|
Real_Solitude -> RE: Church Secretary is a vampire! (8/8/2008 9:55:00 AM)
|
Ugh... I probably know a lot more about this subject than I should.
In general, modern-day vampirism has no religious affiliations and no 'cult' ties. It is the delusion that ones body does not produce enough 'life energy' to sustain oneself. In order to remedy this situation, the subject in question will usually take one of two routes.
The first is 'traditional' vampirism. That is, the drinking of blood. This blood will almost occasionally be ones own blood (yes, I know the idea is self-contradictory to the thought that the blood brings 'life energy') or much more commonly the blood of a willing donor. From what I've heard, there are very few instances of actual attacks in order to obtain blood.
The other method is 'energy' vampirism. This is tied in to beliefs of psychicism. Energy vampirism, also known as psychic vampirism, is the belief that one can mentally feed off of the 'life energy' of a healthy person. There are variations on this where the vampire doesn't even need another person to drain, but takes energy directly from the 'ambient energy' of the universe.
While the belief is quite obviously delusional, there can by physical side effects if the vampire stops feeding. Much like a hypochondriac that manifests physical symptoms of a disease they don't have, if the delusion that the vampire 'needs' another's 'life energy' to survive persists, withdrawal can cause lack of energy and sickliness.
The modern day vampire has largely emerged from the newest generation of the gothic subculture. It is an obsession with the Hollywood vampire. That is, the 'dark, hansom, brooding' vampire of today as opposed to the 'rotting satanic OCD corpse' vampire of yesteryear.
In relation to Christianity:
While vampirism is usually tied to belief in psychicism there is usually no attachment to demonic worship. It is simply a person with a delusion. As it is a delusion, it is usually a belief that is held with certainty, is unchangeable, and not impossible to falsify to the person in question. In this it is like any other delusion, say, a flat-earth believer. There is usually no harm in the belief (aside from the incisions made in a donor [note: the donor is usually the one that opens the wound]) and no noticeable effect on the persons life. In most respects, they are normal people. They are simply normal people who hold strange beliefs.
|
|
|
|
