Popular Spiritualities

The Politics of Contemporary Enchantment

Lynne Hume, Kathleen McPhillips

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN: 9781351909976
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

In our contemporary post-modern world, popular forms of spirituality are increasingly engaging with notions of re-enchantment - of self and community. Not only are narratives of re-enchantment appearing in popular culture at the personal and spiritual level, but also they are often accompanied by a pragmatic approach that calls for political activism and the desire to change the world to incorporate these new ideas. Drawing on case studies of particular groups, including pagans, witches, radical faeries, post-modern tourists, and queer and goddess groups, contributors from Australia, the UK and North America discuss various forms of spirituality and how they contribute to self-knowledge, identity, and community life. The book documents an emerging engagement between new quasi-religious groups and political action, eco-paganism, post-colonial youth culture and alternative health movements to explore how social change emerges.

Part 1
Re-enchantment Tropes in Popular Culture

Chapter 1
Liminal Beings and the Undead: Vampires in the 21st Century

Lynne Hume

When I was a young child my mother read me fairy stories. Tucked up in my cosy bed, my imagination was filled with gnomes wheeling barrows full of gold, fairies with gossamer wings, elves with pointed shoes, and princesses with flowing golden hair. Later, when I was older, my parents took me with them to the movies on a Saturday night, and when I came home I would stare in the mirror and imagine I was the glamorous star of the movie I had just seen. It did not matter that the face reflected back at me was that of an eight-year-old girl; to me, that face had been transformed, and for a short time I could believe that I was indeed a woman of great beauty. My imaginary world was one I could move into at will – a good distance from the mundane suburbs of a big city.

The playful imagination has been explained as the capacity to extend the imagination and to place oneself in an ‘illusionistic world of the mythical and the metaphorical’ (Pruyser, cited in Bainbridge, 1997, p.9). Theorists such as Singer (1995) tell us that the make-believe play of children has a dimension that can be termed the realm of the possible, which lets them entertain the possibility of alternative actions and life situations. In much current, popular spirituality, there is an element of make-believe that allows such a possibility to be entertained by adults. Indeed they may arrive at a new belief system that seems to answer epistemological questions and provide a new self-identity and a new type of community. What I am interested in is the process of legitimation¹ (Berger, 1969, pp.29–34) that can occur among individuals and groups of people who become ensconced in a fantasy world and use it to re-enchant their everyday world. At first their imagination may be sparked by fictional characters and plots or by role-playing games, then they may move to dressing up and acting out their fantasies in the company of others. If they go a step further, by taking role-playing seriously, a new lifestyle or even a new belief system might present itself as a possibility. I will be using as a case study of this process the world of contemporary ‘vampires’. I ask: why are people in the twenty-first century calling themselves vampires? Do they believe that they are indeed ‘real’ vampires, and if so, how do they arrive at this self-identification? And how do they rationalize their sense of self to others?

Contemporary Vampire Culture

The vampires of Bram Stoker’s (1897) Dracula might not recognize their modern counterparts. The nineteenth century vampires of European folklore were undead corpses who dwelt in graves or crypts by day, roamed about at night, and returned to their sleeping places before sunrise. During their night vigils they would search for unwilling victims from whom to drink the living blood they needed to survive. Sunlight was anathema to them, mirrors did not reflect their image, and they could be kept at bay by crucifixes and garlic.

The present-day vampire subculture grew out of the Gothic movement of the 1970s, a youth culture that celebrated death, the dark side of existence, the macabre, the occult, blood, and vampires.² These ‘Goths’ were largely the product of a combination of rock music, movies, fiction (eighteenth and nineteenth century Gothic literature and horror literature), and role-playing games. Later, when the Internet enabled ideas to spread rapidly and widely, vampires came to form only a small part of Gothic interest, and present-day vampires are not necessarily Gothic. The focus on vampires developed more fully in the 1980s and 1990s, due in no small part to the increasing interest in fantasy literature and role-playing games and to the widespread use of the Internet.

