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 | Sanguinarian vampyres: "Sanguinarian" comes from the Latin word "sanguinarius"
which means "bloodthirsty." A sanguinarian or "sang"
vampyre feels a strong
craving to meet their energy needs by consuming blood. Normally this comes
from other humans.
They feel that their strength cannot be maintained at a high level in any other way.
2 If they are not able
to feed on blood periodically, they expect to develop a weakened immune system, have less
energy, and sicken. They may develop pain and depression. 3 Many vampyres have
one or more donors who often draw their own blood as a gift.
Most sang vampyres feel that a tablespoon or two of blood each week is plenty to
sustain them. According to a Wikipedia essay: |
"The majority of sanguinarian vampires view their condition as being part of their inner nature (either spiritually or physically) and thus, often refrain from engaging in the dress, music or traditions common to vampire lifestylers. Most do not view themselves as 'Gothic.' Some look down on those who engage in vampire 'dress-up' as it promotes a distorted view of what they believe to be true vampirism. Many sanguinarians fear negative public reaction because of the image vampire lifestylers propagate. 13
| Psi vampyres: They crave and are able to draw life force (a.k.a. pranic, chi, ley, psychic or spiritual energy) from another person directly without consuming their blood. 1 They are sometimes called psi "psy or psionic vampires, soul suckers, [or] energy vampires." Some psi vampyres are able to tap into a donor's energy "...by eye contact, touch, sexual intercourse, intense conversation....dreams" and by drinking their blood. They can also extract energy from nature -- from "...storms, raging oceans, earthly vortices and intense sunlight" and even the ionosphere. 4 |
Many sang vampyres are able to feed in the same manner as psi vampyres. However, they are normally unable to acquire as much energy as they need in that way. Many see psi feeding as a method of slowing their decline, rather than as a technique for maintaining their energy levels.
Many, perhaps most, vampyres do not engage in the dress, music or traditions commonly associated with vampyrism. They regard their condition as being part of their inner nature, either spiritually or physically).
Vampyres may experience "heightened sensitivities; light sensitivity; [and/or] a largely nocturnal sleep cycle. The heightened sensitivities are believed by many to include a number of psychic abilities, such as empathy, astral projection, clairvoyance, and energy manipulation. The sensitivity to light and the nocturnal body cycle are not so limiting that a real vampire cannot be up and out during the day, it is simply an effort for them to do so." 5
Within vampyrism are found followers of all of the major religions, as well as secularists, freethinkers, and followers of alternative spiritualities.
Most vampyres believe that they are born with a latent vampyre condition which normally becomes active only after puberty. Rejecting the imaginative accounts in novels, films, etc, they believe that nobody can become a vampyre unless they are born with the condition.
Some misunderstandings about what vampyres do:
Crystal Angel comments: "You need not fear them anymore than anyone else you may encounter in that 'dark, eerie' night club you enjoy so much. True, they hold many secrets and mysteries behind their hypnotic eyes, but what is also true is that they may in fact end up being your best friend." 6
Many misunderstandings by the public are based on a confusion between vampires and vampyres. Some of the attributes of vampires are assumed to be also true of vampyres. In reality:
| Sanguinarian vampyres do not sustain themselves solely on human blood; they also eat regular food. Some use animal blood, often from beef cattle. Pig blood is usually avoided because it is more likely to contain parasites and other nasty ingredients. All vampyres consume ordinary food and drink as their main sustenance. |
| Vampyres do not shape shift into werewolves, bats or other animals. |
| They are not immortal. |
| They don't necessarily have any special powers. |
| They can experience sunlight without any drastic side effects. |
| They don't usually sleep in coffins. |
| They are not frightened by Christian crosses. |
| Garlic does not repulse them. |
| They do cast reflections in mirrors. |
| They have shadows. |
| They can cross running water. |
| They don't turn other people in to vampyres. |
| They do not suffer a high mortality rate due to attacks from vampire slayers. |
We suspect that the greatest danger posed by the study of vampyrism may occur online. Vampyre webmasters seem to have a strong preference for very dark, tiny, colored lettering on black backgrounds. If you spend a lot of time reading their websites, you may suffer eyestrain.
Conditions and groups that are sometimes incorrectly confused with vampyrism:
| Hematolagnia: A small minority of people are sexually aroused by
drinking human blood. They have a condition called hematolagnia -- popularly
called a blood fetish. This is normally considered a paraphilia, and is one
of many dozens of unusual sexual interests that is often their sole means of
sexual gratification. Because of the public's frequent desire to be absolutely
normal in their sexual practices, people with hematolognia -- or any other
paraphilia -- are often despised and even feared. Vampyres believe that they need to ingest blood in order to maintain their strength. They are not driven by sexual gratification. There is no real connection between vampyrism and hematolagnia. | ||||
| Porphyria: This is a group of at least eight rare disorders. They
cause substances which are normally found at low levels to gradually build
up in the human body . In most types of porphyria, the individual will have
a strong reaction to sunlight. Areas of the skin which are exposed to the
sun may burn, blister or scar. 7
Some of the myths about vampirism might have been originally based on
individuals with a porphyria who would avoid sunlight and only come out at
night. Very few sang and psi vampyres suffer from porphyria. However, some people may confuse the two. Those who are familiar with the fictional stories about vampires might incorrectly assume that anyone who has an aversion to sunlight is automatically a vampire or vampyre. 7 | ||||
| Renfield's Syndrome: This is a disorder named after the fictional
character in Dracula who ate flies, spiders, etc. Richard Noll first
developed the syndrome. He believes that it is triggered by an experience
after a childhood injury when the young person finds bleeding or tasting blood
to be exciting, Noll wrote that the syndrome progresses to include
intentional scrapes or skin cuts to allow the collection of blood for
drinking. This leads to eating or drinking the blood of insects, small
animals, birds, etc. Finally, the person will exhibit sanguinarian vampyrism by obtaining and consuming blood
from other humans. 8 This syndrome is a neat theory, but is not widely accepted by mental health professionals. It does not appear in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). That manual contains descriptions of generally accepted mental illnesses. | ||||
| Satanic Ritual Abuse: During the 1980s, a widespread belief
surfaced that evil Satanists were abusing children and sometimes drinking
their blood, eating their flesh, etc. This was called
Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA).
