I admit I'm not big into the whole psi-vamp thing, an off-shoot of vampire subculture and occultic dogma.
If you're unaware of what a "psi-vamp" is, then here's a definition courtesy of The Psychic Vampire Resource and Support Pages:
If you're unaware of what a "psi-vamp" is, then here's a definition courtesy of The Psychic Vampire Resource and Support Pages:
A Psychic Vampire is a person, Who by reason of a condition of their spirit, needs to obtain vital energy from outside sources. They are unable to generate their own energy, and often times don't have the best capacity to store the energy they do have.However, I'm still gonna recommend this article from Inanna Arthen's By Light Unseen page, if only because it gives an historical overview of the subject. Interesting stuff.
This is about the only kind of "human" vampire that I not only believe in but have encountered on occasion throughout my life.
ReplyDeleteHi June,
ReplyDeleteWould you care to elaborate on that?
Hope you'll forgive me for going so far back; I've just gotten my Internet set up in a new home and I decided I'd go through little by little, day by day, and see what I felt I could reasonably respond too.
ReplyDeleteVyrdolak is an interesting person from what I hear, and I have a sanguinarian friend who greatly identifies with her concept of Gweatgar (also listed on the site as an article).
Still, I wish I was aware of somewhere with a more objectivity minded study of the history of the community. Most of the places I've seen such a history, however, they've focused on the individual's personal contributions and theories rather than an objective record.
There *was* an effort to make a cohesive time-line in one of the more well known forums (Smoke & Mirrors) but, sadly, it's never panned out fully.
You're forgiven Zeta!
ReplyDeleteThanks to notifications, I can trace back what was said where, anyway. ;)
Inanna Arthen's quite a nice person. I've enjoyed some correspondence with her, previously. While the "real vampire" thing isn't really my bag, I'm impressed with her writings on vampires in general. She's certainly very level-headed about it and has a pretty extensive knowledge on the subject.
As to an objective study, I've been hearing good things about Joseph Laycock's Vampires Today: The Truth about Modern Vampirism (2010). I haven't read it yet, so I can't give you a hearty endorsement, but from what I've heard, its coverage of the vampire subculture is very balanced.
Your comment about the history of the vampire community being more individual-based makes sense to me. The vampire-as-widespread-community is a relatively recent invention, afterall. You'll see that from reading books like Stephen Kaplan's Vampires Are (1984), Carol Page's Blood Lust, Rosemary Ellen Guiley's Vampires Among Us (both 1991).
"Communities" were small groups of like-minded people, at most. But, in the last 15 or so years, there's been a real concerted effort to unify vampires under a single banner. That's why religions like the Temple of the Vampire and House Kheperu stepped up to the plate.
It's also where forums, like the one you mention, come into play.