Psychological foundations of lycanthropy

Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.

"Civilization and Its Discontents" by Sigmund Freud

Quotes in the text are real Sigmund Freud's words - from his works and books, and also quotes from Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Amsterdam, 4th November 1897

Dear Sigmund,

I'd like to thank you for your manuscript of The interpretation of dreams. As we talked last time, your spectacular theory of vampirism and lycanthropy based on primal human needs will be too controversial for everyday men. All your theories may not be well received. So I recommend not to put those two chapters in this book. Maybe a few years later after announcing the theory of the unconscious with respect to dream interpretation, you may publish it. But not today. The world isn't ready.

As you wrote me last time: Immorality, no less than morality, has at all times found support in religion. Yes! That's why people will not approve your approach - our approach, if I may say it - that vampires and werewolves, those immortal creatures, are people whose fetal and infant development was disturbed by a specific type of mother only. They all are thinking that every unnormal thing is made by Satan. It's not. And we know it. But they will not understand.

Just look at the female hysteria and the most common symptom: hysterical bow. They all think that's the result of diabolical possession. And then you come with your theory that it is caused by previous trauma and being unable to enjoy sex in a normal way. This is too much for them.

But let's talk about vampire and lycanthropy psychosis. As you said: Neurosis is the result of a conflict between the ego and its id, whereas psychosis is the analogous outcome of a similar disturbance in the relation between the ego and its environment (outer world).

In vampirism, we have this case with a breastfeeding mother. A child, who is very often and very intensive (for long hours) fed on mother's milk, will be addicted to breastfeeding - not only as a food but also as a symbol of care and love. Then we have this same child but in another stadium: the first tooth eruption phase. How the mother reacts? Teeth are sharp and when a child starts eating, it hurts the mother. So she pushed her child away. The need for closeness is getting stronger and stronger. Then one day a child latches on to the mother's breast and makes a wound. A child drinks milk with her mother's blood. It's making a connection between drinking blood and feeling safe. A young vampire is formed. As you said: The virtuous man contents himself with dreaming that which the wicked man does in actual life. So not every man will follow his needs of blood and not every man will become a vampire.

A very similar situation takes place when we're talking about lycanthropy. But in this case, we have a "cold mother" syndrome. Every child is afraid of three basic things: sudden loud noise, hunger, and pain. But to this fundaments quickly comes the fourth cause of fear: darkness. Darkness is related to hunger and psychological pain.

Let us look at this case: a child is sleeping in its room. When it wakes up at night, it will see complete darkness. It feels hunger. The child is crying. But the mother doesn't come. She didn't hear the cry of her child or she doesn't want to come and feed her baby. The darkness is connected with hunger and loneliness in a pure child's brain. The child is screaming and crying lauder to lure the mother. When she doesn't come scream become howling. Howling in the dark. Finally, howling to the moon.

The more perfect a person is on the outside, the more demons they have on the inside. Werewolf, as you said, is an elegant, well-educated man who hides a dirty secret. But what is a trigger to turn this man into a real werewolf? That isn't clear for me. Can you explain?

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Doctor Abraham Van Helsing

***

Vienna, 10th November 1897

My dear friend!

What progress we are making. In the Middle Ages they would have burned me. Now they are content with burning my books. It feels me with suffering that I must - not have to but MUST - hold publication of two very important chapters of my book. Why? Why people don't want to possess knowledge. Why they don't want to lit darkness of their ignorance? Conservatism, however, is too often a welcome excuse for lazy minds, loath to adapt themselves to fast changing conditions. I'm full of pity for them.

You've asked me what is a trigger that launch changing into a werewolf. First, you must ask yourself: what does a man who is changed into a werewolf. He haunts. For what? Women, of course. Werewolf needs are suppressed: need for tenderness, proximity, and, what is the clue here, sexual needs. But there is only one situation that formed a real werewolf: being a witness of sexual intercourse. Desire, darkness, and hunger - it all messes with the werewolf's head. Then he need only to see a lonely woman who is walking into the night.

So, we have our foundation: fear of darkness and the unmet needs of the infant. The basic trigger that form a werewolf: being the witness of intercourse. And the direct trigger: lonely woman in darkness.

It sounds like a fairy-tale, but not only that; this story of what man by his science and practical inventions has achieved on this earth, where he first appeared as a weakly member of the animal kingdom, and on which each individual of his species must ever again appear as a helpless infant... is a direct fulfilment of all, or of most, of the dearest wishes in his fairy-tales. All these possessions he has acquired through culture.

