The Shrieking Pit | Page 6

of this young
man point to epilepsy, and his behaviour downstairs was due to a
seizure from which he is slowly recovering."
"Epilepsy! Haut or petit mal?"
"The lesser form--petit mal, in my opinion."
"But are his symptoms consistent with the form of epilepsy known as
petit mal, Sir Henry? I thought in that lesser form of the disease the
victim merely suffered from slight seizures of transient

unconsciousness, without convulsions, regaining control of himself
after losing himself, to speak broadly, for a few seconds or so."
"Ah, I see you know something of the disease. That simplifies matters.
The layman's mind is usually at sea when it comes to discussing a
complicated affection of the nervous system like epilepsy. You are
more or less right in your definition of petit mal. But that is the simple
form, without complications. In this case there are complications, in my
opinion. I should say that this young man's attack was combined with
the form of epilepsy known as furor epilepticus."
"I am afraid you are getting beyond my depth, Sir Henry. What is furor
epilepticus?"
"It is a term applied to the violence sometimes displayed by the patient
during an attack of petit mal. The manifestation is extreme
violence--usually much greater than in violent anger, as a rule."
"I believe there are cases on record of epileptics having committed the
most violent outrages against those nearest and dearest to them. Is that
what you mean by furor epilepticus?"
"Yes; but that attacks are generally directed towards strangers--rarely
towards loved ones, though there have been such cases."
"I begin to understand. When we were at the breakfast table your
professional eye diagnosed this young man's symptoms--his nervous
tremors, his excitability, and the extravagant action with the knife--as
premonitory symptoms of an attack of furor epilepticus, in which the
sufferer would be liable to a dangerous outburst of violence?"
"Exactly. The minor symptoms suggested petit mal, but the act of
sticking the knife into the table pointed strongly to the complication of
furor epilepticus. That was why I went over to your table to have your
assistance in case of trouble."
"You feared he would attack one of the guests?"

"Yes, epileptics are extremely dangerous in that condition, and will
commit murder if they are in possession of a weapon. There have been
cases in which they have succeeded in killing the victims of their fury."
"Without being conscious of it?"
"Without being conscious of it then or afterwards. After the patient
recovers from one of these attacks his mind is generally a complete
blank, but occasionally he will have a troubled or confused sense of
something having happened to him--like a man awakened from a bad
dream, which he cannot recall. This young man may come to his senses
without remembering anything which occurred downstairs, or he may
be vaguely alarmed, and ask a number of questions. In either case, it
will be some time--from half an hour to several hours--before his mind
begins to work normally again."
"Do you think it was his intention, when he got up from his table, to
attack the group at the table nearest him--that elderly clergyman and his
party?"
"I think it highly probable that he would have attacked the first person
within his reach--that is why I wanted to prevent him."
"But he didn't carry the knife with him from his table."
"My dear sir"--Sir Henry's voice conveyed the proper amount of
professional superiority--"you speak as though you thought a victim of
furor epilepticus was a rational being. He is nothing of the kind. While
the attack lasts he is an uncontrollable maniac, not responsible for his
actions in the slightest degree."
"But, if he is capable of conceiving the idea of attacking his fellow
creatures, surely he is capable of picking up a knife for the purpose,
particularly when he has just previously had one in his hand?" urged
Colwyn. "I have no intention of setting up my opinion against yours,
Sir Henry, but there are certain aspects of this young man's illness
which are not altogether consistent with my own experience of
epileptics. As a criminologist, I have given some study to the effect of

epilepsy and other nervous diseases on the criminal temperament. For
instance, this young man did not give the usual cry of an epileptic when
he sprang up from the table. And if it is merely an attack of petit mal,
why is he so long in recovering consciousness?"
"The so-called epileptic cry is not invariably present, and petit mal is
sometimes the half-way house to haut mal," responded Sir Henry. "I
have said that this case presents several unusual features, but, in my
opinion, there is nothing absolutely inconsistent with epilepsy,
combined with furor epilepticus. And here is one symptom rarely