Vampire (subculture)

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The vampire or vampyre scene is a modern subculture and youth culture that views “ vampirism ” as a form of “ lifestyle ” in different variations .

origin

The vampyre culture (the spelling "vampyre" is preferred within the scene itself) is a relatively new phenomenon and is mainly inspired by the depiction of vampires in classical and modern literature .

For older followers of vampirism in particular, there was previously no more formal environment for vampiric affinity. TV series such as Buffy - The Vampire Slayer , Angel - Raiders of Darkness and the film adaptations of Anne Rice novels , Blade or Wes Craven presents Dracula have contributed to the growing popularity of the vampires in recent times . There are sometimes connections and overlaps with Gothic culture or the black scene . The vampyre subculture manifests itself mainly around party events such as the night of St. Sebastian and is very "family" oriented; In the language of the scene, cliques are often referred to as "Covens" and meeting points as "Havens". Identification marks such as sharp ankh pendants or, in some cases, elaborately made vampire bits are worn.

Differentiations

Within the Vampyre scene are various currents of pure "vampire fans" over with Pen - & - Paper or LARP seised vampire role players , occult groups such as the "Kemetic Order of Aset Ka" to people who tend are interested in the sexual aspect of the vampire, "blood fetishists" and "real vampires" who pretend or are convinced that they are true vampires. Some vampires are more interested in fashion or the general event character of the subculture, others are concerned with things like that. a. with “ Slash Fiction ” (such as the British fanzine Bite Me ); some circles are close to the S / M scene and practice fetish role-playing games. Among those who cling to occult, paraphilic or clinical vampirism , the so-called "psychic" or "PSI vampires", who believe that they can transfer the psychic powers of others to themselves, differ from the "blood-drinking" or "sanguine vampires" who consume really small amounts of blood from "blood donors" (also referred to as "donors" in the scene), or suck on unbitten skin to "taste blood". Similar to the safeword of BDSM culture, a “true name” is common among vampires, which means that they can control and thus stop the actions of the other. For most vampires, their time within the vampire subculture remains a brief episode and they withdraw from the scene after a while.

There are two English-language magazines that deal with the subject of vampirism as a lifestyle, as well as several English-language websites and forums from the point of view of those belonging to the scene, including 'Sanguinarius.org' and 'House-Eclipse.org'.

Musical influences

In addition to the subcultural aspects mentioned, the vampire theme also has a clear influence on various bands and styles of music, including metal ( Theaters des Vampires , Lord Vampyr , Notre Dame , Cradle of Filth ), Gothic rock ( Bauhaus , Nosferatu , early undead ) and punk rock ( The Damned , Dancing Carcasses ). In some cases, such as Mister Underhill or 69 Eyes , the press speaks of "Vampire Rock".

Medical aspects

From a psychological point of view, a number of people in the scene seem to suffer from depression-like states or certain personality disorders and, for these reasons, are interested in “charging” themselves (ie their emotional and social competence) through the symbolic consumption of life force, on the other hand is however, it is difficult to simply apply standard clinical psychology categories to modern youth subcultures, even the more extreme forms. The vampirism of the "real vampires" is perhaps in connection with the so-called "clinical vampirism" or Renfield syndrome or hematomania .

Drinking blood represents a serious health risk for all participants. There is a high risk of sepsis for the bitten person . In general, there is a risk of transmitting infectious diseases such as As AIDS , hepatitis B and hepatitis C . In addition, there are also artificially induced changes to the body (for example through surgical interventions) , which are supposed to match the appearance of a vampire, are mostly irreversible and can carry a considerable health risk.

literature

  • Peter Day (Ed.): Vampires: myths and metaphors of enduring evil - Editions Rodopi, 2006, ISBN 978-90-420-1669-9
  • Mark and Lydia Benecke: vampires among us! Volume 1 and 2, 2009 and 2010
  • Mark Benecke, Ines Fischer: vampires among us! Volume 3. 2014

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Mark Benecke, Aleksandra Blak: Vampire Youth Subculture in New York City , presented as a conference paper at the Second World Dracula Congress (Poiana Braşov, Romania: 24-28 May, 2000)
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Meg Barker - Vampire Subcultures, University of Worcester, United Kingdom on inter-disciplinary.net ( Memento of the original from December 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.inter-disciplinary.net
  3. ^ A b c David Keyworth: The Socio-Religious Beliefs and Nature of the Contemporary Vampire Subculture . In: Journal of Contemporary Religion . 17, No. 3, October 2002, pp. 355-370. doi : 10.1080 / 1353790022000008280 .
  4. ↑ Interview with Mark Benecke. ( Memento from July 23, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Benecke.com
  5. ↑ The 69 Eyes. Official website
  6. ↑ Human Bites . American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. November 2002. Retrieved November 26, 2006.
  7. ↑ Rick Sowadsky: Can you get HIV from drinking another persons blood? . In: Forum on Safe Sex and HIV Prevention . The Body. November 3, 1999. Retrieved November 26, 2006.