Lunacy. Fact or fiction?

Earlier this week came news of what have been described as personal tragedies.
In one incident a man murdered his family and then killed himself in Fordingbridge. In the other two young men were found dead in woodland Northumberland and police have said that nobody else was involved. It seems that in both instances, stress and depression played an important part. A coroner might decide that the perpetrators possibly acted whilst the balance of the mind was disturbed.

I noticed that the date of these tragedies coincided with the day of the full moon, July 26th, or thereabouts.


I might not have made the connection where it not for the fact that I, too, was gripped by a strong melancholy at the time. It is not the first time that I have found myself depressed at this time of the month, nor is it a previously unknown phenomenon. That the moon affected the behaviour of plants and animals, has been known since earliest times. The Egyptions planted their crops according to the lunar cycle and depression in humans at the time of the full moon, has been recorded since earliest times. Wolves are traditionally thought to howl at the time of the full moon.

I have no records or statistics to offer and science can find no correlation between depression and the lunar cycle and yet the notion persists. Can it be true? Is it yet another example of science still being unable to fathom the workings of the brain?
Scientists will admit we have much still to learn about the brain, but they are reluctant to postulate processes that seem to us to be remarkable. Extra-sensory perception is one such idea. The possibility of a hidden sixth sense remains in the realms of science fiction.

I believe it's time to have another look at Lunacy.