hallucination of a non-existing person theme

A character suffers from the delusion that they perceive a person that is in fact not there. Typically the person is merely a figment of the perceiver's imagination, i.e., an imaginary person.

Notes

This theme is not used when the situation is explained by something other than a malfunction in the perceiver's brain. I.e., if they are merely tricked by lights and shadows, or by supernatural phenomena, it is not generally a case of "human mental condition" being topical.

Examples

In nightgallery2x22b "Little Girl Lost", Professor Putman was so distraught by the violent death of his daughter in a hit-and-run incident, that he began to imagine that she was still alive. He had conversations with the non-existing daughter, brushed her hair, tucked her in, etc.

26 total · 22 major · 4 minor

Story	Level	Motivation
ahp1x25	major	Miss Laughton imagined she had countless non-existing relatives at her peculiar funeral get-together.
ahp4x27	major	It was revealed in the end that Raymond had hallucinated that the wax figure of a notorious murderer was alive. Raymond presumably died from fear as a result of the experience.
ahp7x16	major	The titular M. J. Harrison suffered from the delusion that he was having an extramarital affair with an 18-year-old girl named Diana.
as1985e1x12	major	In one interpretation of the story, the images of Vanessa conjured up by Byron were nothing but a figment of his imagination.
as1985e1x19	major	Jordan thought he saw a disfigured man trying to kill him whenever he looked in a mirror. Since the apparition vanished as soon as Jordan looked away, and since no one else could see it, it seemed like his nerves had just finally caught up with him.
as1985e2x14	major	In one interpretation of the story, Officer Moore's new partner, Patty O'Neil, was a manifestation of his guilt over DeSoto dying in the supermarket shootout.
blackmirror6x05	major	The viewer is purposely left wondering whether the demon Gaap might be a figment of Nida's over-active imagination until the very end when it became apparent that Gaap was real.
movie: Donnie Darko (2001)	major	In one viewing of the story, Donnie was experiencing recurring hallucinations of a man in a rabbit costume named Frank who was manipulating Donnie into committing crimes and telling him the world would soon end.
movie: Naked Lunch (1991)	major	Bill's giant talking beetle superior was a hallucination, as was the insectoid double agent.
movie: The Invisible Man (2020)	major	Everyone assumed that Cecilia was under a delusion that Adrian, who was presumably dead, was out to get her, but in the end she was vindicated.