Modern Vampirism; A Religion?
In today’s society, we know them as sleek, powerful, wealthy sex symbols. They are god-like, knowing few boundaries. At their best, they have a penchant for self-effacement, bouts of melancholy, and displays of heart-felt mercy toward their inferiors. At their worst, they are heartless predators, performing heinous acts with a sensuality that can attract the desire of even the strictest adherent to moral standards. No other creature in today’s world evokes as much fancy and derision as the vampire. It could be said that today’s vampire is the image of what happens when a culture is mired in materialism, yet still longs for spiritual satisfaction.
However, this incarnation of the vampire is extremely recent in development, beginning not with Bram Stoker’s Dracula as most believe, but with The Vampyre, written by John Polidori in the summer of 1819. This short tale was penned over a three-day stay at Villa Diodati. He and his companion were visited by several authors, and they each took turns entertaining each other with their own works. One of these visitors was Mary Shelley, who wrote Frankenstein during this same stay. The Vampyre was published in several different languages, and went on to inspire other groundwork vampire fictions such as Varney the Vampire by James Malcolm Rymer and, of course, Dracula.
Prior to this new, romanticized version, the vampire was a thing generally to be feared and hated, and more often than not was a decidedly unattractive re-animated stinking corpse. The term “vampire” in modern English language itself did not officially come about until the publication of the Oxford English Dictionary in 1734, and the earliest Russian form of the word, upir, appeared in 1047 AD. Legends of creatures with vampire-like qualities stretch much further back than this, however. Although the term did not exist, ancient Greece, ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and many other nations and cultures all share myths of blood-drinking gods and demons.
Today, the vampire is undergoing a new transformation. Although the vampire has never strayed far from the area of religion (even the modernized, glamorous vampire is generally allergic to crosses, and if not, is fascinated by God), there has never been a purely vampire-centric faith in which one strives to be a vampire, or believes that they are already. Even ancient Egypt’s Sekhmet, the warrior goddess who devoured humans and drank their blood, was only one of many gods and goddesses of much less blood-thirsty tastes.
This is no longer the case. There are two underground movements occurring, one which does not call itself a religion yet has most of the elements, and another which has all the elements of a religion and is registered with the government as such. Although both groups claim to be vampires, their definitions of such vary to the point of being polar opposites on some key ideas.
The first movement is separated into two groups. Both groups claim an energy deficiency which requires an outside source to remain healthy. This energy is referred to as prana or chi, and it is the methodology of attaining this energy that separates these groups. The first is the sanguinarian vampire, which, as its name implies, is the more familiar type of vampire that needs blood. These sang vampires only require a small amount of blood to attain the energy they need. Most get this blood from willing donors, although some prefer animal blood. The second group is the psi-vampire, who takes energy from their surroundings; other people’s emotions, nature, and sometimes from the energy created in the act of sex. Some vampires utilize both methods of getting the energy they need.
Both sang and psi vampires believe that it is impossible for a normal human being to be turned into a vampire; you are simply born that way. Some people go through their entire lives not realizing what it is they have. All vampires at some point go through an “awakening” period, which can occur at virtually any age, but usually occur between the late teens and early twenties. Community leaders are quick to advise those who believe they may be vampires or going through the awakening process to seek other, more likely causes for their symptoms; “The symptoms of vampirism don't just point to vampirism. They also point to anemia, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and about a million and two other things. All we've done with those symptoms is gone to the doctors and eliminated all the other possibilities, and come to the last conclusion; and we are dealing with it the best we can.” They distance themselves from “lifestylers”, who dress in the modern Gothic fashion, participate in role-playing games, and tell people they are hundreds of years old. Real vampires, although they may refer to non-vampires as “humans”, are human themselves and do not make claims of super-human strength or immortality and other such fictional attributes. However, they do believe that most vampires do have increased abilities, such as energy manipulation, night-vision that is above average, and sometimes some psychic abilities. If prana or blood is not consumed for an extended period of time, the individual will suffer pains, a weakened immune system, lethargy, and become sickened or depressed.
Although this movement is not self-defined as a religion, the seven questions William Young asks in An Introduction to Religion that determine any religion can easily be answered. The first two simply need a word replacement; instead of “human”, “vampire”. What does it mean to be a vampire? It means that your spiritual energy is deficient, and when that energy is up to par, you function better than the average human. What is the basic vampire problem? Not having the energy needed to be fully functional. What is the cause of the problem? This is controversial within the community. Either it is purely medical, or purely spiritual, or the cause is a mix of both. It is also hypothesized that is purely psychological. What is the end or goal of transformation? To function properly. What is the nature of reality? Since there is a basic belief on all fronts in prana, chi, or life energy, the nature of reality is that there are invisible energies permeating everything that are almost as vital to the human being as food and water. What is the sacred and how may the sacred be known? This is a more difficult question to answer, since vampires come from all walks of religious life. Because of this, a distinction must be made; what is sacred to a person as a human within an organized religion, and what is sacred to a person as a vampire. The first is up to the individual to define as part of an outside religion. The second is the act of achieving the energy they need. Most describe the act, whether sang or psi, as extremely euphoric, granting a sense of peace.
