[Doomsday]

I came across a condition referred to as Wendigo psychosis it's when someone who resorts to cannibalism to survive begins to believe they are a Wendigo. This usually results out being driven mad by guilt.

A wendigo is a mythological creature that starts out as lost person driven mad by hunger and turns to canabalism to survive eventually becoming this less than human creature.

Though lately I've been wondering what if through out history such disorders are the source of our myths? What if serial killers and pedophiles are the ones who are at source of our boogiman legends?

I think it's likely that schizophrenics were mistaken for being possessed or what have you I'm not trying to be offensive but given how uninformed previous cultures were likely following the logic of "If it looks like a duck" I can imagine this being possible.

[Webgoji]

Lycanthropy is a recognized mental disorder actually.

Clinical lycanthropy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So yeah, I would say some really are.

[pachyderm]

Joan of Arc?

And others...

[Rise]

Some yeah, but not all. Some myths and legends like UFOs and ghosts cannot be explained by this. You could argue that they are delusions caused by mental illness but that is debunked by mass sightings, or even just two people experiencing the same phenomenon. What about legends like Jesus or Edgar Cayce? Their healing and wisdom cannot really be explained by mental illness.

Good observation though, I think you are right for some cases!

it's an interesting theory.

quite possibly..