This brings me to the reason and definition of a "Psychic Vampire". This actually has a double meaning. Satanically speaking, a Psychic Vampire is one who purposely will draw your emotions to them just to make themselves feel good. They will feel sorrow so that you will comfort them or they will show you love just for the purpose of receiving it in return. The second type of Psychic Vampire would be more directed along the line of mysticism and magick. A Psychic Vampire is not one who feeds on blood, but rather one who draws the energy force from their victims body. This can be voluntarily or without knowing it. A person who just seems to wear you out when you are around them would fall into this category. Psychic Vampire can also have malicious intent, but generally there's not much to fear as most are not very proficient and a "psychic draining" is not fatal. These two meaning indeed differ greatly. The first is a more obnoxious, annoying person who deserves a heart of stone to block their worthless attempts. The second, however, is open to the mind of the individual. It's hard to say if this even exists, but many would say it does. If it is a true form of magick then there are ways to protect yourself. Either case, Psychic Vampires exist, so take caution.

Actual Vampirism including drinking of blood is a much more different story. I have received various e-mails about people asking me what it is to be a vampire, how blood affects you, and if I personally believe in the many myths and legends. Well, I'll start off with a very simple fact. It is most dangerous to go around pretending to be a story-book vampire when you indeed are not one. As soon as you end up breaking your legs jumping off of a building, or being jailed for attempting to bite someone, you will find this out. Being slightly vampiric or perhaps somewhat gothic is one thing, but let fantasy be where it belongs. If, however, you truly are a vampire- then go ahead and do what you want. As far as drinking blood goes, here are some general rules which you should take into consideration:

The first is that People Need Blood to Survive. They need their own blood. If you and someone decide to engage in vampiric activity, please remember that a deep cut can be extremely damaging, and drinking blood after you have lost a lot will not do anything except make you sick to your stomach and maybe make you pass out from blood loss. People can not regain blood through ingestion. This brings me to my next point.

As far as Consuming Blood is concerned, the medical breakdown can be summed up very briefly like this. The consumption of blood frequently and/or large amounts can result in serious health risks. Many throat and other infections can be the result of drinking blood. If you enjoy it, please remember that moderation truly should be in effect here. I would not recommend some regular blood drinking time, but I would suggest not more than every two weeks, and even then do not drink in excessive amounts. If you merely lick a scratch, then I think you will be ok. I refer in this section more to the people who drink a glass of blood (believe me, there are some) every so often.

Myths and Legends are also very interesting. Indeed there are many good vampire book and stories out there. As far as if they are true, I say this: to a real vampire, perhaps all of these are true. Perhaps some. Clearly you can be in the sun, clearly you can take being on holy ground and the sight of crucifixes does not repel you.(as far as the stake through the heart goes, well...just take my word that this is a normal thing) However no one is stopping you from being a vampire. There are many types, as you have seen. Mythical vampires, which providing interesting reading, do not parallel the "mortal" vampire. So it's okay to go out in the sun. In fact, the sun provides vitamins to you which help you, sun deficiency is not a nice thing to happen. It can bring depression, and mood swings. Keep the vampire books on shelf, and your mind in the right place, and you'll be fine.