The doctor believed in logic and reason, but began experiencing symptoms of madness like hearing noises. He dismissed these symptoms as stress at first. However, his condition worsened over time. He became obsessed with his patients' cases and spent all his time at the hospital, neglecting his family and health. One night, he killed his wife and son in a delusional state, believing he was killing some mystery creature. He was committed to the very hospital where he used to work as the doctor, realizing he was as mad as his former patients.

1. Matt Posey
The Doctor
There once was a hospital inthe middle of London where mostof itsinhabitantslivedintheir
ownfantasticworlds. Yousee thisisnot theirtale thisisa tale about their brilliantdoctorthattreated
them. The doctor was a man whobelievedinlogicandreason,andthat thingswere usuallyhow they
seemedinthisVictorianage.However,he hadnoideathatlike hispatient’s he himselfhadthe touchof
madness.He wastroubledbythe small thingsat first. Hearingthingsthatdidn’thave areasonable
source. Thenwithoutthe doctorknowingitthe problem of hearingthingsbecame worse,because he
wentfromhearingnoisestohearinga whisperortwo behindhisearwhennoone wasthere. The
doctor dismissed all of thatas juststress.
Insanityis a patientpredator. Whenyouthinkthatyou have defendedyourself fromit, itwill sit
and waitinthe deepestdarkestcorneritcan find.Itwill waituntil youare at your weakest.Thenitwill
consume youtotallyandutterly. Evenso,the doctorwas safe,fornow.
The doctor continued towork withhispatients.There wassomethingsointerestingabouthis
patient’s delusions,andthe waymostof thembelieved wholeheartedlyinthose delusions resonated
withhim.He was fascinated byhowthe mindcouldcreate such intricate fantasies anddelusions.The
dearman evenwentsofar as to consultsome doctorsthat were beginningtolearnabouthow the brain
worksbut mostof whattheyhad to saywasn’tveryhelpful because the research wassonew.
Unfortunately all thiswork putstrainsonhishome life.Hislovely socialite wifehassledhim
nightly.Tellinghimhowhe wasneverhome spending enoughtime withherortheirson. The doctor’s
onlyreasonforbeing gone somuch was that he feltthathe was more himself whenhe wastryingto
helphispatients.He lovedsolvingthe puzzlesthatwere theirproblems.He wentdayswithoutsleepand

2. he rarelyate.If he didit was only justenoughtokeephimself going.Foratime he was gettingmore
patientsoutof the hospital andon the road to recoverythan any otherdoctor inLondon.
From the deepdarknessinsanitylaughed,becauseitknew that italmosthad the deardoctor. So
to try and helphimalongitcreptout of itshidingplace.Itwastime to stalkitspreyand wearthe poor
man down.
Afteran exhaustingdaythe doctorwason hiswayback home.He tookthe same path he always
tookhome,buttoday somethingfeltdifferent.Itfeltlikeall of the world’s eyeshadturnedtowatchhim
yethe wasthe onlysolitaryperson around onthisLondonside street.He pickedup hispace to try and
gethome to where he knewhe wassafe.It waswhenhishouse wasinsightthat the doctor began to
hearfootstepsbehind him.He pickeduphispace, andthe pace behindhim pickedup.He lookedbehind
himand as he enteredhishouse andsaw nothing.Thatnighthe startedto have nightmaresandhe
wouldbe cursedwiththose dreamsall the daysof his life. Theywere violentandchaoticdreams. The
firsttime he had the dreamit feltlike itwasalmostapremonitionof thingsto come.
It alwaysstartedoutwithhim lyinginbedtryingto fall asleepwhenhe hearsanoise ina distant
part of the house. He triesto ignore itbutit persistsafew more times,sohe getsup to go lookforits
source.At firsthe thinks itmightbe hisson wakingup. Aftersneakingtohis son’sroomto findhim
sleepinghe hears the noise again.Sohe makeshis waydownto where the noise is.Whenhe getsclose
to where the noise ishe hearsa growl that keeps gettinglouder.Without warningsomethingjumpsout
and knocks himdownto the floorand runsto hisbedroom.Notwantingtotake any chanceshe quickly
goesto the kitchenand grabs a knife.Goingintothe bedroomhe seesthe coversin the bedmove
aroundand he hears whathe thinksis a crunchingsound.Fearingforhis wife’s safetyhe attacks the
coversand stabsuntil hisarms hurt.He thinkshe kills itbuthe is somehow kickedoff the bedwiththe
coversflungon hishead.The doctorhears itscurry towardsthe directionof his sons’ roomso he gives

