First, let me say that this is my personal opinion and others may have different opinions. It's certainly a subject that has and will continue to be debated. Hopefully, as we grow here in this community, maybe will learn even more about who we are.....what is real and what is not.

Real vampires are not anything like what movies, tv, and the fictional books portray. Those stories may be entertaining but very little truth can be found within them. You're also going to find lots of books out there that claim to know the truth but are written with prejudice and fear. That doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with reading or watching any of them but make real opinions based on your experience of interacting with real vampires that you've met here, in other online groups, or for real in person. Also, keep in mind that not everyone hold to the same ethical codes. There are going to be vampires just like there are humans who have no regard for the life or feelings of others. On the other hand, you will find that there are vampires that have good hearts and act much like everyone else.....you wouldn't know they were vampires unless they told you or showed you. Having said all that...... there are two basic kinds of real vampires. That's not to say that there aren't variations of both with different names attached to what they do and how they do it. There are Blood vampires and there are Psychic vampires.

Blood Vampires

Blood vampires are those who thrive on the blood of other living things. That doesn't mean that they will necessarily die without blood but for them to be healthy and vital, they must feed ever so often. They also do not need to kill to feed...... a small amount of blood from a donor will meet the need. It differs from vampire to vampire how much and how often this is required. It may even be likely that what a blood vampire gets from blood is the life force energy similar to psychic vampires and that it is just a particular desire for them to seek blood. I have met several blood vampires who also feed on energy particularly when they cannot find a donor. Maybe the two kinds have a lot more in common than we realize.

Psychic Vampires

Psychic Vampires are those who must feed on the energy of living things. This can be emotional energy, psychic energy, life force energy, and sexual energy generally through either ambient feeding (energy given off by people that hovers near them which does include their emotional energy), surface feeding (just grazing the surface of a persons energy being by physical or spirit connection), contact feeding (a little more intensive requiring physical contact), and deep feeding (the most intensive kind of feeding on a person's core life force energy usually very intimate in nature).

A note about deep feeding: Make sure that it is with someone that you want to be deeply connected with. You have attached yourself to this person likely through this lifetime and possibly through future incarnations. You might lessen the connection but it will be enduring almost permanent. The person can become obsessive, jealous, and forceful about you spending time with them because they are equally connected to you as you are to them. They should understand the nature of this connection before you do it. This is best done between committed intimate partners and you should give them time to recover from a deep feed before doing it again.

As the blood vampire, it is a need and without it, they become sick and withdrawn. Sometimes people find this kind of vampire more fearful because it's not something that you can physically defend against. Psychic vampires are very misunderstood and you will find that most if they have learned to control their abilities, will only take from those who are willing to share or from energy that was already given away in the way of ambient energy.. It is true that some take whatever they want without regard to others and some take just because they haven't learned to control it or are not aware that they are a psychic vampire yet. Like I said, judge each person, not simply because they are a vampire or hold a particular belief system.

Goths and fetish blood drinkers

Simply living a gothic lifestyle or drinking blood does not make one a vampire. There are people who simply enjoy the excitment of a dark lifestyle or like the taste of blood as a part of their sexuality. It is not a need for them to drink blood. I have nothing against those who follow those kinds of lifestyles. I just want to point out that dressing in black and drinking blood are not all there is to one being a vampire.

Roleplayers

They are not real vampires and are only pretending to be vamps in fictional games. Some of these games are very complex and realistic sounding but playing a game, certainly won't make you a vampire. Being a vampire is something that you are and not something that you can fantasize yourself into being. It is not all fun and games or full of exotic sexual encounters. There is nothing wrong with these games as long as you can separate fantasy from fiction. Even some notable very public real vampires enjoy a role playing game occassionally.

Common False Stereotypes

There are many stereotypes created by hollywood and fictional books that are purely fantasy. Real vampires are hardly anything like those.

Do Vampires hunt people down and kill them for their blood?

Majority....no.... but I'm sure that there are a few crazy vampires out there too. Murder isn't acceptable for any society and if vampires were out killing people..... I think they would have made the news by now. It is not acceptable for a teenager or any other person for that matter to get it in their head that being a vampire means you get to go hurt or kill people. This will get you put in jail or cause you to lose your own life.

Are vampires Immortal?

This one is probably a little more debated but I would have to say no. We die just like everyone else. Only our spirits/souls are immortal as are those of any other person.

Can vampires fly?

I think everyone of us probably laughs a little every time we hear this one. No, vampires can't fly.....at least not physically. Psychic vampires however, can easily astral project to other places but this is done in spirit and not in body.

Does the Sun affect vampires?

The answer to this often varies from vampire to vampire but no, they will not burn in flames just for going out in the sun. Some however are affected in various ways to a heightened sensitivity which causes sunburns easily to a simple drain of energy. These things may or may not be related to the fact that one is a vampire but it is certainly possible. Vampires do tend to have a love for the night and the coolness of the moonlight.

Do vampires have fangs?

This answer also varies from vampire to vampire but I would say that it is likely that they don't. I am a psychic vampire though and not as familiar with all the aspects of blood vampires. I have heard some that I have talked with before say that they do have more pointed and sharper canines than most people do. I've also heard others say that they don't have them. Maybe this one is one that we can learn more about in our community.

Can a vampire change into another animal?

No, one does not change into bats or wolves. It is possible through magick to take on cetain aspects of an animal but not the actual physical form. Also, when one travels the astral plane, many things are possible that aren't on our physical plane. Much like the native american's shamanism allowed them to walk the spirit/astral plane in various forms.

Are Vampires Evil?

This one is easy........certainly not just simply because they are a vampire. One should think of vampires as simply a different race of people. Within any race, there are good and bad people. You will find that vampires have as many belief systems as any human. I have even met christian vampires before and many wiccan/pagan ones. Yes, I have no doubt that out there somewhere there are psycho crazy ones too that think they have a right to harm or whatever they want to do. For the most part, you will find that vampires have good hearts like most people. Differences do not make one evil.

Do Crosses, Garlic, Holy Water, and such affect a vampire?

This is just a basic description of what is real and what is not. I am not here to convince you to believe in vampires. You have to make up your own mind about that. I would hope that if you truly seek answers, then you'll spend some time talking to the real members of the vampire community to learn what we're really all about.