Which description best applies to a hallucination? A patient:

A) looks at shadows on a wall and says, "I see scary faces."
B) states, "I feel bugs crawling on my legs and biting me."
C) becomes anxious when the nurse leaves his or her bedside.
D) tries to hit the nurse when vital signs are taken.

A hallucination is a false sensory perception occurring without a corresponding sensory stimulus. Feeling bugs on the body when none are present is a tactile hallucination. Misinterpreting shadows as faces is an illusion. An illusion is a misinterpreted sensory perception. The incorrect options are examples of behaviors that sometimes occur during delirium and are related to fluctuating levels of awareness and misinterpreted stimuli.