Psychic vampire

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A psychic vampire is a person[1][2] or being[3] who feeds off the life force of other living creatures.[2] Psychic vampires are represented in the occult beliefs of various cultures and in fiction.[4] As of yet there is no medical recognition or scientific proof supporting this purported phenomena, although there was a recent scholarly survey done of people claiming to be vampires, either psychic or sanguinarian (blood drinkers) that showed anecdotal evidence of a higher than normal incidence certain illnesses and conditions such as anemia, fibromyalgia, and hemophilia. Whether or not they actually suffer from such conditions were not evaluated by medical professionals. [5]

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[edit] Alternate terms

The term psychic vampire is sometimes abbreviated psy-vamp (or psi-vamp). Alternate terms for these entities include energy vampire,[1] energy predator, energy parasite, and energivore, as well as psionic vampire, pranic vampire, and empathic vampire.

Terms used to describe the substance or essence that psychic vampires take or receive from others include: energy,[2] qi (or ch'i), life force, prana,[2] and vitality.

The term "energy vampire" is also used metaphorically, to refer to people whose influence leaves a person feeling exhausted, unfocused and depressed, without ascribing the phenomenon to psychic interference.[6]

[edit] In mythology

The concept of psychic vampirism appears in the mythology of many cultures, just as do blood-drinking vampires. Regions where belief in psychic vampires is common include Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and rural South America. Some North American Indian cultures, such as the Hopi, also share this belief.[citation needed]

[edit] Modern interpretations

The concept of both 'vampire' and homologously 'psychic vampire' can be interpreted to represent the issue of social parasitism applied to spiritually or emotionally weak persons; those who appear to "drain" strength from others.[citation needed]

Dion Fortune wrote of psychic parasitism in relation to vampirism as early as 1930, in her book, Psychic Self-Defense.[7][8] Fortune considered psychic vampirism a combination of psychic and psychological pathology, and distinguishes between what she considers to be true psychic vampirism, and mental conditions that produce similar symptoms. For the latter she names folie a deux and similar phenomena.

The term psychic vampire was popularized in the 1960s by Anton LaVey and his Church of Satan. LaVey wrote on the topic in his book, The Satanic Bible, and claimed to have coined the term.[3] LaVey used psychic vampire to mean a spiritually or emotionally weak person who drains vital energy from other people, or a paranormal entity within such a person, allowing the psychic draining of energy from other people. Adam Parfrey likewise attributed the term to LaVey in an introduction to The Devil's Notebook.[9]

Others have defined a 'psychic vampire' in the more traditional sense. Michelle A. Belanger has written a book entitled The Psychic Vampire Codex, which defines a psychic vampire as a person, who, from limited ability or complete inability, are unable to generate their own "life force", and must feed off of others, not just as an ability, but as a necessity.

A modern literary interpretation of the process of transitioning from a normal human to an energy vampire, a being made from pure energy which no longer requires a physical body, can be found in Dr Silvia Hartmann's book "Vampire Solstice"[10] 2006 as a metaphor for processes of actually existing energy exchanges.[11]

The terms "energy vampire" and "psychic vampire" have been used as synonyms in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union, as part of an occult revival.[12]

[edit] Role in modern vampire subculture

The theme of the psychic vampire has been a focus within modern vampire subculture. The way that the subculture has manipulated the image of the psychic vampire has been investigated by researchers such as Mark Benecke[13] and A. Asbjorn Jon.[14] Jon has noted that, like the traditional psychic vampires, those of vampire subculture believe that they 'prey upon life-force or 'pranic' energy'.[14] Jon also noted that the group has been loosely linked to the Goth subculture.

[edit] Related concepts

A related form of psychic vampirism is known as sexual vampirism, where one is said to be able to feed off sexual energy.[15]

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Watch out for energy vampires, by Dr. Judith Orloff, CNN, March 11, 2008
  2. ^ a b c d A Vampire's Life? It's Really Draining: Forget 'Twilight.' These Folks Pale in Comparison to the Stereotype. By Monica Hesse, Staff Writer, Washington Post, November 24, 2008, Page C01
  3. ^ a b Robinson, Eugene (November 1986). "Anton LaVey". Birth of Tragedy. http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/BOT.html. Retrieved 2007-03-31. 
  4. ^ (Frost 1989, pp. 16-18)
  5. ^ Joseph Laycock (2009). Vampires Today: The Truth about Modern Vampirism. Praeger Publisher. ISBN 9780313364723. http://books.google.com/books?id=_KZePgAACAAJ&dq=psychic+vampire+laycock. 
  6. ^ O'Farrell, Peggy (23 September 2004). "'Energy Addict' puts positive spin on life with nutrition and exercise". Cincinnati Enquirer. http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/09/23/tem_energy23.html. Retrieved 2009-09-14. 
  7. ^ Fortune, Dion (2001) [1930], Psychic self-defense, Samuel Weiser, ISBN 9781578631506, OCLC 44926949 
  8. ^ Charles and Collins, Carr; The Story of Dion Fortune, Thoth Books, 1998, ISBN 1-870450-33-7, p150,
  9. ^ Davison, Carol Margaret; Simpson-Housley, Paul (1997), Bram Stoker's Dracula: sucking through the century, 1897-1997, Dundurn Press Ltd., p. 310, ISBN 9781550022797, http://books.google.com/books?id=brj7yfaBkPAC, "LaVey defines psychic vampires as "individuals who drain others of their vital energy... They fill no useful purpose in our lives, and are neither love objects nor true friends." 
  10. ^ Vampire Solstice DragonRising Publishing, ISBN 1 873 483 929
  11. ^ Energy Vampires Are Among Us by Dr Silvia Hartmann, 2009
  12. ^ DeNio Stephens, Holly (1997). "The Occult in Russia Today". in Glatzer Rosenthal, Bernice. The Occult in Russian and Soviet Culture. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. pp. 468. ISBN 080148331X. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Kumg5iYYkWkC&pg=PA370&dq. 
  13. ^ Mark Benecke and Aleksandra Blak, 'Vampire Youth Subculture in New York City', presented as a conference paper at the Second World Dracula Congress (Poiana Brasov, Romania: 24-28 May, 2000).
  14. ^ a b A. Asbjorn Jon, 'The Psychic Vampire and Vampyre Subculture', in Australian Folklore, 12 (2002), pp,143-148 (p.145) ISBN 1-86389-831-X
  15. ^ (Frost 1989, p. 31)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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