Vampires, Psychic Vampires and Werewolves

The intended victim of a real vampire might fall under its malignant influence, but it would not be possible for someone to "change" into one while still alive. Enjoyable though Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula (1992) might be as a cinematic experience, it is not a faithful retelling of Stoker's novel and, even if it had been, Bram Stoker's original Dracula is not a faithful account of real vampirism. That notwithstanding, there are elements in both film and book, mostly the latter, which ring true.

The soul of an afflicted person who assumes death following the predations of a demonic entity is an interesting one which I discuss in my concise vampirological guide, The Vampire Hunter's Handbook (Gothic Press, 1997). I describe the undead as a fundamentally malevolent and parasitic force which manifests in corporeal form; a bloodsucking androgyne with foul appetites, and the most abhorrent and feared of all that dwells in the malign supernatural underworld.

To attribute human desires and personalities onto such a creature is a mistake, but it has been debated for centuries by clergy, especially demonologists, as to what exactly happens to the soul of an undead.

The undead state is not, nor can it be, true death. Equally, it is not true life. It is a twilight condition between life and death from which there is only one release. Through exorcism the tormented soul is released to find the peace of death, and the demonic aspect is cast out to a nether region. Therefore, the demonic polluter cannot be destroyed, only sent back from whence it came. The host corpse will return to its natural state, all superntaural effect having gone, and appear as it should in death.

Not everyone will agree with me. Some subscribe to the view that vampiric spectres merely masquerade as the deceased, and that the soul of the victim is not involved. This is an easier option for demonologists to adopt, and perhaps a more comfortable one theologically to explain, but I speak from personal experience and while the predatory wraith might very well assume different metamorphoses, it has the power to manifest as a corporeal form that is as tangible as you and I. William of Malmesbury in the tweflth century tells of evil men returning to walk the world after they had "died" and been interred. He credited this ability to the Devil who caused the corpse's reanimantion and vitality beyond the grave. The significance of blood cannot be underestimated for the soul has its abode in the blood as long as life lasts. In Leviticus 17: 14, the soul is identified with the blood, as it is in Genesis 9: 4; Deuteronomy 12: 23. This is what makes the revenant a vampire.

Individuals who seem to drain the energy of those around them have probably been experienced by many people, myself included, but here we are employing the word "vampire" as an adjective.

Experiencing such energy-drainers is nowhere near the same as a predatory demonic entity masquerading as a dead person, and/or taking corporeal form; though I recall an old lady who ran an antiquarian bookshop in north London many years ago telling me about her encounter with Aleister Crowley. She told me that as he passed her on the shop's stairs she immediately felt very faint and became nauseous. Was this Crowley draining her of energy? Or was it his extraordinary notoriety effecting how she felt? She claimed the former. I suspect the latter. But we will never know.

So-called "psychic vampires," or "psi-vampyres" as they sometimes like to call themselves, claim to lack an adequate energy system, and this inadequacy compels them to feed upon and tap into the energy and vitality of other unsuspecting host victims. This allegedly results in a temporary surge of energy in the "psychic vampire" and a serious loss of physical and mental energy for the "prey."

Victims attacked by "psychic vampires" have reported to have felt depleted both mentally and emotionally. The more unfortunate victims suffer from a prolonged loss of energy and permanent damage to their general health and vitality. In certain severe cases it is claimed the prey might even suffer from very serious illness after having such an encounter. I cannot say I have witnessed anything of this sort. That notwithstanding, I have been aware of a small number of people who appear to be draining on one's energy when in their presence. Yet I suspect we have all experienced this at some time without necessarily attributing it to "psychic vampirism."

The Vampire Research Society has an interest in werewolfism and has investigated suspected cases in the British Isles and France, but it is impossible to know how common the affliction might be in such places as America and parts of Europe generally. This is largely because the lycanthrope/werewolf can fall under a number of different categories, some of them medical, and quite apart from the vampire. I met a woman in Highgate in the 1980s who believed she was turning into a werewolf, but actually suffered from an extreme form of lupus syndrome, which is a chronic inflammatory disease that occurs when the body's immune system attacks its own tissues and organs (auto-immunity). Inflammation caused by lupus syndrome can affect many different body systems, including joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, heart, and lungs. It occurs more frequently in women than in men, although the reasons for this are unknown. Four types of the condition exist — systemic lupus erythematosus, discoid lupus erythematosus, drug-induced lupus erythematosus and neo-natal lupus syndrome. Of these, systemic lupus erythematosus is the most common and serious form of lupus syndrome. These are medical conditions and not werewolfism.

Some people with lupus syndrome also have problems with their blood clotting too quickly. These people have anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome, lupus anti-coagulant or anti-cardiolipin. The condition is managed with blood thinner like coumadin or wafarin and must be carefully monitored. Lupus erythematosus is a connective tissue disease. There is also a mental illness called lycanthropy in which a patient believes he or she is, or has transformed into, an animal and behaves accordingly. This is sometimes referred to as clinical lycanthropy to distinguish it from its folkloric counterpart where the person has the apparent ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a wolf, or to gain wolf-like characteristics.

The term lycanthropy comes from the Greek lykánthropos (λυκάνθρωπος): λύκος, lýkos ("wolf") plus άνθρωπος, ánthrōpos ("human"). It is sometimes used generically for any transformation of a human into animal form, though the precise term for that is technically therianthropy. The werewolf may be regarded as a man or woman who, either of his or her own will through the black arts, is able to assume the hideous appetite, ferocity, cunning, and other qualities of the wolf; so that he or she will attack human beings in the same way as a wild animal. There are recorded instances where the person has taken on a wolf-like appearance. Werewolfism can be hereditary, or acquired through a demonic agency, but, unlike the vampire, werewolves are living persons either afflicted, or self-afflicted, with the malady that sometimes results in an apparent transformation. Vampires, on the other hand, are demonic entities in apparent corporeal form which manifest at night to feed of the blood of the living whereby their material appearance is maintained and indeed nourished. Whereas werewolves are people who assume a wolf-form and wolf-like behaviour.

The lycanthrope werewolf should not be confused with the voluntary werewolf, under whom for this consideration any form of apparent shape-shifting may be included. An essential prerequisite is a pact, formal or tacit, with a demonic agency. Such metamorphosis as that examplified in the voluntary werewolf can only be wrought by engagement in the dark arts. Shapeshifting is certainly not uncommon where demonic agencies are involved, and I have encountered this phenomenon in the course of my research and investigations.