MENTAL HEALTH
Necrophilia: Sexual disorder or Choice?
DR. MILIVA MOZAFFOR
Necrophilia: Sexual disorder or Choice?
DR. MILIVA MOZAFFOR
Sexual preference is biologically determined but sexual preference can be changed. Sexual orientation, determined early in life, may or may not match sexual identity, which can change over time but what if people choose dead body as a sex partner? Yes, you read correctly, dead body.
Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, is sexual attraction towards or a sexual act involving corpses. It is a pathological fascination with dead bodies, which often takes the form of a desire to engage with them in intercourse. Though prohibited by the laws of many countries, there have been many reported cases of necrophilia throughout history.
History
Greek author Herodotus (c.484–425 BC) stated in his Histories that in Ancient Egypt, bodies of exceptionally beautiful women were not embalmed immediately after their deaths, but only after several days had passed, in order to prevent a recurrence of a case where it was discovered that an embalmer had sex with the body of a recently dead woman. Rosman and Resnick (1989) reviewed 122 cases of necrophilia. The sample was divided into genuine necrophiliacs, who had a persistent attraction to corpses, and pseudo-necrophiliacs, who acted out of opportunity, sadism, or transient interest. Of the total, 92% were male and 8% were female. 57% of the genuine necrophiliacs had occupational access to corpses, with morgue attendants, hospital orderly, and cemetery employees being the most common jobs. The researchers theorized that either of the following situations could be antecedents to necrophilia:
- The necrophiliac develops poor self-esteem, perhaps due in part to a significant loss;
(a) They are very fearful of rejection by others and they desire a sexual partner who is incapable of rejecting them; and/or
(b) They are fearful of the dead, and transform their fear—by means of reaction formation—into a desire.
- They develop an exciting fantasy of sex with a corpse, sometimes after exposure to a corpse.
The most common motive for necrophiliacs is the possession of a partner who is unable to resist or reject them. However, in the past, necrophiliacs have expressed having more than one motive.
The most common motive for necrophiliacs is the possession of a partner who is unable to resist or reject them. However, in the past, necrophiliacs have expressed having more than one motive.
The authors reported that of their sample of genuine necrophiliacs:
Some stories from case Studies
1
Jeffrey Dahmer
Jeffrey Dahmer was one of the most notorious American serial killers, sex offenders, and necrophiliacs. His fascination with death was present from childhood, during which he reportedly owned a collection of various bones. In 1978, Dahmer killed the first of several victims, later admitting to having had oral sex with some of the victim’s post-mortem.
2
Ted Bundy
Ted Bundy was an American serial killer who raped and murdered many young women during the 1970s. He also confessed to participating in necrophilic acts, claiming to have chosen secluded disposal sites for his victims’ bodies specifically for post-mortem sexual intercourse.
3
Karen Greenlee
Karen Greenlee is a female necrophilic criminal who was convicted of stealing a 1975 Cadillac hearse at a funeral and having sex with the corpse inside of it. She worked as an apprentice embalmer in Sacramento, California. On 17 December 1979, she stole the hearse along with the body of a 33-year-old man that was inside. She was sentenced to pay a $255 fine and 11 days in prison.
In 1987, Greenlee gave a detailed interview called “The Unrepentant Necrophile” for Jim Morton’s book Apocalypse Culture. In this interview, she stated that she had a preference for younger men and was attracted to the smell of blood and death. She considered necrophilia an addiction. The interview was held in her apartment, which was apparently a small studio filled with books, necrophilic drawings, and satanic adornments. She also had written a confession letter in which she claimed to have abused 20–40 male corpses.
recent bangladesh incidence
A very recent incidence of Necrophilia has been occurred in Bangladesh in 2020. CID officers arrested a morgue assistant of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College on charges of necrophilia. Munna Bhakta was arrested after the forensic lab of Criminal Investigation Department found his sperm on multiple dead bodies of women whose autopsies were done at the SSMC morgue between March 2019 and August 2020.
Treatment for necrophilia is psychopathology that is associated with necrophilia.
Dr. Miliva Mozaffor
HELP US HELP YOU
Submit the application below and an accredited health professional/counsellor
will contact you at their earliest availability.