Necrophilia

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Necrophilia

Necrophilia, also called thanatophilia and necrolagnia, is a paraphilia characterized by a sexual attraction to corpses. The word is artificially derived from Ancient Greek: νεκρός (nekros; "corpse," or "dead") and φιλία (philia; "love"). The term appears "НЕКРОФИЛИЯ КАК СТРУКТУРА СОЗНАНИЯ", 2002. to have originated from Krafft-Ebing's 1886 work Psychopathia Sexualis.Krafft-Ebing, Richard von (1886). Psychopathia Sexualis. English translation: ISBN 155970425X.

Figuratively, the term "necrophilia" describes an inordinate desire to control another person, usually in the context of a romantic or interpersonal relationship; the accusation is that the person is so interpersonally controlling as to be better-suited to relationships with nonresponsive people.

Notable necrophiles

Carl Tanzler

Carl Tanzler was a radiologist in Key West, Florida who developed a morbid obsession for Elena Milagro Hoyos (1910-1931). She was one of his patients, and she died from tuberculosis in 1931 at the hospital. With her parents' permission he had an above ground mausoleum built for her, so she wouldn't decompose underground. He visited the tomb every night and by 1933 he had taken the body home with him and kept it in his bed. He restored her body as best he could and kept a full wardrobe to dress her. As her body decomposed, he created a mask to fit over her face and bought numerous boxes of perfume, often several times a month. He also inserted a vaginal tube into his deceased wife for intercourse. A family member (believed to be Elena's sister) noticed Tanzler with the perfume boxes and instantly became suspicious. She entered the house and found Elena's corpse lying on the bed in an elegant dress, almost fully decomposed.

Serial killers

Necrophilia has also been a motive for some serial killers, including murderers Ed Gein, Richard Chase, Winston Moseley, John Reginald Halliday Christie, Bruno Lüdke, Jerry Brudos, Ted Bundy, and Jeffrey Dahmer, who ate his victims after killing them; the technical term for this particular variant activity is necrophagia. Several other murderers have described drawing sexual excitement from killing, as well, such as Karla Faye Tucker, who claimed to have an orgasm with each swing of the axe she used to kill Jerry Lynn Dean. The guilty-plea testimony provided by the recently captured (2005) serial killer Dennis Rader provided a rare public glimpse into the workings of such a controlling mind.

Among animals

Necrophilia is not unknown in animals, with a number of confirmed observations. Kees Moeliker made one of these observations while he was sitting in his office at the Natuurmuseum Rotterdam, when he heard the distinctive thud of a bird hitting the glass facade of the building. Upon inspection, he discovered a drake mallard lying dead about two meters from the building. Next to the downed bird there was a second drake mallard standing close by. As he observed the odd couple, the living drake picked at the corpse of the dead one for a few minutes and then, without provocation, it mounted the corpse and began copulating with it. The act of necrophilia lasted for about 75 minutes, in which time, according to Moeliker, the living drake took two short breaks before resuming with copulating behavior. Moeliker surmised that at the time of the collision with the window the two mallards were engaged in a common motif in duck behavior which is called rape flight. "When one died the other one just went for it and didn't get any negative feedback -- well, didn't get any feedback," according to Moeliker. This is the first recorded case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard duck.

Legal status

Legality in the United States

As of May, 2006, there is no federal legislation specifically barring sex with a corpse.^* Multiple states have their own laws:

Alabama - Class C felony under 13A-11-13
Alaska - Class A misdemeanour under 11-61-130
Arkansas - Class D felony under 5-60-101
California - Illegal, up to 8 years in prison
Colorado - Class 2 misdemeanour under 18-13-101
Delaware - Class A misdemeanour under 11-5-1332
Hawaii - Misdemeanour under 7

References

External links

RNF: Table of Contents

Paraphilia | Sexual fetishism

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