Vampires Today: The Truth About Modern Vampirism
Joseph Laycock

The academic and sociological significance of this work can't be underscored
enough. Laycock offers a sweeping scholarly examination of the vampire community
and the process of self-identification as a vampire. He counters many of the
negative stereotypes of the vampire community and posits thought-provoking
arguments regarding ontological diversity. I strongly encourage everyone to
obtain a copy of this book and link to it as a resource for vampirism and the
vampire community.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0313364729/sanguinarius

Praeger Publishers: http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/C36472.aspx

Religion Dispatches Article:
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/rdbook/1438/modern_vampires%3A_your_ne\
ighbors_and_spouses/?page=1

Vampires Today: The Truth About Modern Vampirism
Joseph Laycock

Chapter 1: What Is a Vampire? or, The Varieties of Vampiric Experience
Chapter 2: Why Vampires?
Chapter 3: The Vampire Milieu
Chapter 4: Initiatory Vampire Groups: Vampirism as Apotheosis
Chapter 5: The Vampire Community
Chapter 6: Vampirism and Religion, a Dialogue
Chapter 7: Out of the Shadows
Chapter 8: Vampires and the Modern
Bibliography & Index

Names You May Recognize (Mentioned and/or Contributed Material):

Atlanta Vampire Alliance, Daemonox, D'Drennan, Don Henrie, Dozens of
Groups/Houses/etc. (House Dark Haven, House Eclipse, House Kheperu, House of the
Dreaming, House Pantheon, House Quinotaur, House Sahjaza, Temple of the Vampire,
Order of the Vampyre, Ordo Strigoi Vii, etc.), Eclecta, Father Sebastiaan,
Father Vincent, Goddess Rosemary, J. Gordon Melton, Kiera, Lady CG, Lady Dark
Rose, Lord Alistair, Madame X, Maloryn, Martin Riccardo, Merticus, Michelle
Belanger, Nicholas, Sanguinarius, Sarah Dorrance, Shadowlore, SoulSplat,
SphynxCatVP, Stephen O'Mallie, Vlad & Sky, Voices of the Vampire Community,
Vyrdolak, & Zilchy

Inside Cover:

Vampires are not just the stuff of folklore and fiction. This book explores the
modern world of vampirism in all its variety.

Around the globe, untold numbers of people are identifying as "vampires" and
following the ways of "vampirism". But what does it mean to be a vampire? Is
vampirism a religion? Is it a fantasy? Is it a medical condition? Based upon
extensive interviews with members of the Atlanta Vampire Alliance and others
within vampire communities throughout the United States, Vampires Today looks at
the many expressions of vampirism.

In the past two decades, modern vampirism has come under increased study, yet
most scholarship has portrayed the vampire community as a cultural phenomenon
or, at worst, as a religious cult. Having interviewed many vampires across the
country, both "lifestylers" and "real", even those "reluctants" who try not to
be vampires, Laycock argues that today's vampires are best understood as an
identity group and that vampirism has caused a profound change in how
individuals choose to define themselves. As vampires come "out of the closet",
either as followers of a "religion" or "lifestyle" or as people biologically
distinct from other humans, their confrontation with mainstream society will
raise questions about the definition of "normal" and what it means to be human.

In this book, readers will meet "lifestyle vampires", who adopt a culture and a
gothic ascetic associated with the vampires of art and legend. They will be
introduced to "real" vampires, who feel that they must actually consume blood
and/or psychic energy for their well-being. They will hear from members of the
Atlanta Vampire Alliance, and they will learn about the Order of the Vampyre,
the Ordo Strigoi Vii, and the Temple of the Vampire.

There is no doubt that anyone who reads this book will find the details of real
vampire life -- including vampire role-playing games, grimoires, "vampyre"
balls, vampire houses like House Sahjaza and House Kheperu, the vampire "caste"
system, and other details -- utterly fascinating.