People Who Really Think They Are Vampires

So, I'm watching a show on Biography channel this afternoon called "Uncovered: The Secret Life Of Vampires". They talked quite a bit about the history and folklore of vampires, which was interesting even if there wasn't much presented that I hadn't heard before. Then they started delving into people who practice vampirism as a lifestyle. Some were just infatuated with drinking eachother's blood in ritualistic fashion, some fancied themselves psychic vampires. A little odd, perhaps a bit delusional. But there were a few of these people that seemed convinced that they were actual, real vampires with powers of persuasion and the ability to hypnotize people or drain them of their "life force" at will. The most notable of these was a guy named Don Henrie who was apparently on some reality show on Sci-Fi Channel. Watching this guy talk, as well as some of the other people who shared similar ideas about themselves being not really human, but supernatural beings, I was fascinated.

I get the idea of identifying with something so strongly that you integrate parts of it into your life or even your spirituality. Hell, I identify very strongly with the jaguar as a totem animal, but I don't think I'm actually a jaguar. At what point does your grip on reality slip away to the point that you may actually think that you are really a supernatural creature from folklore? I think there are a lot of people that do interesting things with energy work and we all know people who can drain us mentally or emotionally that might constitute being "energy vampires", per se. But creating a lifestyle around these kinds of things and touting yourself as an actual vampire, drinking blood, running around in goth and bondage gear and wearing fake fangs all the time? Seems a bit much to me.

So, for the sake of discussion, what do you folks think of people who believe themselves to be vampires? Are they really vampires? Delusional headcases with fantasies of grandeur far beyond their reach? Candidates for mental health evaluations? People who have taken escapism from ordinary life way too far? And what of the people who buy into these peoples ideas about themselves? This Don Henrie character seems to have a lot of followers. What does it say about those folks?

This should be fun. Let's hear everyone's thoughts on all this.

jag

 

Either that or your balls haven't dropped, yet.


Here's Don Henrie trying to convince everyone he's really a vampire, as well as a story about some other freak that kidnapped a girl for the purposes of drinking her blood:



jag

 

Haha! The idea of locking this Don Henrie guy in a room with Wesley Snipes and broadcasting it on television is not a half bad one.

jag

 

I would agree. There was a huge amount of arrogance and air of superiority that was really unwarranted coming from these people. It's probably what irritated me the most about them. They seemed to think they were just incredibly intelligent and smarter than everyone but didn't really say or do anything to support that belief from my observation. I suspect it's that confidence and arrogance in themselves that enables them to get some people to buy into what they are purporting. Some people will believe just about anything if the person with the message has enough conviction, confidence and belief in what they are selling. That's how things like Jonestown come to pass, after all.

jag

 

Got a link? I'd like to read about that.

jag

 

They may not be stupid people but they're also not as intelligent as they'd like to think they are. I mean...they do think they're actual vampires with supernatural powers. They can't be THAT smart.

jag