The Writer's Life: The Writer's Life 3/28

In an article at listverse.com by Christy Heather, I came upon a term I don't recall having ever heard: Folie a deux (“madness of two”), also known as shared psychosis. I wouldn't be surprised if it's been used on The X-Files, as Mulder was knowledgeable about so many disorders. Here are synopses of several cases:
The first was reported in the 19th century and involved Margaret and Michael, a married couple, each 34. They shared delusions that certain acquaintances were persecuting them and that the unnamed tormentors were entering their house, spreading around dust and fluff, and wearing down the couple’s shoes.
The most infamous example involves Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, two high IQ guys who went on a crime spree that included the murder of a 14-year-old boy. May they rot in hell.
Another famous case involves Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, 15-year-old New Zealanders. Their parents became worried about the relationship and wanted to separate them. In 1954 Pauline’s mother took the girls on an outing and was brutally murdered. After only a few years in prison, the women assumed different identities and moved to the UK, although not together. Juliet Hulme became successful crime author Anne Perry, while the former Pauline Parker became equestrian teacher Hilary Nathan. The 1994 film Heavenly Creatures is based on them. Perry dubs it pure fiction.
Another famous, more recent case involved 12-year-olds, Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier, who stabbed a classmate as a sacrifice to fictional horror character Slender Man. Miraculously, the victim survived. Her assailants were sentenced to 40 years and 25 years in an institution.
Having met through a personal ad, Mr. and Mrs. A were married after knowing each other only one week. They believed a demon who spoke through Mr. A was the “god of the sea” who conversed with Mrs. A when she was a child. While eating at a restaurant, they thought two male diners were laughing at them. Upset, they returned to their apartment, where the demons told them to return to the restaurant and kill the men. They did, shooting them.
Several other cases involving more than two people were too long and fascinating to edit without doing damage to the story. A couple are gruesome. Here's a link to the article:
http://listverse.com/2018/03/26/10-highly-unusual-examples-of-folie-a-deux-or-shared-psychosis/

My thanks to the young woman who bought three works of non-fiction, one of them Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sex ( but Were Afraid to Ask) by David R. Reuben MD, a runaway best seller published in 1969. And thanks also to the other young woman who purchased Put on Your Crown: Life-Changing Moments on the Path to Queendom by Queen Latifah and Samantha Marshall, and two children's books. Thanks also to the woman who donated a bag of books, most in Russian. It was one of those sessions when several people stopped to chat. Mike, whose a bit older than me, divulged his love of stand-up, and said he's seen every famous comic perform. He caught Don Rickles when Mr. Warmth was just starting to share his psychosis, working cheap joints. Mike walked in wearing a powder blue blazer and Rickles immediately ripped into him. Stunned, sensitive at the tender age of 20, Mike immediately walked out. He said Lenny Bruce shared his psychosis in a bit on Eleanor Roosevelt's tits that had everyone in the house roaring. That isn't in the 1974 Dustin Hoffman bio of the groundbreaking comedian. According to time.com, in 1964 Bruce was sentenced to four months in a workhouse for a set he did in a New York comedy club that included a bit about Eleanor Roosevelt's “nice tits.” I searched youtube for the bit and came up empty. Several websites are offering the audio for sale. It runs a little more than a minute. Here's a NY Times pic of the notorious funny man, who OD'd at 40 in 1966: