Last week we talked about dressing up as ghosts and spooks as a way to blend in with the bad spirits so they will stop bloody bothering us. I recently found out that there is a condition called Cotard's syndrome or ‘walking corpse syndrome’ which takes this idea to the extreme:
People who suffer from this condition believe that parts of their body are missing, or that they are dying, dead, or don’t exist. They may think nothing exists.
I haven’t seen it (but I HAVE read the wikipedia page which is the modern day equivalent of watching a movie) but the movie Synecdoche, New York explores Cotard’s Syndrome through the main character, Caden Cotard, being absorbed in the idea of his own imminent death.
This is a movie I have seen, and a potential very accurate representation of what it might feel like to wake up one day and think you have passed away:
Evidently the condition can be cured through other people wearing costumes:
There was a man a few centuries ago who was so melancholy he thought he was dead. He wouldn’t eat because he didn’t think there was a point, because he was dead. So the physician had someone dress like a corpse and eat a plate of dinner in front of him and then he ate too, thinking well if that dead body can partake, so can I. And with that, he was cured.
There are other similar afflictions that make you think you are inanimate objects. King Charles VI for example thought he was made of glass:
King Charles VI of France (1368-1422) suffered from a particular disorder called “The Glass Delusion.” He believed himself to be made of glass and could shatter at any moment. Advisors were told to tiptoe toward him and not wear shoes. He refused bathing for extended periods so as not to fracture.
And last but not least, there was also once a Chef who thought he was made of butter, and couldn’t do his job because he couldn’t go near any of the fires.
Which comes full circle, because in Synecdoche, New York one of the themes discussed on the wikipedia page is fire:
Early in the film, Hazel buys a house that is perpetually on fire. At first showing reluctance to buy it, Hazel remarks to the real estate agent, "I like it, I do. But I'm really concerned about dying in the fire," to which the agent responds, "It's a big decision, how one prefers to die." In an interview with Michael Guillén, Kaufman said, "Well, she made the choice to live there. In fact, she says in the scene just before she dies that the end is built into the beginning. That's exactly what happens there. She chooses to live in this house. She's afraid it's going to kill her but she stays there and it does. That is the truth about any choice that we make. We make choices that resonate throughout our lives."
Bloody hell. Now I’m going to watch it.
Continuing this months theme of cutifying the morbid and poetic, I took these cues and drew some adorable trick or treaters. I took a lot of inspiration from the absolute corker: ‘It’s Halloween’ by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by ‘Marylin Hafner.’
particularly pleased with little chef mouse, who may or may not think they are a stick of butter.
Here they are being coloured in:
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Just found you Julia via substack reads. Looking forward to reading and looking at all your work 💥
Looking at the eyes on that mouse, I think he think's he's a stick of butter. Love his shoelaces!
& what a weird phenomenon, I started reading about somatoparaphrenia after reading this. The idea of someone's mind creating excuses to disown their own arm? Like, certain reasons why the arm on their shoulder must be, like, someone else's, that was taken off and reattached? Or replaced by a robot arm in the middle of the night? Soooo odd and spooky. Very in the spirit of Halloween!