Clinical vampirism: blending myth and reality.
P. D. Jaffe and F. DiCataldo,
Bull. Amer. Acad. Psychiatry & the Law
22(4): 533-44, 1994.
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.