Stalking. An old behavior, a new crime

Abstract

Stalking is an old behavior, but a new crime. The author has reviewed what is currently known about the epidemiology, demography, psychiatry, psychology, pursuits and outcomes, threatening communications, violence, and clinical risk management of stalking cases. But this "dark heart of romantic pursuit" (p 7) extends beyond the paradigm of science and is often an aggressive and aberrant expression of unrequited love. In 1579, John Lyly wrote "As the best wine doth make the sharpest vinegar, so the deepest love turneth to the deadliest hate" (Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit).