What is Renfield's Syndrome?

Renfield's syndrome, also known as clinical vampirism, is a very unusual psychiatric disorder. In this disorder, the victim desires to drink blood. Renfield's syndrome was recognized in 1992 by Richard Noll, who was a clinical psychologist; however, this condition has not yet been included into the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). According to existing psychiatric terminology, Renfield's syndrome is categorized as a type of paraphilia or schizophrenia. Renfield's syndrome victims are mostly male, although there are a number of females with this disorder also.

The name, Renfield's syndrome is given after the character named "Renfield" in Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula in 1887. The story is based on a person named Renfield, a mental patient who eats flies. He believes that he will be able to acquire their life force. Ultimately, he starts feeding on spiders, birds to gain a greater life force. People suffering from Renfield's syndrome generally believe they have some power through the consumption of blood.

What causes Renfield's syndrome?

The exact causes for Renfield's syndrome aren't known. Renfield's syndrome sufferers are generally male. The syndrome is usually sparked by some incident in childhood where the sufferer became excited when he tasted blood. During the teenage years, the attraction to blood causes sexual excitement.

Stages of Renfield's syndrome

Renfield's syndrome normally has 3 stages.

Stage 1 - The first stage is called autohemophagia or auto-vampirism, in which the victim makes a cut on his wrist, arm or somewhere else and then he drinks the blood from his own body.

Stage 2 - The second stage is called zoophagia in which the victim eats live animals or drinks their blood. Drinking animal blood from a slaughterhouse or butcher also comes under the zoophagia stage.

Stage 3 - In the third stage the true behavior of vampirism arises when the victim's interest in drinking blood moves to the blood of human beings. The victim may steal blood from blood banks and from hospitals. He may also take blood straight from a living person. Some people having Renfield's syndrome will commit cruel crimes, including murder to get access to a person's blood.

Although Renfield's syndrome was recently named, and not listed in the DSM, it's not a new disease. Noll distinguished clear references to this disorder in Psychopathia Sexualis, a text written in 1886 by the German Psychiatrist named Richard Van Kraft-Ebing.

Conclusion

Teenagers are in love with vampires; their delight of vampires may come from the Anne Rice Novels such as Interview with a Vampire and others. Other vampire attractions include Buffy the Vampire series, the Twilight Saga, and the Vampire Diaries. Teens are emulating the looks of vampires with dark clothing, white faces, black eyeliner and blood red lips. Most teens have no sinister reason for looking like vampires; they are just making a fashion statement. However, there are some vampire cults that are quite dangerous.

Sources:

Wise Geek

Scientific American

True TV