Vampire lifestyle

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The vampire look typically includes prosthetic fangs on the upper canines, a pallid complexion and Victorian or Gothic clothing

The vampire lifestyle (or vampyre lifestyle) is a lifestyle, involving a number of customs and beliefs, followed (in various fashions and to different degrees) by a subculture of people who are attracted to contemporary vampire lore and who seek to emulate it. While some older occult and tribal cultures have rituals and customs similar to the modern subculture, the vampire subculture itslef is largely a social creation within Western culture, seemingly drawing from the rich recent history of popular culture related to cult symbolism, horror films, the fiction of Anne Rice, and the styles of Victorian England.

The vampire lifestyle has been criticised on a number of grounds. Christians, Jews and Muslims tend to believe the consumption of others' blood is a forbidden act, related to cannibalism and similar sins.^[1]^[2] There is concern in the general public for those who are found to be participating in what is often perceived as a cult.

Vampirism has also been criticised for fuelling the fantasies of people who are psychotic or otherwise severely mentally ill. Some self-proclaimed vampires have murdered in order to drink human blood, such as Brisbane's notorious Tracey Wigginton, who was called a lesbian vampire murderer by the press. There have been some reports of crimes committed by people who believed themselves to be vampires: for example, the "Kentucky Vampire Clan" was a vampire role-playing group in Kentucky whose activities spiralled into murder.^[3] Activity of this manner is variously encouraged^[4] and discouraged^[5] by members of the subculture itself.

Finally, for one person to consume another's blood presents a serious hygiene risk to both parties, with a major risk of sepsis from human bites and the possibility of transmission of blood-borne diseases including HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis.^[6]^[7]

[edit] Energy vampires

Main article: Energy vampire

Self-styled psionic vampires claim that they consume life force as opposed to physical blood. In this case, the feeding is fairly ritualistic, and uses meditation to "channel" or "will" the energy toward the vampire, though there are other ways to consciously channel energy towards a feeding vampire.

[edit] References

^ In the Bible, Genesis 9:4 and Leviticus 7:26-27; 17:10-14 are all commonly accepted as prohibitions against the consumption of blood in both Jewish and Christian tradition.
^ The Qur'an, in Al-An'aam 6:145 and Al-Baqarah 2:173, describes blood as unclean or prohibited to Muslims; likewise, Shari'a law specifically forbids the consumption of blood.
^ Florida v. Rod Ferrell "The Vampire Cult Slaying Case". Court TV (June 22, 2001). Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
^ Razor The Tormented; Gabriel The Fallen. Vampyre Morals. Reapers of Blood.
^ Temple Law. Temple of the Vampire. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
^ Human Bites. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (November 2002). Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
^ Sowadsky, Rick (Nov 3, 1999). Can you get HIV from drinking another persons blood?. Forum on Safe Sex and HIV Prevention. The Body. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.