Then, primarily because he was friendless and had no one else to tell his story to, he began to speak of what, over the past few weeks, had become the main topic of conversation between them, the mysterious stranger who had come to their small town from an unknown somewhere else to live alone in the house he purchased.

I am becoming convinced, he said, as he took a sip of coffee, more than ever, that the man is not schizophrenic but is in fact possessed, truly possessed, by a devil.

She was thankful tonight, for her husband seemed to be in a good mood, but as always when he was home, she felt as if something dangerous were prowling the shadows of the room about her, waiting in hiding to suddenly appear, bare its claws and lunge at her throat at the slightest provocation.

You still shackle himat night?

That hasnt changed. You know its why I go over there at night, to secure his arms to the walls behind his bed. And its why I go back in the morningsto free him again. I think he is part insanehe laughs when I shackle him to his own wall and almost always he says, or rather mumbles, something aboutwinningover him. That him convinces me he believes there is a demon of sorts inside him

Excerpt from The Jekyll and Hyde Syndrome