The Vampire Subculture

Event photo from Endless Night Vampire Ball’s website (1)

The Vampire Subculture

     When we think of the creature that’s called a “vampire”, we often may go to the images we see in pop culture such as, Halloween costumes, movies, and books. Vampires have been rooted in folklore in many different cultures, with their own stories. But with this sub-culture of people, the fictional lore doesn't apply to them, such things as not being able to go into sunlight, not being able to eat garlic, not being able to see themselves in the mirror, are works of fiction. This subculture resides prominently in the cities of New York, London, Paris, Montreal, Tokyo, and Melbourne. (8)

Vampire Powers/Weaknesses by pepperinkart, shows the lore and pop culture abilities and weakness vampires have, but these attributes aren’t contributed to the real-life community. (7)

VAMPIRES! by Imgur shows the different archetypes of vampires in pop culture, that don’t necessarily reflect the vampire community. (9)

Members of Vampire Community

     There are many types of people in this community, which are separated into two main groups, real vampires and lifestylers. Real vampires believe they are born vampires, and must feed off others' energy to survive, whether that's blood, or the aura others give off, or physical touch. (6) The two main types of real vampires are Sanguinarian and Psychic. Sangarian vampires drink blood from consenting donors, unlike how the media portrays vampires as predators forcefully feeding off their prey.

An artistic representation of a psychic vampire, feeding others emotions/life-force (14)

     While Sangrians feed off of blood, Psychic Vampires “drain the bodily energy of others by psychic means”. (Keyworth 2002) This can be through physical touch, or emotion feeding, based off from a individual or groups emotion. With vampires “unliving” the night life,  this type often gets their energy through atmosphere, such as the energy off the dance floor. It is not surprising that since their main hangouts are bars and night clubs, some of them are DJs and love their job. (15)

Cover of Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines video game cover, major party of the roleplaying sect of the community, with video games, table top games, books, music, etc. (6)

      In contrast, there are also lifestylers and role-players within this community. While real vampires believe they are born vampires, and that is not a choice. (15) Lifestylers dress up in Gothic clothing, but they do not have the need to sustain themselves like real vampires have to. While real vampires don't entirely reject them, there is a lot of exchange between the groups. However, real vampires avoid and reject role-players: people who play video games, card games that involve acting like vampires. Real vampires dislike them because they are often responsible for the negative attention towards the community, and they blur the lines of reality and fantasy. (6)

Flier for New Orleans Vampire Association’s (NOVA) Holiday Meal for the needy in their local community. (11)

Community Functions

     People of this subculture being "creatures of the night", typically enjoy social gatherings at local bar, night clubs and metal concerts. Louisiana is home to many subcultures and is one of the hubs for this group, being a city of plentiful diversity, all different groups call this place home. Belfazaar Ashantison, is the founder of the New Orleans Vampire Association, where their goal is to"...to provide support and structure for the vampire and other-kin subcultures and to provide educational and charitable outreach to those in need." (4) Every year since hurricane Katrina they have made dinners available for the holidays. This group is also runs a homeless shelter, the reason Belfazaar and his group does all this charity work is to give back to the community, who serves them and other subcultures extremely well. (15)

Event photo from Endless Night Vampire Ball’s website (1)

     One of the major events for this community, and Halloween fanatics is the Endless Night Vampire Ball. It started in 1996 in New York City, but has expanded to New Orleans, Tampa, Dallas, Paris and Salem. Party goers typically are twenty percent vampires while the rest are just hardcore Halloween lovers. (15) In 2010, it was rated the #1 Halloween event by Trip Advisor and still has that status today. This event is described by it’s website as “…a Venetian Masquerade Ball and vampire court, mixed with a Vampire Court, the energy of a rock concert and the elegance of a burlesque cabaret." click here to read more. (2) Cultural events like these is what brings people together to show that we can all get along and to have a good time.

 Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Lucy turn into a vampire

Becoming a Vampire

     There is no set rules or regulations on how to become a vampire, you either are one or not. From with the group residing in Louisiana we see, that from early age that the individual sticks out in society. When an individual realizes that they are a vampire it is called an “awakening", this often a spiritual experience. (15)

Dracula (1931) Shows Dracula (Bela Lugosi) goes to attack Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan), but is repulsed by the presence of a crucifix 

Relationship with Religion

     Vampires are often imagined to be repulsed by religion, especially when comes to Judeo-Christian beliefs, but within this subculture this is not the case. Especially in the New Orleans sect most of the individuals interviewed in the documentary are monotheistic and believe in Jesus Christ, one them was even ordained and could run a church if she wanted to. (15) With the practice of voodoo here, it has impacts on the surrounding community and is a major part of the city's culture. Some these individuals work in a voodoo shop. Despite stigma surrounding voodoo, that it only malicious aspects to it, isn't true. Voodoo can be used to bring luck, blessings on to others, and can provide healing and one of the aspects of being a vampire, being spiritual.

Question 37 of the survey asked the participants, if they have been diagnosed with any conditions. (10)

Mental Health

     Regarding the subculture's mental health, the group oftenly shares several physical and psychological commonalities. The Atlanta Vampire Alliance (AVA) conducted a research study known as the “Vampirism & Energy Work Research Study (VEWRS)", the survey had a thousand questions, and there were over 1,450 responses. With Grinnell college’s study on the subculture, they said, "Many “real vampires” have been diagnosed with physical conditions such as migraines, asthma, and anemia and mental conditions such as depression, panic attacks, ADD/ADHD, and bipolar disorder. Although “real vampires” are almost always pale and have some sort of sensitivity to sunlight, they believe that being pale or feeling drained of energy does not necessarily mean that someone is a vampire, rather, they understand that it may be a sign of health deficiencies." (6) Showing this may show that part of the mentality and occurrences may just be signs of health deficiencies.

This quote has an unknown author, but it gives the message despite someone’s outward appearance, doesn’t reflect a person's true character.

Conclusion

     The Vampire subculture is an interesting realm that goes beyond the realm of human understanding. Whether you're a human or vampire, you should respect others’ identities, because there is enough hate in the world. This community may have its quirks, just like any other community, but it's not our place to judge others' lives (or after lives) if people aren't harming each other, there is no harm with this subculture. Learning about other groups that are beyond ourselves, makes us a more educated and well-rounded individual, it enriches our life and makes us conscious of the thoughts and feelings of others around us. 

To learn more about the subculture and people, watch the Vampires series here.

Works Cited

1.     “Endless Night Event Images.” Endless Night, https://endlessnight.com/.

2.     “Manifesto.” Endless Night Vampire Ball, endlessnight.com/manifesto.

3.     “Monsters with Friendly Friendly Faces and Angels Full of Scars.” Pinterest, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/755971487424991721/.

4.     “New Orleans Vampire Assocation.” New Orleans Vampire Assocation, www.neworleansvampireassociation.org/.

5.     “The Power Of The Cross GIF.” Tenor, https://tenor.com/view/dracula-vampire-cross-scared-frightened-gif-5180822.

6.     “The Vampire Subculture.” Grinnell College, haenfler.sites.grinnell.edu/subcultures-and-scenes/vampire-subculture/.

7.     “Vampire Powers/Weaknesses .” DeviantArt, 16 July 2014, https://www.deviantart.com/pepperinkart/art/Vampire-Powers-Weaknesses-468462361.

8.     “Vampire Subculture.” Vampire Underworld, 14 Oct. 2014, vampireunderworld.com/vampire-subculture/.

9.     “VAMPIRES!” Pinterest, Imgur, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/256423772505045041/.

10. “Vampirism & Energy Work Research Study Data.” The Vampire Subculture, Grinnell College, https://haenfler.sites.grinnell.edu/subcultures-and-scenes/vampire-subculture/.

11. Ashantison, Belfazaar. “Facebook.” Facebook, 15 Oct. 2019, https://www.facebook.com/belfazaar.author/photos/rpp.160476414331560/925911787788015/?type=3&theater.

12. Brooks, Mel, director. Dracula: Dead and Loving It. Lucy Turns into a Vampire - "Dracula: Dead and Loving It", Veronique Laurent, 15 Sept. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAlepIQhc3tuq8LrboJh3Ew.

13. Mitsoda, Brian. “Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines.” Steam, https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/2600/.

14. Reed, Kevin. “Psychic Vampire.” Psychic Vampires. People Who Live off Your Life Force., 28 Nov. 2017,

               15. Vampires. Season 1, episodes 1-10, Epic Level Entertainment, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEn-rNeiHvgPZRgK0hbjhh-4QI3fXxEyo.