When I opened the Real vampires chat room on wireclub, I wasn't sure what to expect as far as people coming in. I figured that I might meet some real vampires, or get people who were curious and wanted to know more about the lifestyle. With all of the information out there on the web I really thought that most people who were at least a bit curious about it would have a little understanding of what True vampirism was. What I've found though is that many people (not all but many) have a lot of false ideas about vampires and what it means to be a real vampire, a true vampire, or a human-vampire.
Eva's post on green Vampires
Green Vampireism has a brief description of what true vampireism is and what the fundamentals of it are.
That's a really good place to start if you're wanting to know more about who and what we are.
Now, I could post links to other sites that explain further what vampireism is, but I think it would be best to try and explain it in my own words as far as what I have learned and how I've come to view it.
Vampireism isn't necessarily a religion but I do believe that it is a spiritual belief. Depending of where you live, what traditions you follow, whether you are a solitary or part of a coven, your ideals and views could be somewhat different. Knowing one vampire doesn't mean that you know everything about us. Not every vampire you meet is going to be gothic, dark, and love Halloween. In a lot of cases, vampires are just like everyone else and you wouldn't know just by looking at them that they are a vampire. To some it is a very private thing, while others like to engage in vampirism within a large group of people. It's really up to each individual person.
One thing that I can tell you without any doubt is that what you read in fiction books or what you see in movies is not an accurate description of true vampireism. While some vampires may practice magic, others may not. We do not fly, turn into bats, or mist or vapor. We are not shunned by God nor do we melt or combust when walking into a church or holding a religious artifact. We don't burn up in the sunlight either though there are those of us who have less pigmentation than the average human and so sunlight is more harmful to us. Many of us may sleep in a coffin just because we like it but it's not required and as far as I know none of us are dead.
At least, if we are dead, we don't get up and walk around and pray on the living.
For the curious, here are some terms that you should know related to vampireism.
1. Mundane- An average human not born with any vampire tenancies.
2. Unawakened- A vampire who has not yet discovered their true vampire self.
3. Awakening- The point where a person comes to realize that they are a vampire.
4. Sire- A vampire (male or female) who has helped another vampire awaken. This can be done by sharing energy or blood. (Note- You can not give blood to a mundane and make them a vampire. One is either born or vampire or not.)
5.Donor- a person who willingly gives their blood or energy to a vampire.
6. Lord Or Mistress- The leader of a coven or guild of vampires.
7. Black Swan- An individual who is not a vampyre but who is close to one or more vampyres and is often a supporter of the community.
8. Blood bond: A feeling of attraction between a vampyre and a donor that is often felt only by the donor. The term also means an initiation ritual in which a vampyre joins a coven. It also refers to a marriage between two vampyres.
9. Dhampyri: an individual who exhibited symptoms of vampyrism prior to puberty.
10. Auto-vampirism: The act of drinking one's own blood.
11. Bloodletting:
bullet Cutting or piercing skin to release blood
12. Bloodplay: Ritual activities, often of a sexual nature, involving blood
13. Chi: Close synonym for prana, or life force. A Chinese term.
14. Coven: A group of vampyres
15. Elder: A person who has been active in the vampyre community. for a lengthy interval, and who shares their knowledge with others.
16. Energy signature: An individual's specific energy pattern which is uniquely theirs. This allegedly enables vampyres to recognize fellow vampyres.
17. Energy vampire: A vampire who obtains nourishment primarily or entirely by tapping into another person's prana or life force directly, without ingesting their blood.
18. Excommunication: The act of excluding a vampyre from a coven or from the entire vampyre community.
19. Feeding: An activity of vampyres in which they consume a donor's blood, or prana from a donor by other means, or elemental energy from nature.
20. Fledgling: a recently awakened vampyre with little experience.
21. Latent vampire: A vampyre who has not yet realized her or his condition.
22. Prana: Life force. Sanguinarian vampyres obtain pranic energy through blood; Psi vampyres extract it from other person's emotional energy without consuming blood.
23. Psi vampyre: A vampyre who feeds off of the emotional energy of another person or persons.
24. Psychic energy: Forms of energy which may be pranic (from living things) or elemental (from natural forces)
25. Psychic attack: An action by a psychic vampire which drains prana from another individual without their prior consent.
26. Psychic vampyre:
An individual who feeds off of the prana of others by tapping into their emotional energy.
A vampyre with psychic powers.
27. Real vampire (a.k.a. RealVamp): A sanguine, psychic, psi, or energy vampyre who needs to feed off of other individuals or of nature in order to maintain their health and energy levels.
28. Sanguinarian vampyre: An individual who has a need to consume blood -- usually from human source(s) in order to maintain adequate physical and/or emotional energy. He or she may also tap into the emotional energy of others in addition to consuming blood.
29. Incubus:
bullet A male vampyre who feeds on pranic energy while involved in sexual activity.
bullet An mythical male demon who seduced females in their sleep.
30. Sexual vampyre: A vampyre who feeds from the sexual energy released during sexual activity. They are rare among the vampyre community.
31. White Swan: An individual who opposes the vampyre community.
This should be a good start in understanding Vampirism as a life style. I can add more information at a later time, focusing on certain topics. For now, here are some questions that I often get.
-Can a vampire turn me into a vampire? No. If you were not born with the vampire gene then you can not become a vampire.
-Do all vampires drink blood? No. Some feed off of energy.
-How do you become a donor? To become a donor you have to make a contract with a vampire in which you both agree to the blood letting or feeding of energy. The terms of your contract should be discussed, explained and written into the contract in detail along with terms in which either of you can cease the contract, or what happens if the contract is broken for any reason.
-Are all Vampires allergic to sunlight? Not at all. Some may be but others are perfectly fine in the sunlight.
-Are vampires required to drink blood? Nope. Sangs typically need blood to survive however. It helps them gain strength, overcome weakness and illness and adds to their life force.
-Do vampires kill when they feed? Not at all. Usually they take a relatively small amount of blood and always take into consideration the safety of the donor.
-Can vampires feed off of other vampires? Yes. In my experience though this is done for sexual purposes not nourishment.
-Are vampires immortal? Certainly not though don't I wish.
-Do vampires have magical powers? Only if they practice witchcraft too.
