MAN TRANSFORMING INTO WOLF: A RARE CASE OF CLINICAL LYCANTHROPY

Abstract

Clinical lycanthropy is defined as a rare psychiatric syndrome that involves a delusion that the affected person can transform into, has transformed into, or is a non-human animal. Its name is connected to the mythical supranatural stories of lycanthropy, in which humans are said to physically shape shift into wolves. According to suggested diagnostic criteria for lycanthropy, either a delusional belief in current or past transformation or behavior that suggests a person thinks of himself as transformed is considered evidence of clinical lycanthropy. Hereby we present a case of clinical lycanthropy in a male patient reporting moments of feeling himself as a wolf and behaving in a manner that resembles wolf behavior, for example howling and growling.