I'm reading Raising Demons by Shirley Jackson. It's a madcap, demented, hilarious account of a family of six living in Vermont.

There's a dark side to the book, as I discovered today. Starting on page 250 (or thereabouts) there is a section centering on Sally (who should have been named Lucy) that is a pitch-perfect narrative of a childhood schizophrenic. There were intimations earlier in the book (the "magic" episode, for example) but the one centering around the visit to New York was a description of full-blown dissociation.

The child must have existed in real life; I cannot imagine anyone inventing her, unless the author herself suffered from the same malady and was recounting an event from her own childhood.

It gave me the creeps. Don't know if I can read the rest; it's a little too real.