I posted an article back in 2005 in this forum but for some reason the font is so small you need a microscope to read it. I can't edit it since it's that old so I won't even bother linking you to it but I will repost it here for any interested in it.
Vampires--Anything Goes!
There's been alot of speculation in the Vampire topics concerning what a vampire is and what a vampire isn't. Most are either guessing or going on intuition as to understanding vampires or rather, today's vampire culture. I've yet to see anyone do some research and post it so far. Here are a few things I've observed and some things I have read. Please feel free to post your ideas as well.
First off, in the other thread "My friend the Vampire", Adrian was asked alot of questions that were more geared to how you might define a vampire in the original Dracula novel (i.e. garlic, coffins, bats, biting...ect...). His answers seemed to sound more like the vampire culture of the modern day....which is to say that vampires in today's culture do not have to avoid the sun, kill anyone, or even drink blood. They can have families, get a tan, post on a forum (without owning a computer) drink wine, eat as much garlic as they like, save souls, steal souls, come from Mars (unless their female and then they come from Venus thanks to John Gray), faint at the sight of blood, and put their makeup on in the rear view mirrow while driving to their executive job on Wal Street. (or Wal-Mart as in Adrian's case). Quite literally, anyone who wants to devise a definition of the vampire condition has the authority to do so.....and plenty of people are doing it. That's why it's so funny to read comments posted here where a member believes he has the definitive explanation to the whole vampire thing. Just for example, here's some different types I have found.
We have sex vampires, energy vampires, emotional vampires, mortal vampires prone to illness, and vampires who've inherited their condition or become that way by supposed sorcery, reincanation, or a virus (and sometimes....too much scotch). One group says that vampires are one big family, the other groups says true vampires are loners. Many view the vampire as compassionate, even empathetic while other insist they are the sociopathic predator of nineteenth-century tales. How many different types of vampires can there be? I guess the answer is how big is your imagination?
Dracula, it would appear, like everything else, has evolved over time. What has happened with these diverse interpretations, however, is that factions have formed. People who now identify themselves as "vampires", rather than just spectators who enjoy vampire entertainment, have definite views on what a vampire is--and they seem to have an attitude that everyone else had better pay attention. Members of these groups say they're the "real ones," the only ones who know, and others are just pretenders, hoaxers and fakers. Another group disputes such claims and offers its own ideas. It's turned into a tedious game of so-called expertise, with contrived credentials and plenty of venom. Even in this forum there is debate over what a vampire "is" and "isn't".....and we're not even part of the subculture. Some of those groups want to take over and rule the entire vampire scene and others just want to be left alone. Whether vampirism is the result of a virus, a secret initiation, a blood disorder, or overactive imagination, there's no central authority to decide the matter....and especially no one here on this board that can do it, the whole thing sort of appears chaotic. If you look carefully underneath, you will see a central thread that runs through them all despite their differences:
--the vampire has a romantic dark side
--the vampire is a manifestation of alternate spirituality (or maybe multiple personalities--depending)
If you take a typical vampire community, like New York or Los Angeles, you will see members that meet at club who want to be around other like minded people who identify with the dark figure of the night, parade their fashions, and listen to music. Perhaps in secret rooms, they experiment with drugs or a blood exchange, or even some cladestine sexual ritual. Among them will be some who view this gathering as evidence that vampirism is a means of transcending mundane concerns and feel that they are special and set apart. They may even claim certain extraordinary powers and a perspective on life and death that elevates them above the common herd. Now, I don't know how many reading this were around in the 60's....but what we really have here is just another group of people reaching out for something different spiritually the same way Anton Levey's members did with the Church of Satan. Mind you, I am NOT saying they are satanists, (although many of them do affiliate with such) rather that they have this underlying current running through them all.....seeking the dark side (but not Hannibal Lector dark) while defining a different type of spirituality then what's been forced down their throats. In this vien you could sort of lump them both in the anti-establishment boat....even though Levey's was much more in your face type while the vampire culture is mostly in the shadows.
Anyways, it appears that, just like your average garden variety mortal, they gather together to seek a partner for sex, love, subjugations, even marriage--and they view the dark secrecy of vampirism as a way of establishing and strengthening romantic bonds between kindred souls. To them, vampires are complex creatures that may suffer guilt over their urge to drink blood and treat others like "prey". Some among them will revel in the idea that they may be enslaved to a dominant entity who will treat them in ways beyond anything they imagine. It's the swoon, the feeling of rapture and surrender to a mysterious other that grips them. They may screen for "safe" partners or join a vampire "feeding circle" or "family," but they're looking for a spiritualized romance, an interrelationshipof complementary hearts of darkness.
So within the frame of a single social scene, we have many types of vampires mingling together, joined by an idea, though they may interpret that idea in vastly different ways. This is one of the reasons why I expressed earlier that everyone should have an open mind and remind you that no one has the exclusive right to say what a vampire is or isn't. It's what it is to whoever is looking and however they want it to be. There are many more reasons as to why it is like that than I've put in this post, .....but you get the gist. For now, suffice it to say, live and let live............or is that live and let die...... (hehe...just kidding.......really)
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