Many of today’s vampires model themselves on the erotic and glamorous vampire figures of novelist Anne Rice rather than on the Bram Stoker figure of old. Sarah (www.darksites.com/souls/vampires/vampdonor/essays/roses.html) admits that she had absolutely no interest in vampires whatsoever until she read Anne Rice books when she was nineteen. Rice’s books, which include Interview with the Vampire (1977), The Vampire Lestat: the second book in the Chronicles of the Vampire (1985) and The Queen of the Damned: the third book in the Vampire Chronicles (1990), are acknowledged by many as important in promoting a different image of the vampire:

These days, partially due to contemporary authors such as Anne Rice, vampires have shed much of their superstitious air and come to embody the darker desires of humanity’s ideal. The vampire has become a sensual creature of passion and beauty, immortally young, powerful, and free of inhibition… (www.darkwaver.com/subculture/blood-drink.php)

As a genre, fantasy literature is powerful and evocative. The works of J. K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkein, Ursula Le Guin, C. S. Lewis, Anne Rice, Bram Stoker, Terry Pratchett and Marion Bradley, to name only a few, describe enchanted realms where we can transcend our mundane selves and share in the adventures of mythical heroes and fantastic creatures. Myth, suggests Andrew Schopp (1997, p.232), ‘constitutes a mirror that reflects shifting cultural desires and fears’. The vampire myth provides readers with the possibility of subverting the social order (by challenging socially-imposed barriers) and of experiencing ‘both sublimated and conscious desires’ (Schopp, 1997, p.232). ‘A fantastic narrative reality’, writes Eric Rabkin (1976), ‘speaks the truth of the human heart’. It leads the reader into a ‘keener self-understanding’, says Timmerman (www.religion-online.org/cgibin/relsearchd.d11/showarticle!item_id+1809, p.3). Indeed, the crucial significance of fantasy literature is often an interior spiritual one of self-realization. Fantasy literature as a genre has the capacity to move a reader powerfully and it often affects his or her personal beliefs, ways of viewing life, hopes, dreams and faith. Authors of fantasy, adds Timmerman, are often ‘visionaries of the spiritual nature of man’. David Keyworth’s (2002) findings on the vampire subculture seem to confirm that vampire fantasy literature has had a powerful effect on many of today’s youth, who have made it the basis of their belief system.

Around 1990, role-playing games such as Ravenloft and Dungeons and Dragons spurred interest in acting out fictional characters and events. In 1992, the White Wolf Company introduced a role-playing game called Vampire: The Masquerade (V:TM), which requires players to act out a variety of vampire roles (Keyworth, 2002, p.304). Role-playing games, in general, involve the creative acting-out of fantasy and imaginary situations. Players often identify strongly with their characters (http://members.ozemail.com.au/~tarim/rpg/workshp0.htm), exploring what it would be like to be a different personality and to push beyond limitations of a moral or physical nature. Role-playing is cathartic: violence is permitted, yet only symbolically, so no-one gets hurt; enemies can be killed, yet there are no (actual) reprisals. Anything is possible. Some role-players say that in a virtual world subconscious fears can be brought to the surface and faced, and dreams can become animated. (http://members.ozemail.com.au/~tarim/rpg/workshp0.htm).

In Vampire: The Masquerade, players adopt a favourite persona (sometimes based on the vampire novels of Anne Rice), each with its own affiliations and attributes, and act out their characters in the company of others. The Masquerade characters and plots are a significant model for many contemporary vampires and the impetus for numerous vampire websites from 1992 onwards. Many of the vampire groups model their lifestyles on this role-playing game, although some are loath to admit this and explicitly state that they are not game players. When asked how she felt about role-playing versus real vampirism, Sangi (of the Sanguinarius) replied: ‘I think that V:TM does have some very good ideas on vampiric culture … some of the materials they have created could be useful as “inspiration” and ideas for developing and shaping the vamp community into an actual culture for ourselves and our future generations’. But although Sangi neither advocates nor discourages role-playing, she notes that: ‘Anybody who happens to be a real vampire who DOES play the vampire RPG games is summarily blacklisted by others’. A role-player, continues Sangi, ‘has come to stand to mean a poser or fake’ (Vampire Church, March 2004, p.4).

Who is a ‘Real’ Vampire?

Vampire groups are diverse and their beliefs about concepts such as blood, dress, and lifestyle vary considerably.³ The vampire subculture consists of vampire game role-players, people who believe they really are vampires, willing blood-donors, and occult-based and mystically-oriented groups (Keyworth, 2002, p.356). There are magazines (for example, Bloodstone, Bite Me, Bloodlines) that focus specifically on items of interest to vampires, and there are commercial providers of customized fanged teeth and Gothic-style clothes. Numerous websites offer information on vampires, and chat-rooms are available for anyone interested in delving further into the topic. According to Stephen Kaplan of the Vampire Research Center, New York, there are four types of vampires: ‘true vampires’ who drink blood every day and see themselves as having a different genetic and metabolic make-up to ‘normal’ people; ‘blood-fetishists’ who use blood as a fetish for sadomasochistic sex; ‘psychic vampires’ who feed upon the psychic energy of others (and do not necessarily drink blood); and ‘vampire-like people’, pretenders who like to dress Gothic style, sleep in coffins, and copy fictional vampires (Kaplan, 1984, pp.147–153). The latter often participate in role-playing games and on occasions may consume blood.

