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as I was about to do so, one of them ordered me to stay where I was. I tried sleeping in another room, but they followed me everywhere. Sometimes they smile, start singing and I hear the orchestra ; they don't frighten me then. Father says that I suffer from hallucinations and that, if I go on visiting the cinema, he will have me put in an asylum. But I'm not mad. I don't, of course, understand where the machinery is hidden ; perhaps it is an apparatus with radiocinetic waves ».
He went on to recount many of the episodes of these « free cinema performances » They are varied and consist mostly of love-scenes, which greatly disturb him. Sometimes they are scenes of brigandage and often they relate to quite trivial incidents. The boy names some of the actors who appear in these scenes and describes very well his agitation and internal struggles when the voices order him to commit acts of which he realises the serious nature : « Sometimes they tell me to kill my relatives, but I don't do it, because I love my family. One night I seized the hammer and struck at a man who had told me to kill my brother Aldo with it ».
At. says that he is still obsessed by the visions and voices even in hospital and, although he has not been to the cinema for several days, he still frequently « sees » the actors in films he knows.
At. declares that he drinks in moderation — at most a quarter of a litre of wine a day — and has never been drunk ; he smokes a packet of Macedonias (ten light cigarettes) each day, rarely more. He says he has never had any venereal trouble, but admits to being a constant masturbator, especially since he started visiting the cinema.
During his examinations At. is fairly quiet. He answers nearly all my questions, but often interrupts the conversation by looking up at the wall or ceiling and strains his ear as if to catch some voice.
He grimaces a good deal ; at times the pectoral muscles contract, at times he opens his mouth and eyes wide or raises his eyebrows and frowns.
Neurological examination reveals accentuated reflexes, especially tendon reactions ; otherwise, nothing particular.
There are no special traces of anthropological degeneration.
The Wassermann test was negative both for liquid and for the blood serum.
Physical deterioration rather marked.
During the first few days in hospital the patient's behaviour showed little change. Although less frequent, the hallucinations have recurred, making the patient excited and impulsive.
At present he spends his days doing nothing, tie is often visited by crazy fancies, for example, that he is under the influence of radiocinetic waves along which the actors in his scenes transmit him his thoughts. At such times he becomes uneasy, and obstinate, rebels against the nurses, refuses to eat his food or to go to bed. In his quiet moments he draws or plays with pebbles ; he asks for books, but only turns over the first few pages in an uninterested way. Occasionally he asks us when we are going to send him home, but when his parents visit him, he appears absolutely indifferent.
By reason of the combination of symptoms, this case appears to me interesting.