While this “vampire condition” is only a very loose, scattered movement, the Temple of the Vampire is something else entirely.
Registered with the US government in 1989, the Temple of the Vampire is similar to the “vampire condition” group in but two ways. They also distance themselves from “lifestyler” vampires, if not more so, and they also employ the practice of psychically drawing energy into themselves. The only difference in this second statement is that they only seem to take energy from people, whether they let them know about it or not. It is also explicitly stated, as part of Temple law, that under no circumstance can a member ingest blood or participate in any act that would be considered illegal.
“Seem” is an important term to note. While members of the “vampire condition” group are generally quick to answer any question given, trying to study the Temple of the Vampire is much like trying to study those indigenous religions who will only give so much information before a “members only” point is reached.
Upon first viewing the website, a text animation appears and gives this statement; “Vampire is the traditional name for those who survive and thrive at the top of the food chain. Many of those entrenched in materialism take a Darwinian perspective. ‘Survival of the fittest!’ is their battle cry. We endorse this fully. We offer our members many practical tools to achieve and maintain this position of power. We always have. Throughout history, legends have been told of an earlier civilization. The legends speak of a golden age before history, when gods walked the earth and ruled mankind. Mankind found comfort in obedience, and an advanced technology produced ‘miracles’. The gods never left.” There then appears two links for Vampire by Day and Vampire by Night, which gives basic outlines for what consists of the individual’s social life and personal life.
The Dayside vampire is a practicing transhumanist. A transhuman is someone who is evolved beyond what we currently understand to be human, to the point that the individual can no longer be called human. The three parts of this important to the Temple’s ideology is advanced intelligence, attainment of physical immortality, and what is called “practical Godhood”. Within the “inner sanctum” of the site (available only to members), there are resources and links available to such things as learning how to invest properly and the most up-to-date health advancements. The two most important parts of the Dayside vampire is to have your life under control and on the road to achievement, and to keep a true skeptic’s attitude towards everything. As is stated elsewhere in the site, everything the Temple has to offer is based upon “self-verifiable fact”. In other words, the Temple does not ask for blind faith in anything. It in fact posts a disclaimer in various areas of the site that reads, “Within lies fact and fancy, truth and metaphor. Discriminate with care.” They leave all that is offered up to the judgment of the individual.
The Nightside vampire, however, paints a very different picture than the Dayside. The Nightside vampire is the individual’s attempts to learn, verify, understand, and then utilize the experiences and powers that wait for those who walk this path. Such powers and experiences include shapeshifting, flying, mesmeric power, “impossibly” good luck, and Communion with the Temple’s “advanced members”, the Undead Gods. It is claimed that these Undead Gods dictated the Vampire Bible to members, who then wrote it down. There are five levels to achieve; initiate, predator, priest/priestess, sorcerer/sorceress, and finally, the adept. The initiate has chosen to verify the Nightside teachings. The predator has verified Lifeforce Vampirism. The priest or priestess has verified the reality of the Undead Gods. The sorcerer or sorceress has verified the powers of the Nine Laws of Magic. The adept has verified the nature of the self and of reality. As both Dayside and Nightside aspects are developed, more and more of a tension between the world of reality and the world of fantasy is created, so that “dreams of the Night leave footprints in the Day.”
It appears that the main point of contact between members is on online discussion boards, to which outsiders like myself are allowed to view and post (in only a small fraction of threads) for a short time before being given the choice between joining the Temple and being banned from the boards. While I was able to interact with members, I found that physical meetings do occur, but I was unable to find out if group meetings occur on a regular basis. I also found that many members were college graduates, in fields such as psychology and international intelligence. There were also personal accounts of experiences with the Undead Gods, things ranging from feeling a presence rush through them, a hand on the head, and in one case, a sexual encounter. Who are the Undead Gods? Where did they come from? What are the Nine Laws of Magic? Are there holidays, or some kind of prophesied event? These, among others, were questions I asked, but did not receive an answer to before my limited access to the forums was terminated.
The image and function of the vampire, or vampire-like being, has been in existence almost since the beginning of recorded history. It has undergone several changes, reflecting the cultures of each passing age. Will these two changes last, or will they fade quickly away? Only time will tell.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vampyre
http://www.sanguinarius.org/
http://www.religioustolerance.org/vampire5.htm
http://www.vampiretemple.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism
The World’s Religions, William A. Young
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