Vampire lifestyle

The vampire lifestyle (or vampyre subculture) is a dark alternative lifestyle, based off of vampires. It has been noted that the Vampire subculture has stemmed largely from the Goth subculture, but also incorporates some elements of the S/M subculture. Active vampirism within the vampire subculture includes both blood related vampirism, which is commonly referred to as Sanguinarian Vampirism, and Psychic Vampirism, which involves 'feeding' from pranic energy. Members of the subculture take on a variety of 'roles', including both "vampires" and their sources of blood or pranic energy.

Sanguinarians

Definition

A Sanguinarian is a term used to describe beings (human in appearance and form, although some Sanguinarians might argue that they are not, in fact, humans but rather a different life form) that have an affection for or need of blood as a component of their diet and lifestyle. Sanguinarians can be classified as a subcategory of vampire, a term presently used to describe both those with an affinity for blood (Sanguinarians) and those that feed off of the life energy, or prana, of other individuals (psi-vamps or psychic vampires). Sanguinarians, because of their need for blood, more closely resemble the typical conception of what vampirism is to those less accustomed to vampiric culture. However, despite dispute over the specifics of what constitutes a vampire, the general culture accepts both blood thirsting and psi vampires as equal and valid forms. Sanguinarians will here be discussed, with particular emphasis on semantic disambiguation, community roles, religion, Renfield’s Syndrome, psychological roots, blood fetishes and eroticism, and individual cases of blood thirsting.

Semantic Disambiguation

Although the vampire culture has not achieved a consensus on the matter, some vampires self-identify with the spelling of “vampyre” with a “y” to distinguish between the mythical creatures of horror stories (“vampires”) and individuals with a lust for blood or energy (“vampyres”). This differentiation is seen as vital to some vampires in order to emphasize the inborn nature of the condition and the reality that it is. The new spelling is a way of alerting the world to the present existence of Sanguinarians and other vampires as something more than fictional characters. . However, some Sanguinarians and other vampires who feel that the condition is inborn prefer to refer to themselves as “vampires” while using the word “vampyre” for those who may be “role-playing” or experimenting with the idea of living a vampiric lifestyle but who do not have an absolute need for blood (Sanguinarius). Specific terminology, as is seen here, varies greatly depending on the community and the individual, and for the sake of propriety and accuracy, the question of which spelling is preferred should be asked with all encounters of Sanguinarians.

Community Roles

“Blood is not only the most vital of bodily fluids, but also the most metaphorical”. Sanguinarians derive their life force, strength, and community from blood, and it is thus vital to them to have a consistent blood source. The name for the individual who supplies the blood is the donor. Sanguinarians rarely choose other blood-thirsting vampires to be their donors as this would be illogical; the very substance that they need is not something that they will then give away. The selection of donors, therefore, typically comes from within the close friend circle and contacts of Sanguinarians. Donors typically “occupy a lower rung in the vampire society and are expected to be submissive and at the vampire’s beck and call”. However, because the donor is the life source for the Sanguinarian, it is obviously in the Sanguinarian’s best interest to treat the donor with much respect and goodwill, as typically occurs.

Within the vampire culture there are various other roles, most of which are given a name to place them within the community. A “black swan” is a non-vampire that is supportive of the vampire community, for example. Conversely, a “white swan” is a non-vampire that opposes the vampiric community. A “slayer,” as is more commonly seen in entertainment depictions of vampirism, is someone who seeks to kill vampires, and could thus similarly be termed a form of “white swan”. A “slayer” can also be a person affiliated with “a Christian counter-movement…that actively opposes the vampire subculture and its beliefs and practices”. A “kitra” is someone who is both a donor and a Sanguinarian, and due to the logical difficulties of playing both roles is therefore rather rare.

The adjectives describing the vampire culture’s “swans,” these non-vampiric people that either oppose or support the community, highlight the importance of the dark and Gothic to Sanguinarians. The “black swan,” a being of darkness (as designated by the name), is a supporter of the group, just as a “white swan” is a detractor. The entire Sanguinarian lifestyle can therefore be seen as an embracing of the dark components of life, the counterculture to the light.

