Young boy with rare disease could literally be frightened to death

Meet the five-year-old US boy who has to avoid scary movies and trick or treaters due to a rare brain disease which means he could literally be frightened to death.

Reed Havlik, from Melbourne, Iowa is one of only 200 people worldwide who have the Vanishing White Matter (VWM) disease, which is a condition that means their bodies nerves deteriorate and disappear.

There is no cure and or treatment available and it is so unusual because a bump to the head, a fever and a fright can cause a rapid deterioration, coma or death.

Reed's mum Erika, 33, said this means that the family and his teacher have to be really careful, especially around Halloween.