Merticus
10-05-2006, 10:16 AM
http://www.lsureveille.com/media/storage/paper868/news/2006/10/02/Entertainment/Interview.With.A.Vampire-2319098.shtml
(http://www.lsureveille.com/media/storage/paper868/news/2006/10/02/Entertainment/Interview.With.A.Vampire-2319098.shtml)
Louisiana State University
The Daily Reveille - Online Ed.
Interview with a Vampire
Youth drawn to subculture
by Kelly Caulk
Issue date: 10/2/06
Section: Entertainment
Mark Arendas is an 18-year-old freshman at Appalachian State University. He enjoys war movies and cold weather. When he graduates, he wants to create video games and start a family.
Arendas also considers himself a vampire.
"I was drinking blood since I was about eight or nine, then in high school I knew I was a vampire," Arendas said.
He said his first blood-drinking experience followed a football injury.
"I was on the football team, and I got cut," he said. "I just liked the taste. But since football changed in my junior year, I stopped playing, and I stopped getting cut. I started to miss the taste, so I started to cut myself."
Wikipedia.org defines vampirism as "the practice of drinking blood from a person [or] animal." The Web site states, "vampirists do not necessarily obtain this energy from blood but will use other physical, spiritual or psychic means to obtain this energy."
Christina was part of a vampire coven in Bakersfield, Calif., for three years. She has chosen to keep her last name private for the safety of herself and her family after leaving the coven.
"Most of it was a bunch of high school kids sitting around trying to figure out who and what they were," she said.
Christina said she did not partake in drinking blood.
"I was a psychic vampire, which means that you feed off the energy of others," she said. "There is no blood drinking. Psychic vampires enjoy crowded clubs because they can feed off the energy there. If you are part of a coven, you feed off of their energies."
Christina said one way to obtain energy is by having sex with the coven members.
"Sex is one of those wonderful energies," she said.
Arendas said he drinks blood by cutting the palm of his hand because he does not have visible veins there. He said the pain does not bother him.
"There's a burning sensation, but I have a high tolerance of pain," Arendas said. "I've become S&M. Being gentle is relaxing sometimes, but if I want to really feel it, it has to be rough."
Arendas said the only person's blood he has drank besides his own is his ex-girlfriend's. He said he only draws his own blood once a month for fear of losing too much blood at one time. He said he usually drinks about a "shot glass" amount of blood each time he drinks and likes to have someone with him when he draws blood in case he cuts himself too deep.
Wikipedia states, "Safe bloodletting practices are highly encouraged within the community, including prerequisite blood tests to ensure the health and safety of the donor. It is generally believed that only one or two tablespoons are required for a feeding."
Arendas said blood makes him feel "energized" and called the taste "indescribable." He said drinking blood is different from alcohol because it makes him hyperactive.
Thecovenorganization.com describes blood as "power," "the source of life" and "liquid energy."
Arendas said that although he drinks blood, he does not have the desire to hurt any one or drink someone else's blood.
"I drink my own [blood]," he said. "I haven't found a blood bank who would give to me, and I don't trust drinking from others because of AIDS and HIV. Drinking from my ex[-girlfriend] was a bad idea."
Arendas said people are scared of him.
"I know they're scared of me," he said. "I've cleared a room with my looks. I've cleared a room with my laugh. I walked into a room filled with laughter and chatter then everything went silent. I think it's because of their petty fear, stupidity. I feel pissed off, like I'm close to being persecuted like a gay guy back in the '50s. At least gay guys have half the world on their side."
Arendas compared his feelings of being outcast to being in a war.
"I thought this war with society would finally be over, but I was wrong," he said. "They don't like that I'm a vampire, and I don't think they want me to spread the idea. I love war, but I'm getting sick of the war with society. I just want to be accepted."
He said he does not see a connection with the way he dresses and his vampire lifestyle.
"I don't have too much black stuff, but I want to," he said. "I like it, but I don't have it. I have started wearing eyeliner and black nail polish, but I just like the Goth look. I believe there's no connection between the gothic look and vampirism."
