Lyric discussion by DrLexus 

Cover art for Pure Comedy lyrics by Father John Misty

"epileptics" is not a word. I believe he must be saying Apoplectic.

Translation

@DrLexus it’s a crude plural version of “epileptic” as in someone with epilepsy. Reza Aslan’s book on the origins of Islam talks about how the prophet’s visions were actually due to epileptic seizures, which also factored into his poor health. I think there are similar theories (re: epilepsy) for other religious prophets as well, so I’m assuming the lyric is referring to this.