Fact vs Fiction

How does one differentiate between the vampires of myth, lore and modern fiction, and the subculture made up of individuals who identify themselves as real. living Vampyres or vampyric people?

Over the past century or longer, a great many have come forward to express claims that they experience a very real need to consume blood, or energy, and that they suffer a surprisingly similar array of medical and psychological consequences by abstaining.

These eerie similarities tend to encroach on fiction and myth and legend, and tend to blur the line between myth and reality, and create doubt. Was there ever a line in the first place? Or was the line simply imagined? What if the line was never in the right place? If there are any lines to be drawn, where should they be drawn? And even more perplexing – WHO is to do the drawing? External entities, people looking inside from outside the subculture? People who have never experienced a vampyric hunger? People whose judgment may be impaired or biased by religious prejudice perhaps? Skeptics? Or by Vampyres themselves?

Regardless of lines and who draws them, it may surprise skeptics of the Vampyre Community and/or subculture that even within the VC, Vampyres understand the need for a boundary to define what is reality and what is probably best left between the covers of fiction novels.

In this section there are a number of articles intended to clarify the confusion, to separate facts from fiction, and to provide disambiguation for both the mundane as well as the novice Vampyre.

The Effect Of Vampire Fiction On Perception Of Vampyre Reality

One major variable in how real Vampyres see themselves – and how this affects their awakening and self-acceptance – is the Mundane concept of what Vampyres are and do – which is something Vampyres also seem to get caught up in. After all, if we look at vampires in folklore and fiction now and just fifty years ago – my, how have they changed?

Since Vampyres generally become confused and do not know what they are when they awaken, they do not have an established real-life stereotype of what real Vampyres are, look like or are supposed to be. There are a minority of cases where Vampyres awaken into a family where there are other awakened Vampyres ready to help them reach their potential or mentor them – although this is known to happen in very rare cases.

There is little easily available accessible information about the reality to help them to understand and to become aware. Of course, there is plenty of fiction about to cloud the issue – the readily available fictional stereotype, made even more confusing by the proliferation of fake information sites which claim to exist to educate “noob” teen Vampyres, while offering deliberate misinformation about Vampyre nature, perpetuating untruths about immortality and “vampire viruses”.

Modern vampire fiction is largely portrayed by Mundanes – and this is largely based on pre-existing Mundane folklore and earlier fiction based upon more of the Mundane perception of what Vampyres are.

It is not really general knowledge among Mundanes that Vampyres – that is, real living people with a physical or metaphysical condition, are in fact real. And as Vampyres can testify – Mundanes seem to think that if there were “real” vampires, they would undoubtedly resemble their fictional creations. You see, in their limited understanding – that is, limited by lack of experience – to be “real” a Vampyre would be exactly the stereotype presented in fiction: an undead, evil, soul-sucking, demonic walking corpse. Using the word “real” as a way to distinguish the real VC from fictional creations, sometimes only confuses the issue further.

Further, as can be seen over the past century or so, this fictional stereotype has changed as well, evolved gradually to reflect changing times and attitudes. The fictional vampire has changed considerably over the previous half-century alone, while the truth and reality has not. The fiction is readily accessible, while real Vampyres are certainly less so, preferring to remain in the shadows for their own safety. Vampire fiction – and its influence on the popular culture – both Mundane and Vampyre, has resulted in the phenomenon of the “lifestyler” and “role-player”. While it has its negative affects on our community, it has also helped many Vampyres to awaken to the truth. Many would never have awakened or accepted themselves if it were not for this influence.

Another side-issue in this discussion is the intrusion of the fiction into the actual subculture itself. Not only in terms of seekers who enter the VC with their own preconceptions about what the VC is or should be, but also in terms of the fictional props and characteristics found in entertainment media being adopted by elements within the subculture. Additionally, sometimes elements of the actual VC later appear in fiction as well. Thus, fiction becomes fact and fact is perpetuated in fiction, and so on.

The fiction may change, and the culture may change, but the REALITY of being a Vampyre seems constant – and one of the few variables in that equation is the extent of the knowledge, research and facts Vampyres have about what they are.

This section will attempt to disambiguate and clarify the difference between the fictional vampire and the real Vampyre subculture and community.