Can people imagine they see things?

No, that’s where you hear voices. Seeing things is hallucinating and yes it’s possible.

can have hallucinations to there are different types of schizophrenia…paranoid subtye and disoranized subtype. both can have hallucinations. more so in the paranoid subtype

Paranoid schizophrenia is characterized by auditory hallucinations and delusions about persecution or conspiracy. However, unlike those who have other subtypes of the disease, these individuals show relatively normal cognitive functioning.

Disorganized schizophrenia is a disruption of thought processes, so much so that daily activities (e.g., showering, brushing teeth) are impaired. Sufferers frequently exhibit inappropriate or erratic emotions. For instance, they might laugh at a sad occasion. Also, their speech becomes disorganized and nonsensical. Catatonic schizophrenia involves a disturbance in movement. Some might stop moving (catatonic stupor) or experience radically increased movement (catatonic excitement). Also, these individuals might assume odd positions, continuously repeat what others are saying (echolalia) or imitate another person’s movement (echopraxia).

Undifferentiated schizophrenia includes several symptoms from the above types, but the symptoms don’t exactly fit the criteria for the other kinds of schizophrenia. Residual schizophrenia is diagnosed when a person no longer exhibits symptoms or these symptoms aren’t as severe.

You don’t have to have schizophrenia to have your brain play tricks on you sometimes. This can happen when you think you see something, or when you don’t see something (or overlook it). This happened to my aunt and uncle once while they were driving. He was driving and she said you must drive careful with all these cows around… Only then did he actually see the cows. Sometimes you see a shaddow or movement in the corner of your eye and when you look, there is nothing there. Overlooking or seeing something is natural. It happens to all of us. Doesn’t mean your crazy… Unless you see tiny purple people attacking you or something like that… Then it might be time to consult a docter.

Yes. I had that once. I had an inflammation on the visual nerve. And then I had to take cortisone in high doses that cured the inflammation.

And then, some weeks after I was out of hospital, I was driving at night and saw will-o’-wisps in the forest. And I also saw them forming human-like shapes and whirling patterns. But when I turned and looked, they were gone. I only saw them in my peripheral field of vision. If I hadn’t known that it was due to my illness, I might have believed them to be real angels, ghosts, fairies or whatever.

That would be a visual hallucination. You do not need to have schizophrenia in order to have a hallucination.