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Clinical vampirism, also know as Renfield's syndrome, has been around for quite awhile. Because of it's symptomatology its often included in psychiatric and/or neurological diseases. Because of these things it has been known to give the term 'vampire' a negative connotation. Yet, people still throw the term around to classify themselves.

With all the negativity that surrounds it- as far as it being linked to killing crimes, cult crimes and mental illness, why do people still find it a 'cool' term to coin them self?

Do you feel that there needs to extensive research on vampirism? (Both mental and psychical)

Do you think that someone should have to be evaluated extensively before they can place that label on them self?

With all the negativity that surrounds it- as far as it being linked to killing crimes, cult crimes and mental illness, why do people still find it a 'cool' term to coin them self?

I don't know, maybe for shock value, to belong to something, to be accepted on a vampire site?

Do you feel that there needs to extensive research on vampirism? (Both mental and psychical)

Yes just like anything, vampirism shouldn't be an exception.

Do you think that someone should have to be evaluated extensively before they can place that label on them self?

Yes if it's done with other conditions then why not? Like when people say they're depressed and it's just a temporary anger.

With all the negativity that surrounds it- as far as it being linked to killing crimes, cult crimes and mental illness, why do people still find it a 'cool' term to coin them self?
- Most people are uneducated and don't realize that it has negativity surrounding it, or want the attention, or are so immersed in horror movies/mythical creatures that they don't think twice about the title.

Do you feel that there needs to extensive research on vampirism? (Both mental and psychical)
- I don't think it would hurt. As a psychology major, I do wonder.

Do you think that someone should have to be evaluated extensively before they can place that label on them self?
- I think people can label themselves whatever they want to. If there were to be a point where people could officially declare themselves as vampires, then yes, extensive evaluation I think would be necessary.

Those that are sincere in their conviction/belief have should have nothing to hide, there for they should embrace an option to evaluate, and research their alleged condition. However people that have something to hide cringe, and throw tantrums at5 the mere suggestion of scrutiny. I also believe a simple polygraph test could thin the ranks of claimants as well.

I think people see movies and tv shows and believe that fiction

it does need more of a study

it should only be clinically diagnosed because of all the stigma and weight that comes along with it

dabbler, as far as a polygraph goes, if you are either calm, relaxed, and confident or totally stressed, nervous, and hyperactive the whole time the polygraph fails because of no consistent patterns in blood pressure, body temperature, or heart rate

that's why they aren't admissible in court

yes, but that coupled with observing other tells zooms in on how sincere a person is about what they are claiming to be true, again I state if a person has nothing to hide then they should be open about such research, and investigation.

Since, I would think, most of the people who would be getting the test would have some sort of 'delusions' they would live too far into them and see them as their reality. I really don't think a polygraph test would be a great option. A person can believe the symptoms as true, and it would alter how the polygraph would not be accurate.

Perhaps if there was steps to treatment, like a so many step program, they could use that at a higher level to see if there was some sort of progress with pulling them out of their fantasy world.

I think it would put a dent in the ranks of those who seek to be accepted as a vampire, I personally find it telling when a person making such a claim balks at presenting any source, or reference material. In fact they actually cry harassment when anyone remotely suggest scrutiny, regardless of the one asking is sympathetic, or opposed to such concepts.

I agree with moonpie on that one

maybe it's just another form of schitzophrenia and maybe it can be treated like that is

Porphyria has been linked to vampirism as well, as many of the disease's more acute symptoms are vampiric in nature, ie allergic to sunlight, depression and/or other mental problems, extreme abdominal pain, especially after eating (we know that in most vampire folklore, vampires can't ingest food - only blood), etc...

For more info on porphyria, check out Wikipedia's entry!

Great thread, by the way!

**My opinions.

**No one in the vampire community that I know of has ever been diagnosed by any doctor who labeled them this way. On top of it too many people dwell on the blood aspect of folklore and books or movies. The majority do not drink blood. There are those that drink animal blood but these are small quantities with a few claiming more. 30 percent of the world’s population according to the documentary on cannibalism by the History channel can drink more than an ounce or so without an emetic reaction. As for Porphyria that is unlikely because there are several different types of it and all very rare so it wouldn’t accounted for the number of people who claim to be vampirics.

“Porphyria comprises seven separate disorders. Skin problems are a fairly common symptom, but only the rarest form--congenital erythropoietic porphyria--causes severe disfigurement. Just 200 cases of this disease have been diagnosed, surely too few to account for the widespread belief in vampires. In any case, alleged vampires exhumed in the 18th century typically weren't disfigured but appeared as they had in life (except for being dead, of course).

