Hellish Hallucinations

Conjured by expectation of imminent death compounded by fever, sleeplessness, and a guilty conscience

I recently wrote about my friend Lora’s distress as to having complied with her moribund mother’s wishes.

Yesterday, I called to invite Lora for lunch. Her husband, Dave, informed me that she was in the hospital. She’d been admitted for heart arrhythmia, which turned out to be consequential to complications of corona and its “sidesick” — pneumonia.

I called Lora and she cried that she was going to die. She was frantic with exhaustion, not having slept in three days. I apologized for disturbing her and urged her to call when she was up for talking.

This morning, having not heard from Lora, I phoned Dave for an update. He said Lora was doing much better, her fever had diminished, and she was expected to be discharged early this week.

Being hesitant to call Lora, lest she be catching up on sleep, I asked Dave whether he’d spoken with her yet this morning.

Dave told me she’d phoned him an hour ago, distraught, having sensed an “evil presence” behind her last night, subsequent to which she was tormented by gruesome visions of headless torsos and severed limbs tumbling upon her as she spiraled through a dark tunnel.

Disturbingly reminiscent of reports of demonic near-death experiences.

As it happens, Lora was not at death’s door, nor anywhere in its vicinity. The salient point is that she was certain she was soon to die. Her fevered, sleep-deprived brain tossed her lingering sense of guilt into the mix …

… Voila. Visions of dismembered denizens of the devil’s realm.

RIP Lora.

ASAP … in your own bed.

As always, my profuse thanks to Dan R. Green for keeping my focus on seeking logical explanations for so-called supernatural phenomena.