3. chase and attacks the bedas he enters the room.Afterhe stands there fora minute there isa deep
laughthat soundedlike itcame fromthe pitsof hell itself. “Shame shamedoctorhow could you do such
a thing?”The roomthenglowsand what he has done comesintoview.He hasnot killedsome mystery
animal thathas snuck intothe house butbefore he can see what he has attackedthe house shakesand
shiversviolently.The tremorssplitthe house openrightunderneaththe doctor. Insteadof fallingto
whathe thinks isthe groundhe seemsto fall forever.
In a coldsweatthe doctor woke up.From thenonhe neverwouldsleepuntil he wascompletely
and utterlyexhausted. Itwasevensomewhatof achore then. He was scaredat what thisdreamhad
showedhim,butnotwantingto admit itto himself how scaredhe washe setto work onsome of his
patient’scases.These were the ones puzzlinghimthe most sohe workedonthem the restof that first
night.
He came intothe hospital atthe beginningof hisshiftone morningtofindeveryoneinasomber
mood.He askedan orderly whatwasgoingon andhe wastoldthat one of his patientshadkilledhimself
the nightbefore.He wasdevastated andstartedto thinkof everythingthathe couldhave done
differently.The doctordoubtedhimself immensely.Wasthere somethingthathe missed?He wasso
obsessed withgettingitrightthathe beganto stayat the hospital more.He begantostay there somuch
that he wouldrarelycome home at all.Evenhispatientsnoticedhow ill he wasbeginningtolook.
The doctor’s dedicationtohispatientswasstartingtocost him, dearly.Itwascostinghimhis
family,because theyhadbecome virtualunknownstoeachotherfromhisabsence.Theywouldn’tleave
because havingabrokenhome wouldhurttheminthe social life thathiswife soloved.The doctors’
dedication wasalsocostinghimhishealth,he closely resembled awalkingcorpse.
The doctor was woundednow.Itwastime forinsanitytogo infor the kill andtake the prize that
it hadwaitedfor.The nightendedasit alwaysdidwithhispreparationforbed,and a minorargument

4. withhiswife.Thenhe layinbedand waitedforexhaustiontotake him.Onlythistime the dreamdidn’t
happen. Insteadthe premonitionthatthe dreamhadmade came to pass. There wasnothingbut
blacknessandcalmness ashe slept. He feltlike he wassomewhereelse,andhe alsofeltlike he was
nothing.Like he wasa freshly erasedblackboard.Justblank. He startedto feel likehe wascomingback
intohisbody,but he was puzzledbecause he wasstanding.He wasonhisfeetandhe was holding
somethinginhishand.The nextthinghe noticedwas thathe waswet.He walkedintothe lightof the
moonto see whatit was.
It was blood.He liftedhishandintothe lighttosee whathe washolding.Itwas a bloodsoaked
knife.He became filledwithanxietyoverwhathad happened,sohe wenttohisson’s roomand founda
horrificsight.He had stabbedhissonnumerous timesandbloodwaseverywhere.Sohe wenttohis
wife’sroomtofindthe same thing. That iswhere I came in: “Shameshamedoctorhow could you do
such a thing?”He turnedto lookat me and repliedtohimself “How itis possibleforthis to be
happening,thisdelusion iswhatmost patients see?” I was annoyedthathe wasn’ttalkingto me butI
answeredhim ina wayhe would understand.“You area logical fellow,think.If you are having a
delusion thatanothercrazy person is having thereis only oneexplanation don’tyou think.Notforgetting
thatyou justkilled yourfamily”. I knewIreachedthe poor man whenhe fell tohisknees andstartedto
weep. “So I’mjustasmad as thoseI treat.”. He toldme throughhis tears“you mustrepresenthowmad I
truly am.”. I laughedathowdeadon he was so I kneltdownnose tonose andwhispered “Brilliant
diagnosesdoctoryou do knowmore aboutinsanity then you think.”ThenIbeganlaughingagain
For the rest of hisdays the doctor couldbe foundinthe same hospital where he worked so
manyyears buthe wasthere as a patient.Icouldn’thave beenhappierbecauseIhadall of myold
friendsatthe hospital andI had mynewfriendthathad beentheir doctor. Because whyshouldn’ta
delusionbe sharedamongstfriends. WhetherI’mfromsomeoneelse’sinsanityorthe doctors’ insanity.
There are noruleswhere insanityisconcerned,asI’msure youwill findoutsoonenough.