That is how everything works, dear Abraham.

Yours sincerely,

Sigmund Freud

*** FEW YEARS LATER ***

Amsterdam, 23rd October 1903

Dear Sigmund,

I heard rumors that you don't want to publish your studies on vampires and lycanthropy but, what is much worse, you deny that we've ever met and worked together. Why my friend? Why you discredit our achievements? Did you forget about this horrible case of Count Dracula? Remember my friend, that knowledge is stronger than memory, and we should not trust the weaker.

Forgive me that I will use your words against you: You wanted to kill your father in order to be your father yourself. Now you are your father, but a dead father.

I know that is hard for you to lose a patient. I was shocked and even today I'm experiencing nightmares. Kukri and bowie - those two knives stuck in the sick man's body - thrilled me to the bones.

We both fought for the life of three: Mina Murray, Lucy Westenra, and Count Dracula of course. But we didn't notice that there were two more people with big mental problems. Mina Murray because of brain fever got delusions that she is dead. Now we know that science calls it le délire de négation or a Cottard's syndrome. Lucy, a sweet, lovely girl, was a real monster who molested toddlers. No one wanted to believe that but suddenly she attacked the children of Count Dracula! That was totally horrible!

Last but not least: the Count. He was so simple case, easy to heal: vampire delusion. But we didn't expect that Jonathan Harker and Quincey Morris were really, really sick. Lycanthropic psychosis, now we know it. What fools we were those days. We didn't expect how prophetic would be the words said by Dracula: I sometimes think we must be all mad and that we shall wake to sanity in strait-waistcoats.

You wrote in your manuscript: The dream is the liberation of the spirit from the pressure of external nature, a detachment of the soul from the fetters of matter. We both know now, how important is to listen to someone's dreams. There are bad dreams for those who sleep unwisely.

You remember how Harker was fixed on wolves. He heard them everywhere, he heard them howling (this scare 'Ahh-whoooooo!' sound), he was afraid that wolves are just behind him. And this weird dream that Harker had:

I dreamt that it was night and that I was lying in bed. Suddenly the window opened of its own accord, and I was terrified to see that some white wolves were sitting on the big walnut tree in front of the window. There were six or seven of them.

He felt that the change is coming but we didn't notice it. He was the alpha and he caused a change in poor Morris. Two wolves, two men with lycanthropic psychosis, and two different desires. Desires that brought misfortune and death.

Lucy was the main target - she was sexually attractive to Harker. But there was Count Dracula on the way to meet the needs. He was an archetypical father - rival and an old alpha - for Harker and his pack. He had to be defeated. So he was murdered.

Love, desire, death - all of it caused by and in the same moment be cause of chaos in human minds. Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain.

Dear Sigmund, publish our work, I beg you. People must know. They must have knowledge not beliefs. It's all that I want from you - only two more chapters.

Your still sincerely devoted,

Abraham Van Helsing

***

Vienna, 25th October 1903

Dear Abraham,

It is hard to write to you, my dear old friend. Please, forgive me but we can no longer insist that our work will change something. No, our science is no illusion. But an illusion it would be to suppose that what science cannot give us we can get elsewhere. And at this moment science can't help vampires and werewolves.

I want to cure people, I want to help them but as long as we talk about vampirism and lycanthropia, I will not have any patient. Those two types of psychosis are very rare and they are on the verge of, let call it, magic. The age of reason has begun and people don't want to hear about mambo-jumbo.

Doctor, you don't know what it is to doubt everything, even yourself. No, you don't... I struggled with so many adversities. They laughed at me and my theories, they were indignant and wanted to burn my books. It was real witch hunt! And now when I'm finally respected, I can't bury it.

You reason well, and your wit is bold, but you are too prejudiced. You do not let your eyes see nor your ears hear, and that which is outside your daily life is not of account to you. Maybe there would be a day when we both would talk about the scenes that took place in England. But not today, my dear friend...

Yours sincerely,

Sigmund Freud

***

Amsterdam, 1th November 1903

Dear Doctor Freud,

My Life is a barren and lonely one, and so full of work that I have not had much time for friendships...I have known so many good people and seen such nobility that I feel more than ever-and it has grown with my advancing years-the lonliness of my life.

So let it be! Maybe the perfect day would come...

Farewell my dear friend!

Yours,

Abraham Van Helsing