During they heyday of the SRA panic, Satanism, Wicca, Thelema, vampyrism, various other occult activities, the Masonic movement, etc. became merged in the minds of many believers as a type of axis of evil. One source states that: " 'The Vampire cult' according to [counter-cult author William] Schnoebelen, is 'the last and most damnable step in [the] exploration of Satanism'." 9 The SRA panic had largely dissipated by the mid 1990s for two main reasons:
As of the late 1990s, Schnoebelen was "...still very much in demand as
a speaker in the Evangelical-Fundamentalist counter-cult circuit, and his
book offers to counter-Satanists the possibility of integrating Vampires
into their view of a Satanist conspiracy." 9 The linkage between SRA and
vampyrism is probably still active among many conservative Protestants.
However, it is a belief not widely shared by other faith groups or by
secularists. | ||||
| Lifestyle vampires: Those who regard themselves as actual vampyres are often in a state of tension with others whom they describe as "lifestyle vampires." "Lifestylers" are viewed as individuals and groups who merely pretend to be vampyres and who have none of the spiritual, psychical, and physical experiences of real vampyres. "Lifestylers" are seen as attracting too much public attention to vampyrism. They also consume some of the supply of human blood which is always scarce. |
Concerns about donating and drinking blood:
Because of the medical dangers to both donor and vampyre, this web site strongly recommends against the practices of either drawing or consuming blood. Sharing of blood can pose a serious health hazard to both the Vampyre and the donor:
| There are many blood-borne diseases that can be transmitted from donor to Vampyre. One example is the HIV virus -- the virus that causes AIDS. Even a miniscule, unnoticed injury to the Vampyre's gums can allow the donor blood to enter the blood stream and infect the Vampyre. |
| Blood cannot be safely drawn from a donor without trained medical assistance. |
| Excessively enthusiastic donors may damage their health by donating too much blood at one time, or by drawing blood too frequently. |
| Excessively enthusiastic vampyres might consume too much blood at one sitting. This could lead to an overdose of iron or other blood component. |
If a person wishes to engage in blood donation in spite of the dangers, we strongly recommend that any they discuss the matter with their health care provider in advance. A course in First Aid may be very useful.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies suggests as a general guide:
| The donor should be in good health. |
| They should weigh more than 45 or 50 kg (about 100 or 110 pounds). |
| They should be aged between 18 and 65. |
| They should meet the guidelines necessary to protect the health of both donor and receiver. |
| Donate about 450 to 470 ml maximum. 10,11 |
BloodBook.com suggests additional requirements:
| The donor should be feeling well. |
| Their pulse should be 80 to 100 beats per minute, and regular. |
| Body temperature should not exceed 99.5 F or 37.5 C. |
| Blood pressure between 160/90 and 110/60. |
| The donor site should be free of any lesion or scar. 12 |
BloodBook.com has a list of nine factors that exclude a person from donating blood. They note that: "Blood donor requirements change very frequently. For up-to-date information.....call 1-800-448-3543." 12
References used:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
- "Vampire," Wikipedia, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/
- Ceinwyn, "Sanguinarian Vampires," Society of the Black Swan, at: http://www.angelfire.com/
- Anyone, including vampyres, can experience a weakened immune system, loss of energy, pain, and depression from many other causes. We recommend consulting a medical professional to rule out any mundane causes.
- "Types of Vampires," CovenCa.net, at: http://www.covenca.net/
- Dominic Angelus, "Vampire lexicon of terminology: Real Vampire," Journalscape, at: http://journalscape.com/
- Crystal Angel, "CovenCa," at: http://www.covenca.net/
- "American Porphyria Foundation," at: http://www.porphyriafoundation.com/
- DarkStorm, "Renfield's Syndrome," at: http://www.angelfire.com/
- Massimo Introvigne, "Satanism Scares and Vampirism from the 18th Century to the Contemporary Anti-Cult Movement," Center for Studies on New Religions, 1997, at: http://www.cesnur.org/
- "Health and Community Care," International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, at: http://www.ifrc.org/
- "Blood: How much is too much," Dark Dreams, at: http://www.angelfire.com/
- "Blood donor requirements," BloodBook.com, at: http://www.bloodbook.com/
- "Vampire lifestyle." Wikipedia, downloaded 2005-NOV-10, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/ (spelling corrected)
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Home > World religions, ethical systems, etc. > Vampirism > here |
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Home > Religious info. > Basic data > World religions, etc > Vampirism > here |
Copyright © 2005 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally posted: 2005-SEP-25
Latest update: 2005-NOV-15
Author: B.A. Robinson
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