Incubus syndrome: A case series and review of literature

Abstract

Incubus syndrome, characterized by delusional belief in female patients of being sexually approached by an unforeseen person, is rarely described in literature and description has been limited to isolated case reports. We describe four patients with schizophrenia, who reported the phenomenon of incubus and responded well to treatment with antipsychotics. A review of literature yielded five reports (describing six cases), most of which were described in the context of schizophrenia.

Keywords

• Cultural beliefs
• incubus
• schizophrenia