this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2023
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Hm... Because of the season, I've been watching a lot of spooky stuff and now I am considering how reports of being scratched by ghosts or demons could be stuff like this condition. Some kind of reaction to something leaving marks that look like scratches, when they aren't really. ๐ค
They're probably scratches though, just on skin that is very angry about being scratched. The case report said he was scratching in his sleep, and if you look at the pattern, it lines up with the ability to reach certain spots and what orientation his hands would need to be in to scratch those spots.
Otherwise your theory works. A bunch of people scratching themselves in their sleep and then freaking out over the results.