The devotion behind Edgar Hammet’s delusion was quite extreme. Vampire lore set the rules that Hammet would follow, convincing his cult to do so in turn.
One of the staples of Edgar’s upbringing was the fact that his parents allowed him to be without mirrors in his room and bathroom. Other areas of the farmhouse; his brother’s room, parents room and other bathrooms included mirrors. But Edgar’s basement room and accompanying bathroom were permitted to be without. Whenever Edgar would pass a mirror, he would reel from his reflection, confused as to how he could have one with his belief being so strong that he wasn’t human.
Over time, he developed acute eisoptrophobia. For those unfamiliar with the term, “eisoptrophobia” is a fear of your own reflection such as seeing oneself in a mirror. His fear wasn’t that of a typical teenager that assumed he or she would have unruly hair or all too visible acne, his fear was that his family would notice the fact that he had no reflection and wish to report him. Neither of which could be further from the truth; he could be seen in the mirror because he was human, and his parents would never do anything to deliberately damage him emotionally.