Identity and Blood

Blood was essential for the continued existence of the nineteenth century vampire, and the consumption of blood appears also to be at the heart of contemporary vampirism. Some of the other nineteenth century vampire ‘criteria’ have, however, been modified by contemporary fans. One said that many of today’s ‘vampires’ ‘love the taste of garlic’, ‘have had holy water on their skin’ and ‘used mirrors’ – all without ill effect – and that:

Many of us are highly sensitive to the sun and burn rather easily, but we don’t burst into flames or any such nonsense. … What IS true is that vampires require ingestion of blood on a somewhat regular basis to function properly physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Forget trying to repel us by showing us crosses; many of us wear and/or own them. If you are looking for our sleeping place, don’t expect a coffin; though some people do have them just for effect, the majority of us prefer a nice cosy bed with a little room to move around, just like anyone else (www.geocities.com/vampirereality/QandA.html).

There is much dispute about what the consumption of blood actually means. Some have convinced themselves that they crave and need blood in order to survive, some insist that only human blood should be consumed, others substitute human blood with animal blood or blood squeezed from meat bought at a supermarket; yet others say that symbolic blood-substitutes, such as red cordial, are entirely adequate.

To the question, ‘How do I know if I’m a vampire?’ the response inevitably turns to the issue of blood consumption. It is a question often asked of vampire website owners. The answer, according to one website, is straightforward:

Do you feel a need to ingest blood?

Do you suffer physically, mentally, and psychically when you have not ingested blood recently?

Does your ingestion of blood result in improved physical, mental, and psychic function?

If you answered ‘yes’ to all of these, chances are better than not that you are a vampire. (www.geocities/com/vampirereality/AmIaVampire.html)

Another person’s response to the question ‘do vampires really drink blood?’ is:

Yes they do. There are some who call themselves psi-vamps who do not drink blood, but real vampires not only drink blood, but NEED to do so in order to maintain ‘normal’ function. They do not do it just as a sexual stimulus, but actually need it to not feel crummy and/or sick (www.geocities.com/vampirereality.QandA.html)

Some even talk about ‘bloodrage’ or ‘bloodlust’ as an overwhelming desire that ‘pervades their consciousness’ but say they ‘work very hard at controlling [their] needs so that [they] never become a danger to others’ (www.geocities.com/vampirereality/QandA.html).

When Sangi, who runs a group called the Sanguinarius Vampires, first came into contact with other people who claimed they were vampires, she discovered self-descriptions that ‘ranged anywhere from those with a blood fetish to those who claimed to be several hundred years old’. As well, ‘there were those among them who seemed to be something close to what I was’. For Sangi, who calls herself a ‘blood vampire’ or ‘sanguinarian’, the issue of human blood is very important:

Hell, it’s got to be right from the vein. I’ve got to suck it out myself. I’m beginning to think, however, that there is something more than just blood that I need⁴… If I tried to feed psychically, I can’t. I do not consider myself a psi-vamp or a psychic vampire. Just a vampire. I am a blood vampire or sanguinarian. There is nothing else quite like feeding on blood… fresh blood would be the only thing to satisfy. (Vampire Church, 2004)

While Sangi thinks that meat from the store is ‘dead’, other vampires insist that human blood is not necessary; indeed, they refer to the drinking of human blood as cannibalism. One of the rules explicitly stated on The Temple of the Vampire website is, ‘No drinking physical blood’ (http://www.vampiretemple.com/law.html). It is generally acknowledged that some try drinking blood just out of curiosity and experimentation, and others for the erotic experience:

Sex is a way to share yourself with your partner. For some people, blood drinking can also be a part of this sharing experience. Often it is viewed as a more deeply bonding and erotic way to experience the essence of another person. (www.darkwaver.com/subculture/blood-drink.php)

A strong sexual element pervades most of the website chat-rooms and vampire narratives. ‘Feeding’ on one’s sexual partner seems to be a highly erotic exercise for many. Sarah explains:

I used to feed primarily during sexual contact. I was like a succubus. I’d go on the prowl for lovers, nearly always getting what I wanted and have to turn down ten times as many suitors as I accepted …I would get high o...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Plates
• Contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part 1 Re-enchantment Tropes in Popular Culture
• Part 2 Queer Enchantment and Religious Borderlands
• Part 3 Disrupting the Rational: Enchantment as Political Response
• Index