If you are here, perhaps you are a vampire in search of more information about "your own kind." Or perhaps you are new to all this and are wondering about "real" vampires - what are we? are you one? what do we do? There are plenty of links for you here. Please forgive me for being long winded, and I hope you find what you were looking for.

Or maybe you are a donor, in search of more information about how to make the relationship run smoothly/stay healthy, or in search of a vampire of your own, or are in a relationship and want to see more information about people like you. Alas, I don't have much of this. DONORS, I NEED YOUR HELP! Would you like to see your work (and possibly your name) in print? Send me articles, please. I am in dire need.

I was asked by a friend how I would handle donors who wanted to make "the ultimate sacrifice" - allowing themselves to be drained dry, with or without possibility of resurrection as a vampire - I don't know. First of all, the "drain and resurrect" technique is pure fiction, so if you are entertaining the thought of being "turned" that way, forget it. It is true that a near death experience can often catalyse an inner streak of vampirism, but actual death will only kill you. Secondly, I have to wonder about the sort of person that would want to be killed in intimate activity. I hope I never have to deal with the situation. I am a firm believer in the right to commit suicide, but I don't want to be personally involved!

Anyway, here are the essays. I've tried to organize them. I apologize for a bias towards sanguinarian vampires, and towards a genetic theory of vampirism, and towards a certain spiritual viewpoint - again, these are all my own ramblings, so naturally there's a certain selfishness in here. I want to be more inclusive. Psi-vamps, lifestyle vampyres, etc are urged to send me articles. I want to build a sort of encyclopaedia here. The more material I can collect, the better.

How do I know I'm a vampire?

Debunking myths about vampires
The first time: memories of feeding
The hunger: a graphic description (not for the prudish or squeamish)
How to be a period Renaissance vampire in the SCA or Ren faires
Do we have special powers?
More on "special powers"
BDSM, vampirism, and sexual "otherness">
Vampires and same sex relations (emphasis on lesbian)
Safer feeding techniques (sanguinarian)
Another one of my bloodplay safety articles, this one on Amy Krieytaz' server
Methods of Bloodletting: a donor's perspective (Ingrid Blackmore)
Do you have an affinity for weather patterns?
Everyday trials/tribulations
"Coming out of the coffin"

Dracula, catharsis, and tragedy
Vampirism and Lycanthropy: The Connexion (by Windsilver Wolf)
What is it with vampires and ROSES? A look at the new semiotic motif (and a rambling autobiographical essay)
Genetic theory of vampirism
If I were offered immortality in exchange for my soul, or my beloved, would I take it?
More on immortality issues
What is the "vampire nature?"
Vampires, Satanism, and witchcraft
Witchcraft and occult theory
Esoteric philosophy and spiritual issues of vampirism
Wicca, vampirism, and linguistics

Pretty Goth eye candy and the Goth aesthetic
Goth culture - do we fit in?
Gothicism in vampiric lit of the 1800's
White Wolf, pop fiction, and images of the vampire
White Wolf, role playing, and all that
Why I am strongly against pretending to be fictional (as opposed to merely lifestyling)
White Wolf and its effect on our subculture

Some issues regarding fatigue
A really silly theory regarding HIV. Heed it at your own risk!
Coping with migraines
Vampirism and pregnancy

On Darksites, I write articles under the name of Mistress...and co-edit.

© 1999 by Sarah Dorrance (click here to send e-mail)