In horror novels, mental illness is often portrayed in a very extreme and often misrepresented way. It's sometimes used as a source of the 'horror' factor. For example, a character with schizophrenia might be depicted as having split personalities that are extremely violent or unpredictable, which is a very inaccurate view of the real condition.
Well, mental illness in horror novels can serve different purposes. Some novels use it to create an atmosphere of unease. For instance, a character suffering from depression may be haunted by their own negative thoughts which then manifest as something more sinister in the horror context. However, this often oversimplifies the complexity of mental illness. Usually, it's more about using the fear and misunderstanding around mental illness to spook the readers rather than providing an accurate portrayal.
Horror novels tend to use mental illness as a tool to drive the plot forward. Take PTSD as an example. A war veteran with PTSD in a horror novel might start seeing hallucinations related to his past traumas, and these hallucinations could be the source of the horror elements in the story. But this is far from the real experience of those with PTSD. In reality, it's a complex condition that involves much more than just seeing scary things. Horror novels, unfortunately, often take these mental illnesses and twist them into something that fits their spooky narrative.
Chapter 882, "Can you still not forget your first love?", is the clearest early answer because it turns Xu Mei's situation into a concrete plot event. The chapter gives readers a real answer by opening on Seeing the evidence Lin Jingshan presented, Xu Mei's body trembled...
Chapter 900, "Let You Hold Your Great-Grandchild Sooner!", is the clearest early answer because it turns Grandchild Sooner's situation into a concrete plot event.
Look to Chapter 14 for the clearest answer. It begins with Lin Manru had a rare good night's sleep., keeps building through After freshening up, she specifically went to Jiang Yan's room on the..., and lands on But clearly, Lin Manru was unable to accept that her delicate daughter had....
The best chapter pointer here is Chapter 11, "She Smiled, He Panicked". It opens with After a meeting, Shang Shaojing pinched the bridge of his nose, tired, and... and closes on Miss Qin, please accompany us to the police station to explain this....
Chapter 878, "Do You Dare?", is the clearest early answer because it turns Jiang Li's situation into a concrete plot event. A useful checkpoint is the way the scene starts with Su Yinwan not only chose a remote location for the meeting, but the...
Chapter 832, "So Impressive, My Sister!", is the clearest early answer because it turns Chinese's situation into a concrete plot event. The chapter gives readers a real answer by opening on These clothes were indeed very beautiful, extremely exquisite.
A practical answer is Chapter 22, because it turns the idea into a concrete scene. The chapter opens with Hearing this, Su Yinwan looked at Shang Shaojing with a face full of..., adds pressure through Why are you yelling so loudly?, and ends on Jiang Li's righteousness temporarily shut Jiang Yan.
If you want the clearest chapter reference, go to Chapter 8. Early on, The resentment that had barely calmed among the crowd surged back two...; later, the chapter leans on Some of them were relatives of the Jiang Family, who felt it improper to....
Chapter 865, "His brother is your ex-boyfriend, right?", is the clearest early answer because it turns Chen Nanyu's situation into a concrete plot event. It opens with I looked at your compatibility chart. and closes on But it wasn't long before Jiang Meng noticed Chen Nanyu's....
If you want the clearest chapter reference, go to Chapter 25. Early on, Therefore, from his childhood, Jiang Shixu had felt an extreme aversion to...; later, the chapter leans on Over time, he naturally developed a gap of estrangement between himself....