The idea that vampires abhor sunlight was an invention of fiction writers. In Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries, vampires were sometimes reported to have been sighted during the day. Bram Stoker's Dracula was deathly pale, but folkloric vampires, in the Balkans anyway, were said to be ruddy-faced due to blood consumption.

Porphyria victims don't crave blood. Drinking blood will not alleviate their symptoms, nor has there ever been a general belief that it would. The blood chemicals porphyria victims need do not survive digestion.

No one has proved that garlic worsens porphyria.”
http://lesvampires.org/porphyria.html

“Although Renfield's Syndrome is a phrase coined by a fiction-writer, the term is used in modern times to describe the ages-old term "Clinical Vampirism." (this term is not considered a psychiatric term,
it’s more of a pop culture term)

Clinical vampirism often affects males and it arises from a sexual attraction to blood. It often stems from a childhood trauma or event that involves tasting blood or the ingesting of blood in some manner. There are several factors that cause this curious mental condition, but it is a prolonged mental state that lasts throughout a person's life unless they seek help and acknowledge an issue arising. Throughout adolescence and puberty someone who suffers from Renfield's Syndrome (clinical vampirism) may experiment with autovampirism, which is the tasking of one's own blood. As the mental condition progresses, the person may graduate to drinking the blood of animals.”

**They may believe this but it is the same as asking a psychologist if they believe in creation or evolution. There is no basis in fact for a diagnosis like this except in rare cases. Someone can have certain types of schizophrenia and imagine they are Dracula or some other vampire character or a vampire in general. There are some other possibilities for a few people, one would be Pica and another would be a blood fetish. This has been discussed frequently within the community. We know there are people intermixed that aren’t so stable but who are we to presume who is or who is not suffering from delusion. After all people who are not in the know think everyone is suffering from some form of delusion. I beg to differ.

“In extreme cases, people with clinical vampirism will graduate to consuming the blood of other people, whether willing or unwilling. Self-proclaimed sanguine vampires often drink from willing participants in a trendy "goth" lifestyle, but this dangerous activity isn't as dangerous as those who truly suffer from a crippling mental condition. Schizophrenia is sometimes diagnosed in violent cases of criminal vampirism.”
(http://www.chelseahoffman.com/2011/08/real-life-vampires-criminal-psychosis.html)

It’s very presumptuous for anyone to claim that people who believe they are vampirics have some sort of mental disorder considering how many people feel this way. There are some strange people mixed into things but trust me we watch out and see all articles on people who have been arrested or have claimed they are someone and are not. As for the lie detector test, I doubt many would pass it because we have no definite idea of what that is other than we believe it to be fact but very different from fiction and the movies. The word vampire evolved out of the Slavic language but the vampire as we see it came initially from somewhere else. They are not demons or people with abhorrent behavior in fact many cry out against anything like that. Just because some also like the fashionable side of things more connected to Goth dress, etc. has no bearing on its validity. Any claims anyone else would make or rationalizations would be nothing more than opinion. No more factual than what we believe except we are now collecting information of all types via the AVA and the VVC and somewhat from the South African groups. Read some of Joseph Laycock’s works on the topic. It might be very illuminating.

I agree with what you say Sinistra, you make a very good point

There are many different definitions as to what a vampire is and what it isn't

Not all of them can be insane, there are thousands of people on this site, not all are skeptics, are all of them insane too?

And what about the people who are skeptics who choose to join a vampire themed site?

No other medical issue is as far spread and common as the idea of vampirism besides cancer and obesity

People like something to blame, anything besides themselves, and it seems like that’s what the label of a medical condition is doing

Actually you may want to note that this is also a Goth themed site, that is to your "why would skeptics join a vampire site".

Second, in the majority of cases those who declare themselves to be vampires bring nothing to the table. I will note that Sinistra has at least provided a publication. All I see from the majority is gratuitous declarations, and a tendency to stretch the topic to fantastical proportions. If anyone even hints at scrutiny, or inquiry toward someone who claims to be a vampire they are more then likely to be scorned. So why would people make such claims? What do they base their conclusions on? Simple questions that anyone (sympathetic to, or skeptical of) would ask. So why are the majority of those who claim to be vampires (with few exceptions) reluctant to provide sources, or any material that "makes their case"?

