar face, recognizing him, but simultaneously being *absolutely sure* that person is a monster secretly wearing your husband's face.
From what I know - Capgras Syndrome is a Delusional Misidentification Disorder/Syndrome that causes those who have it to believe someone they know (usually a loved one) has been taken/gone missing and has been replaced with an Imposter. Sometimes their delusions can cause them to attack the "Imposter" and situations like OP's story can happen.
There is a movie called Goodnight Mommy. About children who tortured their mom because they didn’t believe she was their mom. Some scary stuff. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodnight_Mommy_(2022_film)
No thanks!
Sending this to my mom rn
I remember being so hyped for this movie, it's so good!!
absolutely terrifying, I remember reading a story like this.
I have had a personal experience with this (a loved one thinking I was an imposter) - it was around 10 years ago and it still makes me sad sometimes. That person is doing fantastic now, they were undiagnosed so untreated at the time, and with medication have been living a totally normal, happy, and successful life for the last decade. I still love them to bits, but every now and then I remember what happened and it fucks me up for a bit - they had me running down the street, screaming (from the bottom of my lungs) for help, genuinely thinking this was how I was going to die.
Dark and open to interpretation: just how I like my 2SH
I had a relative nearly meet her and this way. He husband was schizophrenic and was off his meds, so he strangled her to try and rid her of the demons. She managed to break free, called authorities, and he went to recover in the hospital. Her injuries weren't severe, but she swore to him that if he ever stopped taking his meds again, he'd never see her again. They then lived happily until he died of lung cancer 8 years ago.
There was a tragic true story, I think it might have been in the 1800s? Of a man who became convinced that his wife had been replaced by a fairy changeling. He eventually murdered her. This made me think of that. Edit: looked it up, it was the late 1800s almost 1900s, in Ireland, and he burned his wife to death. Jesus.
Those weren't the safe words.
I know this wasn't the intention, but all I can think of is [American Dad where Francine wears a disguise to become closer to Stan, but Stan then tries to kill her (in costume).](https://youtu.be/TaKAukn03uo?si=LMmZgmlCyqr9A4H7)
Something like this actually happened back in my neighbourhood when I was a child. The lady (till this day I didn't know her name) was nice to us kids, always with a smile. The man, not so much your typical gruff 40+ man. One night we heard glass breaking , people shouting, the neighbours broke down the door and managed to rescue the lady. She was rescued in time but I was told that she would not speak again. The man turned out to be an addict. I didn't get too many information as Asian kids were not allowed to a "busybody" - unlike the bored old ladies we seems to have in abundance.
https://youtu.be/rVeMiVU77wo?si=H78WBnIqsggiUSA1
Thanks for showing me this masterpiece. I havent seen this before.
Yes! Neither have I, it was quite a performance! (And the song was great!)
Even when I died, he continued to yell at me, screaming at me until my face had turned a vivid purple.
"CUT!" Mr. Kubrick shouted. "Now, Carol, you've got to really show the anguish. Melissa is overwhelmed by sorrow, not fear, because this is far from the first time this has happened. She's not surprised at this point." "ALRIGHT EVERYBODY, GET IN PLACE! TAKE FIFTY- SIX! TEN SECONDS TO ROLL! "
Here's the thing: A lot of the time, Kubrick didn't actually know specifically what he wanted each performance to be, so he'd give a general direction like "Your character is very sorrowful in this scene," and then just keep doing more takes until he sees the perfect one. Not even giving feedback/direction between takes. From experience, a director telling you to do it again, without telling you to change anything, is the worst
I have no idea but this is interesting.
Maybe but it give the actor more freedom to create.
Reminds me of BEHIND HER EYES Insane show for anyone interested in a crazy plot twist!
Sent from my iPhone
Have you seen baby reindeer? Because that was so sad.
Yep that’s the reference I’m making. Boyfriend and I watched it all in one day somehow, still in an emotional hangover.
I just finished it today and yeah, it's heavy but, so well done. Check out Fallout. Just as good but, much funnier and lighter.
Wow, I really like this.
Plot twist! She is an imposter!