Llewellyn Worldwide - Vampires in Their Own Words: Excerpt

"I Never Drink...Wine"

These were the famous words spoken by Bela Lugosi in his classic role of the vampire in the 1931 film Dracula. During the film's original release, at the end of the movie, the actor who played Dr. Van Helsing speaks to the audience, saying, "There really aren't such things as vampires!" That part of the movie was eventually cut from the version seen today. Perhaps it was cut because it wasn't true. Vampires are real.

Michelle Belanger reveals that "beneath the surface of our materialistic and mundane world, there exists a secret underground culture. It is a culture of vampires." This is not her imagination or something she invented. It is very real. Around the world there are many thousands of people who call themselves vampires. She has managed to get more than two dozen to break their silence and reveal their inner thoughts and feelings in Vampires in Their Own Words.

In this tasty book you'll discover what vampires think of their own beliefs and practices. You'll learn:

+ What is a real vampire
+ The different types of vampires
+ How to determine if you're a vampire
+ The myths and facts of vampires and feeding
+ The secrets of vampire communities
+ Vampire codes of behavior
+ Vampire traditions
+ Vampires and Paganism

As you study their words, you'll see that these vampires are not delusional or sociopathic. Rather, they have come to discover their own paths and accepted stringent codes of ethics.

Vampires and Psychic Vampires
When most books discuss vampires, they usually limit themselves to "psychic vampires" of the worst kind. Such psychic vampires will drain you of energy, and several books include ways to identify such people and give techniques of protecting yourself from them. Vampires in Their Own Words goes far beyond that elementary level. It acknowledges that such people exist, but that in most cases the donors of energy are willing! The donor often has an abundance of such life energy and it can be a blessing to have another make use of the excess. The relationship between such a vampire and donor can be very deep and spiritually meaningful. But this book doesn't stop there.

There really are vampires who feed on blood. Sometimes they'll drink the blood of animals from butcher shops. Sometimes they'll drink their own blood. And sometimes, they will drink the blood of a willing donor. According to one such donor, this "is a wonderful, empowering addition to one's life that can bring health, friendship, companionship, and freedom from worry of ridicule and revulsion."

Vampires and True Occultism
Although most writings about vampires are fiction, there is also evidence of vampirism among real occultists. Perhaps the most famous instance was of an occultist who bit the wrist of an heiress he had just met. She later wrote that when she looked at her wrist she saw three red dots, even though she had not felt them being made. She had no idea how he did it. The name of the occultist: Aleister Crowley. You can read about the entire incident in Vampires in Their Own Words.

You'll also read the story of Mora, a Tarot reader, writer, model, and speaker. She shares how she found Paganism through reading a book by Scott Cunningham. But she was also interested in the Gothic subculture and Dark Paganism, eventually leading to vampirism. She now believes that with "time, tolerance and understanding, there is no reason the two communities can't function together as a unified whole." Discover her entire story in this book.

Belanger is also the author of the famous book, The Psychic Vampire Codex. She may have been the only person capable of bringing together all these people to produce this book. Read the words of real vampires, discover their history, and find out if you're a vampire—or a donor—just waiting to find a partner!