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Original Link: http://haenfler.sites.grinnell.edu/subcultures-and-scenes/vampire-subculture/
Members of the Vampire Community
Real vampires believe they must feed on the energy of other people in order to “sustain their physical, mental, and spiritual health” (Laycock 2010). This feeding on sources of energy is done in a variety of methods. The “Sanguinarian” (or Sang) vampires ingest small amounts of blood, human or otherwise, in order to obtain the energy that they believe is held within the blood. This blood is obtained through a willing donor. The act of feeding on a donor is known as “bloodletting.“ When “real vampires” feed upon a donor, they typically utilize safe means so as not to bring harm to the donors. The identities of the real vampires and their respective donors are confidential. Most Sang vampires only require a few drops of blood, however, some drink as much as a glassful of blood.
The counterpart to the Sanguinarian vampires are the “Psychic” vampires (or Psi). The psychic vampires typically do not believe that it is necessary for them to consume blood in order to obtain the energy they need to survive. Rather, psychic vampires “drain the bodily energy of others by psychic means” (Keyworth 2002). Psychic vampires feed in a number of different ways, the two most common being through touch, in which a psychic vampire can take the energy they need by touching a person, and through what is known as “proximity feeding” (Vampire Underworld 2014). Proximity feeding is, essentially, feeding off of the energy of those in proximity of the vampire. The energy that is taken during proximity feeding is either “pranic” or emotional. Pranic energy is named after the word “prana” (also known as “aura” or “chi”) meaning life-force. It is the energy people give off by being alive. Emotional energy is the energy rooted in a person’s emotional state. Psychic vampires who ingest blood from time to time are known as “hybrids” (or Psi/Sang). There are also many subsets of these types of vampires.
Lifestyle vampires, as opposed to “real vampires,” are individuals who voluntarily participate in the vampire subculture by dressing in a Gothic fashion but do not require feeding on energy to maintain their health (Laycock 2010). Lifestyle vampires are also known as “vampyres” or “lifestylers.” Real vampires do not like to be associated with lifestyle vampires; however, they do not reject them entirely. There are many different ways in which “real vampires” live their lives and there are many individuals who are considered to be real vampires that dress in Gothic clothing or sleep in coffins just as lifestyle vampires do. Since real vampires do not believe it is their place to tell someone whether they are indeed a “real vampire” or not, there is often a great deal of intermingling between the real vampires and the lifestyle vampires.
There are also members of the Vampire Community known as “roleplayers.” Roleplayers are players of the live-action role play game “Vampire: the Masquerade.” Vampire: The Masquerade started out as a tabletop storytelling game, but has since expanded to include video games, books, soundtracks, card games, etc. and has a large fanbase. These members of the Vampire Community are not accepted by “real vampires” as “real vampires” often try to distance themselves from roleplayers. The reason behind this distancing is because roleplayers are often responsible for negative attention towards the Vampire Community, as, in extreme cases, they have blurred the line between reality and fiction. Furthermore, “real vampires” do not want to be trivialized by being viewed simply as people playing a game. Although roleplayers and lifestylers are not considered to be “real vampires,” they are recognized as members of the Vampire Community. Essentially, the criteria for authenticity of a “real vampire” is possessing the feeling of being drained of energy which can only be remedied by feeding on the energy of others.
Shared Characteristics of “Real Vampires”
The real vampires often have many shared characteristics and identities. A unique aspect of the vampire subculture is that the vampire subculture has a lot of overlap with other subcultures. For instance, although the vampire subculture has stemmed from the Gothic movement (Keyworth 2002), and there are a great number of “real vampires” who engage in aspects of Gothic culture, many modern vampires do not identify as being Goth (Laycock 2010). Even so, many “real vampires” have shared interests in music. Gothic Rock, Gothic Metal, and Darkwave music in general are common genres of music favored by the Vampire Community. Almost all of the songs preferred by the Vampire Community share themes such as vampires, blood, or death. In terms of commonalities in style, members of the Vampire Community also seek out fangsmiths, or people who create artificial fangs, to give them the most iconic vampire feature. This is very common amongst lifestyle vampires; however, a great deal of “real vampires” wear fangs as well. Even though “real vampires” can have many different styles and interests, their master status is always “vampire.”
