Vampire lifestyle
The vampire lifestyle or
vampire subculture is an alternative lifestyle.[1][2] The vampire subculture has stemmed largely from the goth subculture,[1][3] but also incorporates some elements of the sadomasochism subculture.[1] The Internet provides a prevalent forum for the subculture along with other media such as glossy magazines devoted to the topic.[4]
Active vampirism within the vampire subculture includes both sanguinarian vampirism, which involves blood consumption,[2][4] and psychic vampirism, whose practitioners believe they are drawing spiritual nourishment from auric or pranic energy.
The vampire and therian subcultures are related to the otherkin community, and are considered part of it by some otherkin, but are culturally and historically distinct movements of their own, despite some overlap in membership.[5]
Ideology[edit]
General beliefs[edit]
The basic beliefs of Vampirism is the value of the individual is superior to that of any group or tribe or nation. In everything vampirists do, they believe in challenging anything opposing individual freedom.[further explanation needed]
Consumption of blood[edit]
Some modern vampires believe in the tradition of consuming blood, either animal or human, though human is preferred.[1] These vampires are referred to as "sanguinarian", and claim that the consumption of blood provides them with energy and strength.[citation needed][6]
Sexuality and sexual practices[edit]
Sex researchers have documented cases of people with sexual (paraphilic) vampirism and autovampirism.[1][7][8] However, not all vampires involved in modern vampire subcultures display a link between the vampire lifestyle and their sexual behaviour.
Members[edit]
Despite the assumption, members of the vampire subculture range beyond simply those who drink blood. Generally, vampirism is not considered a religion, but rather, a spiritual or philosophical path.[9][unreliable source?] Many vampires will wear regular clothing, despite the subculture being linked to goth subculture.
There are several types of vampire lifestylers. Though many modern vampires are part of small clans, called covens or houses, there are also many that are not part of a coven, and live solitary in their lifestyle as a vampire.[6]
- "Sanguinarian" vampires - those who consume the blood of others as a form of energy-taking.
- "Psychic" vampires - sometimes called "psi vamps", vampires in this role claim to attain nourishment from the aura, psychic energy or pranic energy of others.[4][6] They believe one must feed from this energy to balance a spiritual or psychological energy deficiency, such as a damaged aura or chakra.[1]
- "Hybrid" vampires - vampires who take both blood and psychic energy as a form of nourishment.[6]
- Blood donors - though not vampires themselves, blood donors are people who willingly allow vampires to drink their blood. Within vampire society, vampires and donors are considered equal, though donors are expected to have some subservience to their vampires.[10] Donors can prove difficult for those in the vampire lifestyle to find.[2][4]
- Blood fetishists - members of the vampire community who use blood as a stimulant, or consider blood drinking a sexual fetish, sometimes using or drinking it during the course of sadomasochistic sex.[6]
- Vampire "role-players" - sometimes referred to as "fashion vamps", these members of the vampire subculture differ in that they acknowledge being only fans of vampire subculture. Williams[6] states that they "dress up in vampire clothing, live a vampire lifestyle (e.g. sleep in coffins), and primarily participate in RPGs such as Vampire: The Masquerade".
Controversy[edit]
Christianity and modern vampires[edit]
In response to the rising vampire subculture, a pseudo-Christian counter-movement of self-professed vampire slayers that opposes the notion of real vampires has formed.[4] Online, they swarm vampire websites with hate mail and participate in other similar activities.[11]
Modern vampirism and crime[edit]
Tracey Wigginton gained the nickname "The Lesbian Vampire Killer" in 1989, after committing the murder of a man, purportedly to drink his blood. Other crimes have been committed in the past by people believing themselves to be vampires.[example needed] However, the vampire subculture as a whole does not condone violence or crime; criminal acts on the whole are rarely associated with the vampiric subculture.[further explanation needed][10]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Jøn, A. Asbjørn (2002). "The Psychic Vampire and Vampyre Subculture". Australian Folklore: A Yearly Journal of Folklore Studies. University of New England (17). Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Benecke, Mark (2015). Benecke & Fischer: Vampyres among us!: Volume III - A scientific study into vampyre identity groups and subcultures. Remda-Teichel: Roter Drache. ISBN 9783939459958. Search this book on
- ↑ Skal, David J. (1993). The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror. New York: Penguin. pp. 342–43. ISBN 0-14-024002-0. Search this book on
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Keyworth, David (October 2002). "The Socio-Religious Beliefs and Nature of the Contemporary Vampire Subculture". Journal of Contemporary Religion. 17 (3): 355–370. doi:10.1080/1353790022000008280.
- ↑ Lupa (2007). A Field Guide to Otherkin. Immanion Press. pp. 25–26, 50, 52. ISBN 978-1-905713-07-3. Search this book on
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Williams, DJ (2008). "Contemporary Vampires and (Blood-Red) Leisure: Should We Be Afraid of the Dark?". Leisure. 32 (2): 513–539. doi:10.1080/14927713.2008.9651420.
- ↑ McCully, R. S. (1964). Vampirism: Historical perspective and underlying process in relation to a case of auto-vampirism. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 139, 440–451.
- ↑ Prins, H. (1985). Vampirism: A clinical condition. British Journal of Psychiatry, 146, 666–668.
- ↑ Sebastiaan, Father (2010). Vampyre Sanguinomicon: The Lexicon of the Living Vampire. Red Wheel/Weiser. ISBN 978-1-57863-480-4 Search this book on .
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Guinn, Jeff (1996). Something in the Blood: The Underground World of Today's Vampires. Arlington: Summit Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-56530-209-9. Search this book on
- ↑ Thorne, Tony (1999). Children of the Night: Of Vampires and Vampirism. London: Victor Gollancz. ISBN 978-0-575-40272-0. Search this book on
Further reading[edit]
- Belanger, Michelle A. (2004). The Psychic Vampire Codex: A Manual of Magick and Energy Work. Red Wheel/Weiser. ISBN 978-1-57863-321-0 Search this book on .
- Jøn, A. Asbjørn (2002). "The Psychic Vampire and Vampyre Subculture". Australian Folklore: A Yearly Journal of Folklore Studies. University of New England (17).
- Laycock, Joseph (2009). Vampires Today: The Truth About Modern Vampirism. Praeger. ISBN 978-0-313-36472-3 Search this book on .
- Russo, Arlene (2005). Vampire Nation. John Blake. ISBN 978-1-84454-172-0 Search this book on .
- Ariana Eunjung Cha (July 9, 2015). "Researchers: Vampires are people, too, and need as much psychotherapy as the rest of us". The Washington Post.
- Peter Day (Hrsg.): Vampires: myths and metaphors of enduring evil- Editions Rodopi, 2006, ISBN 978-90-420-1669-9 Search this book on .
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