Nystagmus: Rapid involuntary movements of the eyes.
Geoffrey
shook in fear, his eyes flicking from side to side rapidly.
“Be
still, child!” said Father Simpkins, flicking holy water into Timothy’s face. Timothy
blinked; the priest was just a restless shape before him.
“Begone,
foul demon!”
After
many more exhortations, the priest turned to his parents and said, “I am sorry,
but the devil’s influence is too strong. The boy will have to be taken to a
sanctuary for further measures.”
It
was a few centuries too early for the priest to know the condition had a name –
nystagmus, and it was only made worse by stressful situations.
34 comments:
Hi Nick - taking us back into almost medieval times, and then updating us as of today .. great tale .. loved it - and good to know about Nystagmus - hope I never get it .. cheers Hilary
They must have mistaken a lot of medical conditions for something else back then.
Wow! How sad. Thank goodness we are a bit better off now than we were then.
Scribbles From Jenn - Visiting from the A to Z Challenge
Poor Geoffrey. I hope his parents grew some sense and just took him home.
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)
I like this word...and its a great but short tale!
That's really sad.
Be sure to stop by today Nick!
Interesting word, even more interesting story!
Poor Geoffrey. Love your endings on these tiny tales.
And that situation certainly appears stressful.
I've had Nystagmus. And, yes, it is brought on by stress and nerves.
Play off the Page
So true, that in the past things that were odd about people were thought to be spirit possession or witchery.
Neat new word for the day! And poor kid. So many things were once thought the work of demons.
Oh man, exorcisms are just the worst. Poor Timothy! I recognized this word from my days in hell at the insurance company :)
That's a cool word. I learned something new today.
Poor kid! Back in the day, they always thought something they didn't understand was caused by the devil or possession. So sad to think of the things kids and other people were put through because of that.
Glad I live in today's world! I love modern medicine:)
This was one world I did know. My cat exhibited nystagmus last summer while suffering from an ear infection. I'd have to hold his head super tight in order to get a pill down his throat. On a few occasions, his pupils would "tick" back and forth like a clock. Not sure of the connection between the ear ailment and the eye movement, but it was disturbing to see.
Another fascinating word. These stories are a great way to illustrate usage.
I've seen this before. It was creepy. :)
Nystagmus you say. Then how do you explain all the bed levitating, excessive vomiting, backward talking and spiderwalking? Hmmm, how!? :D
LOL, I know this word because of my work :) (this is the first word I've known LOL of your challenge words :)
Yep, not to a priest but to a doctor who might be able to prescribe some exercises to help it :)
betty
If we only knew then... Great story, Nick!
So many people probably suffered in the past because of all the misunderstandings.
poor kid! scary thought what the priest will probably do to him.
cool word.
Awwwww, that story was sad. =(
~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Member of C. Lee's Muffin Commando Squad
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author
Oh, poor kid. Great flash! BTW - gave you a shout-out at my blog today!
Poor boy. We put much down to the devil that we did not understand :(
Sophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles
FB3X
Wittegen Press
Hah! I feel sorry for all people who were sick in times when exorcism was still the go-to treatment...
@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary
Cool story. I didn't know that had a name, either. Of course, I wouldn't go for an exorcism...
Yikes! Very informative!!
Geez this poor guy. Honestly this word alone gives me the creeps for some reason. I guess it's just so scary to think of anything wrong with your eyes.
So many things attributed to the devil back then.
Liz A. from Laws of Gravity
That is sad, but back then what they didn't understand scared them and they thought the devil was in everybody.
Finally , I know a word. I know This one from my very early prosecuting days. When I prosecuted DWI's. The HGN test - horizontal Gaze Nystagmus was one the police offers testified about it court daily . The follow my pen with your eyes test.
It's also a symptom of BPPV. Poor child! Next you know, he'll be burnt at the stake.
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