When I was at Diasporah Yeshiva in Jerusalem some 10 years ago, one of my dorm mates put a gun to another's head claiming that he was a "shade" or demon. At Moshav Modi'in many years ago, one rabbi who I was friendly with saw some of my comic books and claimed that the characters were "shades". All of this was new to me and threw me off balance.
There's actually been documented a form of mental illness where people think they're the reincarnations of ancient Biblical figures. Does anyone know anything about all of this? I'd appreciate some input.