Man Bites Woman and Claims to Be 500-Year-Old Vampire: Is Pop Culture to Blame?
SodaHead News
2011/08/16 20:23:06
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It's all fun and games until someone gets bit.
After being attacked by a "500-year-old vampire" who broke into her house to "feed" on Saturday, one woman knows that all too well.
ABC News reports a 19-year-old Texas man, Lyle Monroe Bensley, was arrested this weekend after breaking into a woman's home and biting her on the neck -- wearing nothing but boxers, of course.
The woman, who had never met Bensley before, quickly escaped to a neighbor's car and called police after she got out of his clutches.
Police found Bensley in a parking lot, hissing and gnashing his teeth, claiming he "didn't want to have to feed on humans."
He was apprehended after police chased him over a few fences, but continues to act like a vampire and threaten police from his jail cell.
He's being held on $40,000 bail.
The media is turning to pop culture for answers, pointing out the obvious similarities between Bensley's actions and vampires from "Twilight" and "True Blood."
Josh Klapow, a clinical psychologist, told ABC News, "The content of a psychotic episode very often draws from the real world. Vampires are very prominent in our society right now from a pop culture standpoint. And that information can feed into hallucinations."
Too bad contemporary vamps have evolved past their garlic allergies, or it would hardly be an issue. Although, according to Klapow, more details mean a greater likelihood of these kinds of hallucinations.
"If you look at the content of these sorts of hallucinations, even though the characters are slightly different, the themes tend to be similar," he continued. "The richer the content, the more prevalent it is, and the more nuances there are to it, the easier it becomes to run with."
After being attacked by a "500-year-old vampire" who broke into her house to "feed" on Saturday, one woman knows that all too well.
ABC News reports a 19-year-old Texas man, Lyle Monroe Bensley, was arrested this weekend after breaking into a woman's home and biting her on the neck -- wearing nothing but boxers, of course.
The woman, who had never met Bensley before, quickly escaped to a neighbor's car and called police after she got out of his clutches.
Police found Bensley in a parking lot, hissing and gnashing his teeth, claiming he "didn't want to have to feed on humans."
He was apprehended after police chased him over a few fences, but continues to act like a vampire and threaten police from his jail cell.
He's being held on $40,000 bail.
The media is turning to pop culture for answers, pointing out the obvious similarities between Bensley's actions and vampires from "Twilight" and "True Blood."
Josh Klapow, a clinical psychologist, told ABC News, "The content of a psychotic episode very often draws from the real world. Vampires are very prominent in our society right now from a pop culture standpoint. And that information can feed into hallucinations."
Too bad contemporary vamps have evolved past their garlic allergies, or it would hardly be an issue. Although, according to Klapow, more details mean a greater likelihood of these kinds of hallucinations.
"If you look at the content of these sorts of hallucinations, even though the characters are slightly different, the themes tend to be similar," he continued. "The richer the content, the more prevalent it is, and the more nuances there are to it, the easier it becomes to run with."
Top Opinion
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No
+20Insanity is to blame, not pop culture. It's pretty safe to say that I'm a bit obsessed with Spike. He's a vampire. And you know what? I haven't bitten anyone. At all. Ever. You know why? I can tell the difference between reality and fantasy.
The kid clearly needs some help for his mental condition. Also, better for him to act on this delusion than say, Freddie Kruger, Jason or SAW.
Geez, they make fun of people who have porphyria too, saying they're vampires, and their fingernails glow in the dark. THAT'S insane!
YEAH!!
Pop culture and meth.
Pop culture and mental illness.