The question "what is a lunatic?" is a difficult question to answer. "Lunatic" has different meanings for different people. In view of this, we will allow all of these choices to be correct, but we will concentrate on the answer "a person affected by the moon."

For centuries, the belief has existed that people, and animals, are affected by the moon. The most extreme case, was a creature we have all seen in the late night movies. The werewolf was a half human, who when the moon became full, changed into a wolf#like creature who stalked the countryside wreaking terror.

The legend spread quickly, but was often changed from a wolf, to an animal that was native to the area, weretigers, werebats, and other horrors emerged in local folklore.

This may sound like an amusing story, but the idea of the moon's influence became accepted fact. So strong was this belief that in many European countries, allowances for the moon's influence on criminals was made in deciding their sentences.

Also, during the time of the full moon, patients in mental hospitals were chained and tied down because it was believed that their "lunatic" condition would peak during this time. It was also believed that people got to be lunatics because they had slept in moonlight, or were exposed to too much moonlight as an infant. If a person was a "lunatic" since birth, they were called a "mooncalf."

The controversy over the moon's influence on behavior continues today, though thankfully it plays no role in the courts and hospitals. It does appear that during the time of the full moon, there is an increase in crimes, fires, births and activities in general.