Research Article
The International Journal of Indian Psychology
ISSN 2348-5396 (e) | ISSN: 2349-3429 (p)
Volume 7, Issue 2, DIP: 18.01.073/20190702
DOI: 10.25215/0702.073
http://www.ijip.in | April - June, 2019
© 2019, Kumar. P., Rathee. S., & Gupta. R; licensee IJIP. This is an Open Access Research distributed under the
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any Medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.
Necrophilia: An Understanding
Pradeep Kumar
1
, Sushma Rathee
2
*, Rajiv Gupta
3
ABSTRACT
Necrophilia’s is not clearly defined anywhere. It is a very old illness but not identify easily.
In the recent scenario also the term could not be explored widely. There is few research has
been conducted in that area. On the basis of previous history and some case studies depict
that this is very harmful not only for the person with disorder even for society also. It can
describe an individual’s arousal and attraction to fantasies or actual sexual contact with dead
people. The necrophile may indulge with the corpse in many ways such as oral sex, penile-
vaginal intercourse to anal intercourse, or masturbation in the presence of a body.
The lawmakers and experts consider necrophilia nonconsensual as the deceased individuals
cannot give consent. Cognitive Therapy, use of sex-drive reducing medications, assistance to
improving social and sexual relations can be helpful in the management for the person
suffering from the necrophilia.
Keywords: Necrophilia, Illness, Body, Disorder
Necrophilia, is often addressed as necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thenatophilia
(Aggrawal, 2016), is a sexual attraction or sexual act involving corpses. Most necrophiles
identify as heterosexual males and fall between the ages of twenty and fifty, but there are also
cases of homosexual and/or female necrophiles. Necrophilia is a fairly rare paraphilia but has
been practiced all over the world for centuries (Ramsland, 2007). Some necrophiles seek jobs
at mortuaries or coroners' offices where they have easy access to dead bodies and are able to
take advantage of the opportunities presented to them (Crooks & Karla, 2005). It is classified
as a paraphilia by ICD10 and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) (Robin &
Duncan, 2002).
Historical Background
In the ancient world, sailors returning corpses to their home country were often accused of
necrophilia. In the history, singular accounts of necrophilia have been sporadic. However,
written records have highlighted that the practice was present in Ancient Egypt.
1
Consultant Psychiatric Social Work, State Institute of Mental Health, Rohtak, Haryana, India
2
Assistant Clinical Psychologist, PGI Chandigarh, India
3
Director, Institute of Mental Health, Rohtak, Haryana, India
*Responding Author
Received: April 29, 2019; Revision Received: June 28, 2019; Accepted: June 28, 2019