Abstract
Vampires arouse strong popular interest and attract large print and film audiences. Their influence is also notable in clinical vampirism, a rare condition described in the forensic literature covering some of humanity’s most shocking behaviors. Definitions of vampirism involve aspects of necrophilia, sadism, cannibalism, and a fascination with blood. Its relationships with established diagnostic categories, particularly schizophrenia and psychopathy, are also examined and illustrated by the presentation of a “modern” vampire. As myth and reality are disentangled, clinical vampirism reveals the complex mother-child dyad’s blood ties running amok.
Footnotes
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↵* This article is an expanded version of a presentation made at the XIXth International Congress of thc International Academy of Law and Mental Health, Lisbon, Portugal, June 1993.
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Philip D. Jaffé is a faculty member of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland. Frank DiCataldo is affiliated with Bridgewater State Hospital, Bridgewater, MA.
- Copyright © 1994, The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
