Clinical vampirism

Vampirism
Other namesRenfield's syndrome, Renfield syndrome
SpecialtyPsychiatry

Clinical vampirism, more commonly known as Renfield's syndrome, is an obsession with drinking blood. The earliest presentation of clinical vampirism in psychiatric literature was a psychoanalytic interpretation of two cases, contributed by Richard L. Vanden Bergh and John. F. Kelley.[1] As the authors point out, brief and sporadic reports of blood-drinking behaviors associated with sexual pleasure have appeared in the psychiatric literature at least since 1892 with the work of Austrian forensic psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing. Many medical publications concerning clinical vampirism can be found in the literature of forensic psychiatry, with the behavior being reported as an aspect of extraordinary violent crimes.[2][3][4]

  1. ^ Vanden Bergh, Richard L.; Kelley, John F. (1964). "Vampirism -- A review with new observations". Archives of General Psychiatry. 11: 543–547. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1964.01720290085012. PMID 14208658.
  2. ^ Hemphill, R.E.; Zabow, T. (1983). "Clinical vampirism: A presentation of 3 cases and a reevaluation of Haigh, the "Acid-Bath Murderer"". South African Medical Journal. 63 (8): 278–281. PMID 6823646.
  3. ^ Jaffe, PD; DiCataldo, F. (1994). "Clinical vampirism: blending myth and reality". Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. 22 (4): 533–544. PMID 7718926.
  4. ^ Ramsland, Katharine. "The Vampire Killers". Crime Library. Archived from the original on 10 December 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2013.