Vampires & Necrophilia

Okay. I know I am pushing the vampire envelope here, but Vampires ARE dead. They ARE corpses of people that used to be living human beings, and they are now dead human-shaped envelopes that happen to still be walking around. And our society does have this penchant for romanticizing the vampire, writing it as a highly sexualized creature, as one that enjoys intercourse with its human victims as much as it enjoys drinking the blood from the same human victim.

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Necrophilia [love of corpses] is having sex, or obtaining sexual arousal or pleasure, from a corpse. That the corpse is still occupied by the mental or emotional presence of a human really doesn't change the basics here. Anita Hill, Sookie Stackhouse, and Buffy Summers, among many others, had sex with corpses. (Not to say that Spike wouldn't have tempted me....)

Sex with corpses violates all our social and religious taboos, of course. And one supposes that true walking dead, such as Zombies or the Thirty Days of Night sort of vampires would not tempt anyone into transgressing this taboo. Yet how many of the current crop of authors writes that sort of vampire as a protagonist or lead character? (See, I am aware of the icky appearing creatures that these vampires can age into!)

So what is the scientific taboo based upon? Does sexually spread disease spread after death? Could one get Chlamydia from Claude? Syphilis from Spike? Aids from Angel? Most sexually transmitted diseases are caused by bacteria. Bacteria requires a living organism upon which to live. So, if one posits that the body of the vampire is no longer fully functional as a living entity (certainly heartbeat and lung function are usually depicted as having ceased), then the bacteria which should be transmitted by the living host will no longer be fully functional or present -- any more than it is present on the toilet seat. But then again, that runs counter to all the advertising on television selling me an anti-bacterial spray to use on the telephone, doorknob, or (inset object here). The question then become, should we treat Spike's penis as though it were an inanimate appendage, with bacteria that could easily be washed off were he to shower between sexual partners? Or more amusingly, can you imagine the expression the the face of the CDC (Center for Disease Control) person who fields that question?

A reader can only be amazed at the power of the male/female sex drive. According to much of the modern literature, it continues and flourishes after death. The female, of course, often displays her "goods" in order to catch her prey, while the male must flatter a bit, perhaps a bit of wine, a few roses before dinner. Perhaps this is why most modern vampires within literature are depicted as possessing a youthful appearance. We simply aren't interested in having sex with Grandpa / Grandma. The following sentence leaves out the sort of guy who depends upon Rohypnol (the date rape drug), which renders the recipient unconscious but available. At least with the vampire it is reciprocal sex. Both sides are usually shown enjoying it.

The vampires in the early literature, as can be observed on the early-vampire characteristics page, tend towards being just a tad unavailable, but definitely sexual. They also tend towards the adult vampire (I can't think of even one vampire child pre-Draucla, and only a few child victims). This raises a question for discussion: does this mean that there was more societal discomfort with the open discussion of adult - child sex than with living person - corpse sex? This link will take you to a website that discusses human necropheliacs indepth. I have it set to open in a separate window.