Vampirism and Vampyrism
About Vampyres: Conditions confused with
vampyrism. Concerns about drinking blood.
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Conditions and groups that are sometimes incorrectly confused with
vampyrism:
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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.
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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. 1
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. 1
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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. 2
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.
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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'." 3 The SRA panic had largely dissipated by the mid 1990s for two main
reasons:
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Police forces had never been able to find hard evidence that SRA
ever existed, at least at a detectible level.
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Essentially all memories of SRA were traced back to
the use of self-hypnosis, or to therapists and counselors who used recovered memory
therapy (RMT). RMT has since been shown to generate few, if any, real
memories, and many false memories of events that never happened.
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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." 3 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.
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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.
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Concerns about donating and drinking blood:Because of the medical dangers to both donor and vampyre, this website
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:
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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.
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Blood cannot be safely drawn from a donor without trained medical
assistance.
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Excessively enthusiastic donors may damage their health by donating too
much blood at one time, or by drawing blood too frequently.
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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:
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The donor should be in good health.
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They should weigh more than 45 or 50 kg (about 100 or 110 pounds).
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They should be aged between 18 and 65.
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They should meet the guidelines necessary to protect the health of both
donor and receiver.
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Donate about 450 to 470 ml maximum. 4,5
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BloodBook.com suggests
additional requirements:
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The donor should be feeling
well.
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Their pulse should be 80 to
100 beats per minute, and regular.
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Body temperature should not
exceed 99.5 F or 37.5 C.
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Blood pressure between 160/90
and 110/60.
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The donor site should be free of any lesion or scar. 6
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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." 6
References used:The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above
essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
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"American Porphyria Foundation," at:
http://www.porphyriafoundation.com/
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DarkStorm, "Renfield's Syndrome," at:
http://www.angelfire.com/
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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/
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"Health and Community Care," International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies, at:
http://www.ifrc.org/
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"Blood: How much is too much," Dark Dreams, at:
http://www.angelfire.com/
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"Blood donor requirements," BloodBook.com, at:
http://www.bloodbook.com/
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Copyright © 2005 to 2011 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally posted: 2005-SEP-25
Latest update: 2011-JAN-08
Author: B.A. Robinson
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