‘Like a film in my mind’: hyperphantasia and the quest to understand vivid imaginations

Research that aims to explain why some people experience intense visual imagery could lead to a better understanding of creativity and some mental disordersWilliam Blake’s imagination is thought to have burned with such intensity that, when creating his great artworks, he needed little reference to the physical world. While drawing historical or mythical figures, for instance, he would wait until the “spirit” appeared in his mind’s eye. The visions were apparently so deta