Hi wpainterw,
I realize your question was for TU, but I wondered something about this, too. I like your analogy. Another analogy I like is Eckhart Tolle's reference to the "pain body", mentioned in "A New Earth" and his other books. Tolle talks about how the "dense" and dark nature residing in all of us can be all the way from dormant to dominant, and how this negative energy is attracted to the pain bodies of others around this. I have seen this to be true as a negative, and even violent, tone can spread within a group.
I do think the Beast is like this. I have seen it at work in addicts many times, where the tendency to use or drink is exponentially greater if there is more than one active Beast, or "pain body", in the vicinity.
FT