Religion and Sanguinarians

Sanguinarianism is not a religion or spirituality but is rather a state of being. Thus, Sanguinarians come from many different ideological and theological backgrounds. Many regard themselves as Satanists, due in part to the obsession with the dark side of life and being a counterculture in a dominantly religious, dogmatic, light-seeking world. One case of such an intertwining between vampirism and occultism received media publicity due to the political nature of the man involved. Jonathan Sharkey, running to be the governor of Minnesota, “describes himself on his campaign website as a Satanic Dark Priest, Sanguinarian Vampyre and Hecate Witch”. Occult vampires such as Sharkey further the view that vampirism and occult belief and practice are inextricably linked, even though this is false.

After Richard Noll attempted to explain vampirism in terms of its psychological causes and effects, it left the realm of dark religion and became “no longer the province of the exorcist or the demonologist but of the psychiatrist". Thus, today, Sanguinarianism has no direct links to occult religion or Satanism, despite many Sanguinarians’ participation in such religions.

Although typically seen as a countermovement to Christianity, Sanguinarianism is not exclusively anti-Christian. In fact, David Keyworth notes that approximately 31% of Sanguinarians profess religious faith in Christianity. While some Christians and Sanguinarians alike see the two as being complete opposites along a religious and practical spectrum, some Sanguinarians believe there is substantial grounding for their practice within Christian theology. A few Sanguinarians even cite religious texts as being overtly blood-lustful. One in particular is John 6: 54, which states that “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life”. “The mystic transubstantiation by which Christ's blood becomes wine at the Christian Eucharist” is also cited as a blood-drinking Christian practice. Conversely, however, are scriptures such as Acts 15:29, which state that Christians “shall do well” to keep themselves “from blood”. Thus, the Christian spectrum on blood-drinking is largely ambiguous and allows for Sanguinarians and slayers within and without the religion.

Renfield's Syndrome

Although not recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), Richard Noll coined the phrase “Renfield’s Syndrome” to describe the clinical condition that he believes thirsting for blood is. The term was derived from the classic Dracula, a novel by Bram Stoker with a character by the name of Renfield. Although Noll believes that few self-proclaimed vampires actually have the syndrome (the rest are simply engaging in a “bizarre form of role-play and psychodrama”), he does describe the symptoms of the syndrome and the various stages that lead to its development. According the Noll, Renfield’s Syndrome includes:

1. The pivotal point of change when a Sanguinarian begins to drink blood, typically beginning by drinking his/her own after a scratch or cut

2. A progression through various blood drinking stages, starting with auto-vampirism (drinking one’s own blood), followed by zoophagia (drinking animal blood) and then vampirism itself, which may entail obtaining another’s blood by consent, thievery (from a blood bank), or other method

3. A sexual component related to drinking blood (see “Blood Fetishes and Eroticism”)

4. The mystical significance of drinking blood as a source of power and wellbeing

When these components are present, the term can accurately be termed Renfield’s Syndrome, according to Noll. The question as to the validity of Renfield’s Syndrome and its effects on Sanguinarians is unknown and disputed.

Psychological Roots

As stated above, vampirism (or Sanguinarianism) does not appear as a recognized psychiatric illness in the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). The reason for this is subject to much speculation, but the arguments of cause and choice are certainly a component. For example, there is significant debate over the causes of vampirism. Many psychologists believe it to be the result of “a disturbed upbringing which includes abuse, neglect, alienation, and abandonment”. Similarly, it is noted that a supposed need or desire for blood may actually be a misplaced desire for love. The psychological process used to explain the formation of vampirism is as follows:

1. A traumatic event triggers the first act of vampirism, such as drinking the blood from a wound

2. Finding solace in this act, that child continues to let his own blood and drink it

3. Self-mutilation, animal blood drinking, or obtaining blood from others becomes a main pursuit

4. While feeling confused or guilty about these behaviors, the individual may find an online community of other self-proclaimed Sanguinarians and thus “realize” the inborn nature of their condition

5. The individual subsequently adopts the culture and the label of “Sanguinarian,” thus perpetuating the cycle of creating Sanguinarians

A Sanguinarian himself would most likely not believe this psychological model for explaining the nature of their being, as Keyworth notes. “Traumatic childhood development is usually rejected by Sanguinarians as an etiological explanation for their condition”. More research will need to be conducted before it can be conclusively said if being a Sanguinarian is within the control of the individual.

