Vampires Today: Truth About Modern Vampirism

[Queen in the North]

The sexy, well dressed, articulate side? Not really.

But the rotting flesh dropping off in large chunks I can definately do without.

Funny how modern vampires always forget to include that trait, since they are, after all, DEAD.

Yeah, LOL.

How A Date With A Vampire Would Actually Go.

Scenario 1.

"Honey, could you pass the salt?"

"One moment dear..."

*attacks*

"AAARRRGHHH!!"

*blood curdling scream, then silence*

Scenario 2.

"Honey, could you pass the salt?"

*attempts*

*arm falls off*

"Oh, never mind. I'll get it myself."

[D1CKY D1AMOND]

Do you have proof that there aren't any vampires?

Yes I do have proof... You can't procure a vampire to prove to the world they exist.

No one has ever seen a vampire and those who claim existence cannot produce one.

Solid, 100%, undeniable proof that there is no possible way that they exist? Besides the fact that you have never seen one? I could just as easily say there is NO god, I for one have never seen him. Does that mean that he doesn't exist?

Same applies to God the imaginary big guy in the sky...

Can you produce proof that vampires do indeed exist... The burden of proof here is on your shoulders since you are claiming existence and it is impossible to prove a negative.

[The Skeptic Eric Raven]

Ebony..are you really that close-minded of a person? It seems to me like you are the one who doesn't know squat. Why even bother responding?

Whats wrong? Truth hurts.

[The Skeptic Eric Raven]

Do you have proof that there aren't any vampires? Solid, 100%, undeniable proof that there is no possible way that they exist?

Yes we do. Boring, plain reality.

[Stormcrow]

Scenario 2.

"Honey, could you pass the salt?"

*attempts*

*arm falls off*

"Oh, never mind. I'll get it myself."

XDD! In my story that I have yet to fully figure out, there's a scene somewhat like that. Kills me to think about it every time. One of my characters (not necessarily a vampire, he pretends to play the part) loses an arm when he's jumping out of a window--he throws it at a couple of doctors as a diversion so he and the main character can escape from the mental health hospital. Poor guy never gets his arm back.

[Moon Minion]

I wonder how long it will be before the wannabe zombie fad kicks in?

BRRRRAAAAAAINNNNSSSSS!!!!!!

Oh wait, they'll be sexy, well dressed, articulate zombies. My mistake.

Ha Ha, gosh, it's a funny world we live in. "articulate zombies" now that I'd like to see, especially if their jaw drops off...

[eqgumby]

I hate these vampire threads, and the inevitable "can you prove 100% that there are NO vampires?"

It's like the battle cry of the desperate.

[Moon Minion]

I hate these vampire threads, and the inevitable "can you prove 100% that there are NO vampires?"

It's like the battle cry of the desperate.

You mean the ones who try to find loopholes in reality?

[+HerNibs]

I hate these vampire threads, and the inevitable "can you prove 100% that there are NO vampires?"

It's like the battle cry of the desperate.

No, I think the battle cry is "Anything is possible!! You don't know what I've seen!"

I hate those two.

HN

[Moon Minion]

No, I think the battle cry is "Anything is possible!! You don't know what I've seen!"

I hate those two.

HN

You forgot the "I am a Vampire!!!" ones

[Merticus]

Now that this book is available you may be interested in reading some selections in case you have the wrong idea about what it's really about. Thanks to those around here who do manage to keep an open mind and appreciate studying various phenomena before automatically passing judgment or dismissing outright without first attempting to examine past the surface...

Vampires Today: The Truth About Modern Vampirism

Joseph Laycock

Chapter 1: What Is a Vampire? or, The Varieties of Vampiric Experience

Chapter 2: Why Vampires?

