Demonmania

This is a type of spiritual illness which is a variety of melancholy. The delirium which affects demonmaniacs consists in believing themselves possessed by or obsessed with a demon. Others imagine having assisted and being able to assist chimerical meetings of evil spirits, at a sabbath or believe themselves ensorcelled. These are all of the same class as fanatics and false prophets who believe that they act or speak by the inspiration of a good genie, being in direct contact with God, conversing with the Holy Spirit, having the gift of miracles, etc. See Demon, Possession, Witches, Magician, Fanatic, Prophet, Miracle, Magical medicine. See la recherché de la vérité of Malbranche, les lettres of Bayle and Delrio’s disquisit. magic, etc.

One can add to this group those of a certain foolishness, of whom Willis spoke, who are not so rare, whose minds were filled with religious verities and the fear of Hell, who despaired of eternal life and threw themselves to their death or drowned. See Schenkius’ observations and the life of Molière.

The famous Baldus fell into a fanatic melancholy for having been smitten by his cat, according to de Sauvage’s report on this class of ailments.

The same author said, following Antoine de Jussieu and Boerhaave, that the stramonium fructu oblongo spinoso flore violaceo, etc. [jimson weed or atropine with its egg-shaped thorny fruit and violet flower, etc.] provided an oil which, applied to the forehead, led to bewitched visions. The seed, taken in a dose of half a dram, renders one insane.

Hurnius mentions a frenetic demonmania.