Psychic vampirism in contemporary psychoanalysis: Issues of pathological identification and sadomasochistic perversion

In this article, I consider the use of the metaphorics of vampirism in contemporary psychoanalytic theory. I examine the concept of psychic vampirism as a clinical phenomenon as evinced in two case studies and argue that psychic vampirism includes a sadomasochistic perversion and a specific identification with a narcissistic (m)other that leads to a general manner of identifying that is in itself pathological. Further, I argue that in the psychoanalytic clinical situation a psychic vampiric transference may manifest with either masochism or sadism predominating. I also demonstrate the pertinence of the literary vampire, via Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire (1976), to this clinical development. Finally, I suggest that psychic vampirism is likely to become more salient clinically, given the vampire’s current cultural popularity.