I would be highly suspect of being an item of "study" from someone seeking only a "clinical" notion of Vampirisim. How do we know that such a study wouldn't result in people being falsely accused of something, and unjustly detained. it could happen. We have parents out there, sending kids to counselors, because they went Goth. Rubbish. Leave eme alone, unless I'm breaking the law or killing someone.

MM, Your being a bit paranoid. Have you not considered that there would/maybe people who are sympathetic to such beliefs? There is nothing to stop those who believe in vampirism from doing there own research. However it should be expected that any data presented from such research would be scrutinized before it would be accepted. Why wouldn't the community, or the most sincere factions jump at the possibility of being legitimized, and substantiated through research, and experimentation? Because implying that people are "out to get" those who proclaim to be vampires is starting to sound like a lame excuse to cover for lack of confidence, as if anyone who comes forth would break the enchantment.

"Actually you may want to note that this is also a Goth themed site, that is to your "why would skeptics join a vampire site"."

Yep, this site is not just for the so called "vampires" or even goths actually, I am no goth. I am here for my own reason and since I am not a fanatic or a wannabe, I am one of those level headed folks who will happilly challenge someone who makes outrageous claims with nothing to back it up.

As for clinical vampirism, I have heard of renfield's syndrom, someone with an obsession with drinking blood. Nothing entirely wrong with that since there is some nutrients in blood, no matter how small. There is another mental condition out there called lycanthropy, where a person thinks they are werewolves and in some cases, they become highly aggressive.

I view it in the same way of that... people who claim to have Depression, Bi-Polar or Schizophrenia. They think it's "Cool" thus they give themselves the mantle and adopt the habits of the illnesses they want to have.
In reality, they've got no idea what it's like to live with such a thing - but it's the... dramatised version they want, not the real-deal.

Back to the Root of Vampirism, there were not Psychiatrist or psychologist, just pure enjoyment of the flesh. Today, everything has to be control by a few, who will like to label, those who are different as: crazy, insane, perturbed, sociopath and the list keep going on and on. Secrecy is the answer.

you may also ask why people identify with bi-polar disorder and wear it with pride, as if a fashion statement.

it's trendy.

I think people just want attention and in some cases meds

others just want an excuse to misbehave and act out

some more severe cases of bipolar also come with uncontrollable violent moments and some people can see that as an excuse to any unreasonably violent act they commit

It is not unreasonable to conclude that some who claim to be vampires, and claim to need to "feed" to gain "energy", are seeking to be accepted as extraordinary, when in fact they are nothing but boring people, who lack esteem, and inspiration. of course there will always be people who make the claim simply to see how others receive their claim, those people are most likely to string together/compile other far reaching/fringe claims just to impress their peers.. even while they themselves are not in least sincere about their claims.

Thankfully these people often cause even the most devote believers to become jaded, and eventually disenfranchised.

For example a person claiming to be a vampire, and shortly after that they up the ante to claiming to be a ranking member in a secret circle, or society, then they allude to having extraordinary abilities.

This is why even those who accept the claims made by others who identify themselves as vampires would be lying if they said they are not skeptical. Even they would inquire as to what source/s the persons conclusion was based on. This is why I am personally offended by those who poo-poo anyone who request substantial sources to summarize their position on what it means to them to be a "vampire".

The way people handle their illnesses is different, and there's nothing wrong being proud or upfront about being ill, but it seems like 80% of people who boast about having something don't.
Then again, who am I to judge and diagnose.

You are forgetting a very simple and basic premise of the Occult "Plausible deniability"
What... you earthlings are the only ones that figured out this was a great Play?

When dealing with powers beyond most peoples comprehension it is very, very important to realize they will not show out, and will always hide in the above terms.

Hence all possessions etc involve the vulnerable, the mentally ill, or the disturbed. The Military and black ops use this premise all the time...

Thus giving doctors and scientists a clear get out clause so they can cling to reason, no matter what the evidence in order to save their careers.

Oddly enough the Church are more open minded, but as few now believe in the great wizard creator, I am guessing earthbound wizardy is still safe ;) TGK.

TGK,

What are you talking about? I can never follow along because anytime I see a post of yours it goes on about things that either make no sense or a complete work of fiction.

Mmm sorry about that, I tend to jump ahead 2 or 3 steps and forget it is difficult to follow.

Lullaby was speaking about vampirism n mental illness, the two are inter locked...
Nobody normal goes down this path, we are the strange ones....
Which begs the question, why?
It maybe gene switches, something I mentioned long ago, mice eat their own when stressed...

Maybe the same gene? Maybe something far more sophisticated?

My guess is the latter. TGK .