Hello everyone... just joined, figure I'd post something...
First off, Yes. I consider myself a vampire. No, I was not born a ridiculously long time ago. I'm 18. Although I am pretty sure I can live without ingesting blood, I have never really tried it. However, I really don't think that it matters. First off, my perspective on the traditional vampire.
Vampires were perported to be the undead of someone who was either excommunicated, had commited suicide, ect... or had not been buried properly. As an older myth, It really doesnt matter if these paranormal vampires existed. It is what they represented. Take a look at the description of Dracula from the famous Bram Stoker novel. I believe that there are several metaphors in it. I think that the whole reason he couldn't see himself in the mirror was a reference to the fact that he did not suffer recodnizing who and what he was, and with a complex that was nearly narcissistic he cared not how he looked, for he knew he was beautiful. Another was the hair on his palms. I think at one point we have all heard the myth of why people get hair on the palms (for those that don't know, it was thought to be due to masturbation and exessive sexual habits). An open sign of his complete lack of what could be considered respect to the major ecclesiastical orginizations of the day, which indeed had the world in their hands.
Vampires represented the transformation of a person from a mere human to a demon of the flesh, able to kill with no remorse. One who worships himself above other things, recognizing that they have the most power in their lives (I imagine Anton LaVey would have been rooting for Dracula if he had ever read it, like I and I am sure many others did). Vampires represent how beautiful tragedy is. One who cares little for this world, and more for their own. In these respects, I believe that I am a vampire, representing not a lack of respect for authority, but recodnition of my own authority in my life, the beauty of tragedy, the irony of life, and the correlation of both sides of the psychological, spiritual, and sociesthetic spectrums (in other words, day wouldn't be so bright if there were never any night). And on to quite possibly the most reknown feature of vampirism, blood drinking.
However esoteric it may sound, I do believe that blood can bring one to higher planes of consciousness, and extend life. I believe that blood carries within it the energy of life, which can in turn replace and extend one's own energy if ingested. Likewise, I believe that the same happens on a different level in psychic vampirism. However, doesn't everyone practice psychic vampirism at some level? For example, when some bully makes fun of someone else, the victim is left feeling bad, whereas the bully is laughing, having fun, and seemingly gaining power from the victim. I believe that this, on a more discreet level, is psychic vampirism. It's basically the same, though. Taking the lifeforce of someone else into you. Irregardless of whether you believe in occult or metaphysical practices, if there is a desire for blood, then it is still a thirst. On a psychological level, one is ingesting and gaining power from someone else.
So, in conclusion, I basically believe that a vampire is one who represents the ideals that the vampire myth is based upon, not some silly person saying that they will die if they go out in sunlight and must ingest blood to survive (although I admit, blood cravings could make you go mad lol). Thanks for reading. See you all around...
Noctem Eternis,
Mold