There are also many physical and psychological commonalities that members of the vampire subculture have. The Atlanta Vampire Alliance (AVA) conducted a research study known as the “Vampirism & Energy Work Research Study (VEWRS)” consisting of two surveys of almost 1000 total questions. These surveys received over 1,450 responses. The research study attempted to identify commonalities amongst the vampire community, and the AVA claims it is the “largest and most in-depth research study ever conducted on the real vampire/vampyre community or subculture” (Atlantic Vampire Alliance 2006). The VEWRS provides a look at the similarities amongst the individuals who responded to the survey in terms of their psychological conditions before and after they were “awakened.” Many “real vampires” have been diagnosed with physical conditions such as migraines, asthma, and anemia and mental conditions such as depression, panic attacks, ADD/ADHD, and bipolar disorder. Although “real vampires” are almost always pale and have some sort of sensitivity to sunlight, they believe that being pale or feeling drained of energy does not necessarily mean that someone is a vampire, rather, they understand that it may be a sign of health deficiencies.
Participation in the Vampire Subculture
The everyday life of a “real vampire” differs on an individual basis. Because “real vampires” are not required to dress in a Gothic fashion or don fangs in order to identify as a “real vampire,” many of the “real vampires” either never engage in this stylistic aspect of the vampire subculture or they keep their vampire identities secret while in the company of non-vampires. It is often difficult to get members of the Vampire Community to comply with being interviewed or recorded due to fear of their coworkers or neighbors learning about their identities. Many real vampires prefer to be referred to by their “community names.” For these reasons, despite the belief held by “real vampires” that their vampire classification is not by choice, participation in the vampire subculture is, to an extent, voluntary.
The internet has played a significant role in the spread of the vampire community. Before the late 1990s, the vampire community was “less cohesive and self-aware” (Laycock 2010) due to difficulty connecting with other vampires. This is not to say that there was no interconnected community of vampires before the use of the internet. During the late 1980s, the Vampire Community spread the word of vampirism through the use of newsletters and zines. Joseph Laycock explains that in order to create what Jeff Guinn and Andy Grieser refer to as “the vampire underground,” one newsletter or zine would advertise for another, thus forming a network (Laycock 2009). Laycock also cites Guinn and Grieser as reporting that “every vampire they interviewed subscribed to several newsletters and publications” (Laycock 2009). Although the internet is now a very widely utilized resource for those interested in the Vampire Community, many vampire newsletters and zines are still very popular amongst participants. While there is no written record of the existence of self-identified real vampires before the 1970’s, there are many rumors about the origins of the vampire culture as having begun in the 19th century (Belanger 2007).
Vampire Community Social Functions
with members of the vampire community more frequently look to either vampire nightclubs or Vampire houses, covens, clans, orders, or courts. Vampire houses and covens typically consist of like-minded, often young, “real vampires” who look to one another as being a part of a support system. It is not uncommon for members of vampire houses to live near each other or to live in the same house. Vampire courts often consist of Vampire Community members who meet monthly to “socialize, interact, and learn” (Belanger 2007). These gatherings are part of what makes the members of the vampire subculture a true, interconnected community.Although members of the vampire subculture are present all over the world, there are dense populations of “real vampires” in Manhattan, New Orleans, and London. These cities are also hosts to vampire gatherings such as Father Sebastiaan’s Endless Night Vampire Ball. Vampire festivals or “noir havens” are events during which members of the Vampire Community from all over the world come together to dress in costume, listen to vampire bands, and get to know one another. These events happen intermittently throughout the year. Those who want to spend time
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