It is a type of sexual pathology that consists of erotic arousal caused by contemplation, contact, mutilation or mental evocation of a corpse . Necrophilia, a term coined by Dr. Alexis Epaulard in 1901, is sadistic when the victim first kills the victim and then rapes or sodomizes them. Some historical figures practiced necrophilia.
For example, Periandro (627 BC), tyrant of Corinth, lived for years with the corpse of his wife, Melissa; and Juana I la Loca kept the lifeless body of her beloved Felipe I the Beautiful for three years, after his death in 1506.
The DSM-V Manual defines necrophilia, which is often considered a sexual attraction to corpses , as “another specific paraphilic disorder, involving an intense and recurring sexual interest in corpses.” However, since necrophilia was first documented in Krafft-Ebing’s Psychopathia Sexualis , many variations have been discovered in those who engage in this behavior, and subsequently many attempts to produce a consistent classification.
Surprisingly, necrophilia dates back hundreds of years and has been documented in Greek mythology, ancient cultures, the Greco-Roman period, the Middle Ages, and the modern era. The history of humanity is full of love for the dead.
The Greek historian and geographer Herodotus gave precisely this advice to mourners who wanted the corpses of their friends and family to remain safe, secure and chaste:
“The wives of men of rank are not given to be embalmed immediately after death, nor are any of the most beautiful and valued women. It is not until they have died three or four days that they are taken to the embalmers. This is done to avoid being offered indignities ”.
Mortuary attendants and funeral home workers are known to have been caught sexually assaulting corpses, and people have dug graves to get a corpse to have sex with. More commonly, there are serial killers like Ed Gein, Ed Kemper, Jeffery Dahmer, and Garry Ridgeway who have sexually preyed on dead victims. Despite all this, necrophilia is even rarer than sexual murder.
In any case, the true prevalence of necrophilia is unknown since this paraphilia is most often carried out in secret, without the victim being able to report the fact.
Remember that it is a paraphilia and not a mental disorder per se . Paraphilias become mental disorders only when “they are recurrent, intense, occur over a period of at least six months, and cause significant distress or interfere with important areas of functioning.”
How many types of necrophilia are there?
According to Rosman and Resnick, there are four different types of necrophiles: homicidal necrophiles, “regular” necrophiles, fantasists, and pseudo-necrophiles (or pseudo-necrophiles killers).
Men are more likely to be necrophiles than women (approximately 95%).
An extremely rare case of a necrophiliac woman has been documented in the United States in 2013 when a woman who was apparently “obsessed with necrophilia” convinced two male partners to help her kill two other men because she wanted to have sex. with the two men alive on top of the two male corpses that had been killed.