Chapter 3: The Vampire Milieu

Chapter 4: Initiatory Vampire Groups: Vampirism as Apotheosis

Chapter 5: The Vampire Community

Chapter 6: Vampirism and Religion, a Dialogue

Chapter 7: Out of the Shadows

Chapter 8: Vampires and the Modern

Bibliography & Index

Sample Of Material From The Index:

Atlanta Vampire Alliance, Black Veil, Catherine Ramsland, Christopher Partridge, Clan Hidden Shadows, Corvis Nocturnum, Daemonox, Damien Deville, Dawn Perlmutter, D'Drennan, Don Henrie, Eclecta, Elizabeth Miller, Emile Durkheim, Father Sebastiaan, Father Vincent, Goddess Rosemary, House Dark Haven, House Eclipse, House Kheperu, House of the Dreaming, House Pantheon, House Quinotaur, House Sahjaza, Ian Hacking, J. Gordon Melton, Jeff Guinn, Kiera, Konstantinos, Lady CG, Lady Dark Rose, Lord Alistair, Lupa, Madame X, Maloryn, Martin Riccardo, Merticus, Michael Foucault, Michelle Belanger, Ordo Sekhemu, Ordo Strigoi Vii, Order of the Vampyre, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, Sanguinarius, Sarah Dorrance, Shadowlore, Sky, SoulSplat, SphynxCatVP, Stephen O'Mallie, Stephen Held, Suscitatio Enterprises, Temple of the Vampire, Twilight, Vampire Church, Vampirism & Energy Work Research Study, Vicutus, Vlad, Voices of the Vampire Community, Vyrdolak, Zero, Zilchy

Quote Selections From The Preface:

"Despite increased media attention, the vampire community remains poorly understood. Television interviews, often accompanied by ominous music, work to portray self-identified vampires as completely other. The reality is that vampires are all around us and that their subculture is a product of our mainstream culture. If we can look past the sensationalism, vampires pose compelling questions about how we define ourselves and the world around us in the twenty-first century."

"Some drink blood to sustain their health and some do not. Some describe a sensitivity to sunlight while others enjoy the beach. Many compare vampirism to a medical condition with tangible health needs while others dissent. For some, vampirism is a religion or a spiritual path while others ascribe no religious meaning to it."

"Vampires are not just lurking in goth clubs in New York City; they are all around us. I have met vampires in the fields of social work, medicine, information technology, and law enforcement. Vampires cannot be studied as simply other than and isolated from society at large.... One of my goals in writing this book is to stimulate and inform a discussion on how groups like vampires may be understood by outsiders and by scholarship. Despite the public's fascination with vampires, the same two questions are repeated over and over: Are these people crazy and are they dangerous? The answer to both these questions, for all intents and purposes, is a simple "no". If we set these questions aside, the real vampire community challenges us with serious questions about identity, religion, and the search for meaning."

[Sho_Sho]

Im going to wright my own vampire book. Its about a "REAL" Vampire story based off all the wierdos who think theyre really vampires.

It’s about some nerdy guy in California who dresses like a vampire and only sleeps during the day, and has his hair slicked back, and has all theses cracked out teenage runaways hanging on his every word because he is pretending to be the vampire leader.

In his little world he is a God, but outside of his little vampire fantasy he is just the typical boring mediocre looser who can’t fit in into society, so he chooses to make his “own-reality”

That pretty much sums up all people who get caught up in this make believe world!

Edited June 19, 2009 by Sho_Sho

[Merticus]

There's a new interview out involving this book if anyone is interested:

Joseph Laycock: Vampires Today

Interview By John W. Morehead of TheoFantastique

August 25th, 2009

http://www.theofantastique.com/2009/08/25/joseph-laycock-vampires-today/

[Hamlyn]

Oh, Lordy. I did not know Michelle Belanger was a "Real Vampire."

[sinewave]

Those who do it for fun and are reasonably well adjusted ( i.e. they know they are not really vampires) are probably OK. It's those who do it for a sense of empowerment and truly believe they are vampires who should seek professional help.

It is hard to be a kid. Most of us don't make it through the experience without a scar or two. It sucks to see so many in pain.