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Thursday, 16 April 2015

N is for Nystagmus


For this year's A-Z Challenge I have selected a word from the dictionary for each day and written a story around it with a 100 word limit. For extra interest I have chosen words that are unknown or unfamiliar to me. All definitions are from the Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus 2007 Edition. Today's word is: Nystagmus.

 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.
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34 comments:

  1. Hilary Melton-Butcher16 April 2015 at 07:58

    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

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  2. Anonymous16 April 2015 at 08:22

    They must have mistaken a lot of medical conditions for something else back then.

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  3. Scribbles From Jenn16 April 2015 at 08:41

    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

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  4. Tasha Duncan-Drake16 April 2015 at 09:26

    Poor Geoffrey. I hope his parents grew some sense and just took him home.
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

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  5. Blogoratti16 April 2015 at 10:32

    I like this word...and its a great but short tale!

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  6. Alex J. Cavanaugh16 April 2015 at 11:55

    That's really sad.
    Be sure to stop by today Nick!

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  7. Keith's Ramblings16 April 2015 at 12:40

    Interesting word, even more interesting story!

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  8. Jean Davis16 April 2015 at 13:17

    Poor Geoffrey. Love your endings on these tiny tales.

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  9. Unknown16 April 2015 at 13:19

    And that situation certainly appears stressful.

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  10. Mary Aalgaard16 April 2015 at 14:21

    I've had Nystagmus. And, yes, it is brought on by stress and nerves.
    Play off the Page

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  11. T. Powell Coltrin16 April 2015 at 14:24

    So true, that in the past things that were odd about people were thought to be spirit possession or witchery.

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  12. Christine Rains16 April 2015 at 14:34

    Neat new word for the day! And poor kid. So many things were once thought the work of demons.

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  13. Shell Flower16 April 2015 at 14:47

    Oh man, exorcisms are just the worst. Poor Timothy! I recognized this word from my days in hell at the insurance company :)

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  14. Chrys Fey16 April 2015 at 15:30

    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.

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  15. Jennifer Hawes16 April 2015 at 15:30

    Glad I live in today's world! I love modern medicine:)

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  16. Tamara Narayan16 April 2015 at 15:56

    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.

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  17. Jeff Chapman16 April 2015 at 16:13

    Another fascinating word. These stories are a great way to illustrate usage.

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  18. David P. King16 April 2015 at 16:55

    I've seen this before. It was creepy. :)

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  19. Michael Abayomi16 April 2015 at 17:05

    Nystagmus you say. Then how do you explain all the bed levitating, excessive vomiting, backward talking and spiderwalking? Hmmm, how!? :D

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  20. betty16 April 2015 at 17:22

    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

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  21. diedre Knight16 April 2015 at 17:52

    If we only knew then... Great story, Nick!

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  22. Susan Gourley/Kelley16 April 2015 at 18:12

    So many people probably suffered in the past because of all the misunderstandings.

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  23. djinnia16 April 2015 at 19:42

    poor kid! scary thought what the priest will probably do to him.

    cool word.

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  24. Anonymous16 April 2015 at 19:56

    Awwwww, that story was sad. =(

    ~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
    Member of C. Lee's Muffin Commando Squad
    Story Dam
    Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

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  25. Tyrean Martinson16 April 2015 at 20:00

    Oh, poor kid. Great flash! BTW - gave you a shout-out at my blog today!

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  26. Sophie Duncan16 April 2015 at 20:25

    Poor boy. We put much down to the devil that we did not understand :(
    Sophie
    Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles
    FB3X
    Wittegen Press

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  27. A Tarkabarka Hölgy16 April 2015 at 21:02

    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

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  28. J E Oneil16 April 2015 at 22:55

    Cool story. I didn't know that had a name, either. Of course, I wouldn't go for an exorcism...

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  29. Unknown17 April 2015 at 00:57

    Yikes! Very informative!!

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  30. Julie Flanders17 April 2015 at 01:52

    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.

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  31. Liz A.17 April 2015 at 02:35

    So many things attributed to the devil back then.

    Liz A. from Laws of Gravity

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  32. Truedessa17 April 2015 at 03:17

    That is sad, but back then what they didn't understand scared them and they thought the devil was in everybody.

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  33. Melissa Sugar17 April 2015 at 04:48

    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.

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  34. Holly Jahangiri20 April 2015 at 14:05

    It's also a symptom of BPPV. Poor child! Next you know, he'll be burnt at the stake.

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