Blood Fetishes and Eroticism

A common psychological belief to explain the phenomenon that Sanguinarians are is to describe their lust for blood as an aberrant form of sexuality. Sanguinarianism is noted to be sadomasochistic in nature. Blood itself is considered erotic to many Sanguinarians, as well, and can be an important portion in their sexual lives. Keyworth notes that “eroticism has become so entwined with the contemporary vampire scene that popular vampire magazines…include previews of the latest vampire pornography, featuring combined acts of sex and blood-letting”. Although the two are not necessarily contingent upon each other, the sexual and blood-drinking aspects of a Sanguinarian’s life typically intertwine.

Individual Cases

Most modern day Sanguinarians have found methods of coping and thriving within their various societal constructs. Communities form online as supportive measures, and through careful selection, a Sanguinarian may find different people to fill the various needed roles to sustain the practice.

Unfortunately, some modern day cases of Sanguinarian related violence have shed a bad light upon the practice and community. Mathew Hardman was one such example, a man who killed his 90 year-old neighbor. “Officers searched Hardman's bedroom, where they found books, magazines and internet material devoted to vampires”. Similarly, the case of Tracy Wigginton, a “vampire-like creature who drank blood,” created an unfortunate link between blood-drinking and violence when she stabbed to death an innocent man to drink his blood. Additionally, Wigginton acted “to frighten the living hell” out of her victim, further exacerbating the violence in which she satisfied her blood thirst. However, it is important to note that these cases receive attention because they are marginal. The majority of Sanguinarians lead healthy lives and are unknown to the popular media.

Psychic vampires

Main article: Energy vampire

Dion Fortune wrote of psychic parasitism in relation to vampirism as early as 1930 (considering it a combination of psychic and psychological pathology) in "Psychic Self-Defense". The term "psychic vampire" first gained attention in the 1960s with the publication of Anton LaVey's Satanic Bible. LaVey, who claimed to have coined the term, used it to mean a spiritually or emotionally weak person who drains vital energy from other people. Adam Parfrey likewise attributed the term to LaVey in an introduction to The Devil's Notebook.

The theme of the psychic vampire has been a focus within modern Vampyre subculture. The way that the subculture has manipulated the image of the psychic vampire has been investigated by researchers such as Mark Benecke and A. Asbjorn Jon. Jon has noted that, like the traditional psychic vampires, those of Vampyre subculture 'prey[s] upon life-force or 'pranic' energy'. Jon also noted that the group has been loosely linked to the Goth subculture.

Health Risks, Methodology & Life Style Practices

For one person to consume another's blood presents a serious hygiene risk to both parties, with a major risk of sepsis from human bites and the possibility of transmission of blood-borne diseases including HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis.

There is no general belief in the Sanguinarian community that one ever has a requirement to bite into their donor. The most common method mentioned involves the use of a sharp, thin, un-serrated, sterilized knife that is used to cut open the skin away from any dangerous points that could result in the (potentially fatal) damaging of parts of the human anatomy. The cut is usually as small as possible and the blood taken is rarely more than a couple of teaspoons worth at most. However blood can also be exacted from the body by the use of syringe, scalpel or medical lancet. Most vampires/sanguiarians carry with them one of these tools in a safe container and are disposed of safely after one use, however in the case of a knife re-sterilized.

Blood is taken from the wound in a gentle sucking motion, it is not usually lapped, as this can promote infection and cause pain to the other party. All wounds are self inflicted and a vampire would never make a wound in a donor as this could be seen as assault if the relationship ever soured.

The sensation of ingesting blood is different for all vampires, as is the frequency for the feed and the number of donors used. Hunger for a vampire is a longing beyond that of food and drink and cannot be slaked by either, however it can be subdued with coffee and other stimulants to a later time.

Vampires regularly check with donors about blood conditions in order not to fall prey to any blood borne disease and most are carefully selected through a process of meetings.

Donors (or bloodsharing partners)

A donor is someone who provides blood to a sanguinarian. They usually do so out of understanding of the condition, a fetish for blood, a fetish for subservience or similar reasons. Donors are almost invariably friends of the sanguinarian, since trust is essential in such an intimate and dangerous act and they must also take the time to get the donor's blood checked for common diseases.

See also

• Energy vampire

External links

COVICA:

• House Eclipse Dictionary: [1]

The Black Veil:

• The Black Veil, 2nd Edition: [2]