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Vampire lifestyle

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The vampire lifestyle, also known as the vampire subculture or vampire community (sometimes spelled "vampyre"), is an alternative lifestyle and subculture inspired by the mythology and popular culture surrounding vampires.[1][2][3][4] Participants often identify with or as vampires, drawing inspiration from various media, including gothic literature, films, and role-playing games.[2] The subculture encompasses a range of practices, from incorporating vampire aesthetics into daily life to engaging in rituals involving blood consumption or energy work.[5][2][6]

The vampire subculture largely stemmed from the goth subculture,[2][3][1][7] but also incorporates some elements of the sadomasochism subculture.[1] The Internet provides a prevalent forum of communication for the subculture, along with other media such as glossy magazines devoted to the topic.[needs update][8]

Participants within the subculture range from those who dress as vampires but understand themselves to be human, to those who assert a need to consume either blood or 'human energy'.[2][4][8][9] Both types of vampires may assert that the consumption of blood or energy (sometimes referred to as auric or pranic energy) is necessary for spiritual or physical nourishment.[10]

Though the vampire subculture has considerable overlap with gothic subculture, the vampire community also has overlap with both therian and otherkin communities, and are considered by some to be a part of both, despite the difference in cultural and historical development.[11]

Types of vampire lifestylers

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There are several types of vampire lifestylers:[2]

  • "Sanguinarians": (sometimes referred to as hematophages) consume the blood of others[2]
  • "Psychic vampires": claim to attain nourishment from the aura or pranic energy of others[2][8][9] in order to balance a spiritual or psychological energy deficiency, such as a damaged aura or chakra[1]
  • "Hybrids": both consume blood and assert that they consume psychic energy[2][9]
  • "Blood donors": willingly allow other members of the subculture to drink their blood,[2] and may or may not exhibit subservience toward those who do[12][4][8]
  • "Blood fetishists": use blood as a stimulant or sexual fetish, sometimes drinking it during the course of sadomasochistic sex[9]
  • "Role-players" or "lifestylers": acknowledge that they are human beings roleplaying as vampires.[2] Williams states that they may "dress up in vampire clothing, live a vampire lifestyle (e.g. sleep in coffins), and primarily participate in RPGs such as Vampire: The Masquerade"[9]

Explanations for blood-drinking

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Renfield syndrome is a clinical condition marked by a fixation on blood or blood-drinking.

Sex researchers have also documented cases of people with sexual (paraphilic) vampirism and autovampirism.[1][13][14]

Controversy

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Christianity

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Some self-proclaimed Christian vampire slayers have arisen in response to the vampire subculture.[8] Online, they swarm vampire websites with hate mail and participate in other similar activities.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Jøn, A. Asbjørn (2002). "The Psychic Vampire and Vampyre Subculture". Australian Folklore: A Yearly Journal of Folklore Studies (17). University of New England. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Browning, John Edgar (March 2015). "The real vampires of New Orleans and Buffalo: a research note towards comparative ethnography" (PDF). Palgrave Communications. 1 (15006). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan: 1–8. doi:10.1057/palcomms.2015.6. ISSN 2662-9992. LCCN 2016260034. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b Mellins, Maria (2013). "Vampire Community Profile". Vampire Culture. Dress, Body, Culture. London: Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 45–68. ISBN 9780857850744.
  4. ^ a b c 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.
  5. ^ Thomas, Sophie Saint (2015-07-25). "We Spoke to Three Real-Life Vampires About Blood, Lust, and Hunger". VICE. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  6. ^ Kimmel-Freeman, Jesse (2014-01-25). "Coming Out of the Coffin: A Brief Exploration of Modern Urban Vampire Subculture | Halloween Love". Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  7. ^ Skal, David J. (1993). The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror. New York: Penguin. pp. 342–43. ISBN 0-14-024002-0.
  8. ^ a b c d e 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. S2CID 143072713.
  9. ^ a b c d e 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. S2CID 143339707.
  10. ^ Keyworth, David (2002-10-01). "The Socio-Religious Beliefs and Nature of the Contemporary Vampire Subculture". Journal of Contemporary Religion. 17 (3): 355–370. doi:10.1080/1353790022000008280. ISSN 1353-7903.
  11. ^ Lupa (2007). A Field Guide to Otherkin. Immanion Press. pp. 25–26, 50, 52. ISBN 978-1-905713-07-3.
  12. ^ Guinn, Jeff (1996). Something in the Blood: The Underground World of Today's Vampires. Arlington: Summit Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-56530-209-9.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ Prins, H. (1985). Vampirism: A clinical condition. British Journal of Psychiatry, 146, 666–668.
  15. ^ Thorne, Tony (1999). Children of the Night: Of Vampires and Vampirism. London: Victor Gollancz. ISBN 978-0-575-40272-0.

Further reading

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