Overview

From psychologist, researcher, and horror film enthusiast Brian A. Sharpless comes Monsters on the Couch, an exploration into the real-life psychological disorders behind famous horror movies. Accounts of clinical syndromes every bit as dramatic as those on the silver screen are juxtaposed with fascinating forays into the science and folklore behind our favorite movie monsters. Horror fans may be obsessed with vampires, werewolves, zombies, and the human replacements from Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but even many medical professionals may not know about the corresponding conditions of Renfield's syndrome, clinical lycanthropy, Cotard's syndrome, and Capgras syndrome. Some of these disorders are surprisingly common in the general population. For instance, a number of people experience isolated sleep paralysis, a disorder implicated in ghost and alien abduction beliefs. Fascinations with sleep paralysis have led to its own brimming subgenre of horror. As these tales unfold, listeners not only learn state-of-the-art psychological science but also gain a better understanding of history, folklore, and how Hollywood often--but not always--gets it wrong when tackling these complex topics.

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Brian A. Sharpless is a licensed psychologist and author. He received his PhD in clinical psychology and MA in philosophy from Pennsylvania State University and completed post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Pennsylvania. He has authored more than fifty professional publications, including three books for Oxford University Press. His research interests include common and unusual psychological disorders, psychotherapy, professional issues, and the history of mental illness. He lives in the Washington, DC, area. Matt Godfrey was raised on O'Connor, Welty, and Lee, and spent most of his teenage years in Yoknapatawpha County. But he traveled wherever the books took him, from Alabama to Tokyo, Twain to Murakami. Now he has the privilege of bringing those books to life as an audiobook narrator. He works in all genres and in a lot of accents, but specializes in his beloved Southern Gothic. He is a two-time nominee for the Society of Voice Arts & Sciences Awards and the Audiobook Reviewer Listener's Choice Awards. He has a fully equipped home studio and works with major publishers, small presses, and indie authors alike.

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