Reality vs Fantasy

When I hear people tossing about words like "self-created" or
"psychosomatic" with regard to Real Vampyres I tend to get a bit perturbed. To
me this is like saying that being gay is "psychosomatic" or that D/s
lifestylers are "self-created".  We are born this way, whether we
discovered this difference early or come to a late epiphany, the end result is
the same.  We are born with a hunger beyond the needs for food, drink
or sex.  It's not a pleasant little ritual we indulge at a whim but a
real, driving need that can tear us apart if not met.

I've heard some describe the hunger as "the worst heroin addiction you
can imagine...now multiple it by 1,000 or even 10,000".  No sane person
chooses to experience that kind of physical pain and emotional need or
the rejection that comes from those we hold dearest and the world
around us.  To say this is all in our heads is both insulting and degrading.
It negates the suffering many Real Vamps without donors endure on a
daily basis and reduces all of us to the level of silly children playing
delusional mind games.

As a community, we may not agree on the root causes of vampyrism or
even have a set of "standard characteristics" but who needs a check list
of pre-determined traits to validate what we already know inside? We
know that when we feed, on blood or energy, it's the most intense,
satisfying, mind altering experience of our lives and that without it we
starve.  Something that we are compelled to repeat time and again or go mad.

Most Real Vamps talk of feelings of lethargy, depression, hyper
awareness to the environment and a gradual drop in physical health.
Photo-sensitivity seems to be a common trait and most of us do have a naturally
nocturnal circadian rhythm but these are not a defining traits.
Whether these effects have psychological or physical causes isn't the
point...this is OUR reality.  Even the names "vampire" and "vampyre" are
simply convenient, if romantic, names we use to identify our differences and
to create a sense of shared identity.

We are humans with bills, jobs, families, kids, problems and all the
baggage that goes with life in the 21st century.  We are not Lifestylers
who enjoy the occasional sip of blood with wine and aspire to the
media created vampire image of power, sex and an impressive black wardrobe.
We are not Role Players with their clans, character sheets and endless
rules.  We are not immortal supernatural beings who slither from the
grave and steal souls from the living.  We don't claim to be any more, or
less, than what we are...Real Vampyres.

I have enjoyed the company of numerous Lifestylers and wasted too many
nights to count in Role Play chat rooms.  For me these are congenial
people with whom I share a common interest in all things vampiric.  Most
are intelligent, well read, funny people who openly admit that for them
it's all a fantasy, a persona or a game.  They're attracted by the aura
of darkness, danger and seduction which is part of the vampire myth but
they are not consumed by the hungers of Real Vampyres nor do they wish
to be.

What I have little use for are the vampire wannabees or vampire
groupies who cluster around anyone with black clothing and a vaguely sinister
appearance.  I've heard them referred to as Jugular Bunnies, Meat
Puppets, Blood dolls or simply The Herd.  Even when they wear all the
appropriate "vamp" trappings and use the all the "right" words...you can still
sense the lack of darkness in their souls.  They smell of desperation,
insecurity and a deep self-loathing.  They will say anything, do
anything, be anything for the promise of "becoming" a vampire.  While some may
view these "vampabees" as convenient donors or  toys for mind games, I
prefer to spend my time with adults who share my interests and whose
company I enjoy, online or offline.

Dressing rotting tripe up in a hodgepodge of metaphysical verbiage
doesn't make it less noisome or repellent.  So many purported "vampire"
web sites fall into this pernicious class of net.trash.  Bits and pieces of
lore, myths and Hollywoodisms mixed liberally with flawed logic,
shallow feel good California-style touchy-feely New Ageism and a dash of sex
equals bad advice and worse practice.

My best advice to any newly aware Real Vamp who might be seeking
advice, information and support is to head directly to Sanguinarius's
Resources for Real Vampires and READ everything BEFORE committing yourself to
some group, clan, or family.  Click either the banner at the top or
bottom of this page to go to Sangi's web site.

Morganna
Queen of The Damned