Christina said many members of her coven blended well into the gothic scene.
She said many of the coven members were young with two "headmen," or leaders, in their late 20s and early 30s.
One of the headmen in Christina's coven played his vampire role at all times, she said.
"Laurent never seemed to age," she said. "If it is an act, he played the part really well. I never saw him eat or drink, never saw him during the day, and he lived in a huge house with gates and guards."
Christina said she became active in the coven through her boyfriend.
"I was 18 and in high school and got into it through my boyfriend," she said. "Even after the relationship was over, I was stuck."
Arendas said he is currently in a relationship with a girl who is not a vampire.
He said his mother, who is a registered nurse, does not try to stop him from drinking blood.
"My mother thinks it's just a passing thing, so she goes along with it," he said. "She's been nursing for 30 years and teaches it now. She helped me by extracting my blood by needle, so I don't have to cut myself."
Arendas said his father does not know that he drinks blood, but he would not approve of it.
Arendas said he does not do any kind of illegal drugs because of his faith.
"I don't do any kind of drugs," he said. "I'm also on God's side; I'm Roman Catholic. There are very few of my kind."
He said Roman Catholicism plays a large role in his life.
"I lost my fear of death because of God, and Jesus is my closest friend," Arendas said. "He helped me out a few times."
Arendas said he is not offended by the cross being used as a symbol for warding off vampires.
"I've never seen [it] as a sign of hatred," he said. "I've seen it as a sign for protection against vampires, but that's Hollywood. It doesn't work. Stake through the heart, decapitation and being set ablaze - that works."
Arendas said that although he is a vampire, he spends his days just like any other college student.
"My days go about the same as your day would go," he said. "Just once a month I drink some blood."
New Orleans has gained the reputation, through movies and Anne Rice's "Interview With a Vampire," of being a gothic city, ideal for the vampire lifestyle. Sidney Smith, director of the New Orleans Haunted History Tours, said New Orleans has been the site of paranormal activity for years.
"New Orleans is the most haunted city in the country, and the city itself is a good atmosphere for that activity," he said.
Smith said the Haunted History Tours have vampire tours where they go through places in the French Quarter where scenes of movies have been shot or where there have been vampire-type crimes that have occurred. Smith said they have researched vampire culture and met people who think they are vampires.
"There are people we have interviewed who believe they have to drink other people's blood to survive," Smith said. "Whether they are real or not, I don't know."
Kalila Smith, founder of the New Orleans Paranormal & Occult Society and author of "Journey Into Darkness.... Ghosts & Vampires of New Orleans," said the New Orleans vampire culture was at its height in the mid '90s.
She said there is no longer a prevalent vampire culture in New Orleans, and the bad behavior of some vampires had to due with its disappearance.
"It probably died out because of all of the bad publicity with the murders it was associated with," she said.
-----
Contact Kelly Caulk at kcaulk@lsureveille.com
(http://www.lsureveille.com/media/storage/paper868/news/2006/10/02/Entertainment/Interview.With.A.Vampire-2319098.shtml)
Louisiana State University
The Daily Reveille - Online Ed.
Interview with a Vampire
Youth drawn to subculture
by Kelly Caulk
Issue date: 10/2/06
Section: Entertainment
Mark Arendas is an 18-year-old freshman at Appalachian State University. He enjoys war movies and cold weather. When he graduates, he wants to create video games and start a family.
Arendas also considers himself a vampire.
"I was drinking blood since I was about eight or nine, then in high school I knew I was a vampire," Arendas said.
He said his first blood-drinking experience followed a football injury.
"I was on the football team, and I got cut," he said. "I just liked the taste. But since football changed in my junior year, I stopped playing, and I stopped getting cut. I started to miss the taste, so I started to cut myself."
Wikipedia.org defines vampirism as "the practice of drinking blood from a person [or] animal." The Web site states, "vampirists do not necessarily obtain this energy from blood but will use other physical, spiritual or psychic means to obtain this energy."
Christina was part of a vampire coven in Bakersfield, Calif., for three years. She has chosen to keep her last name private for the safety of herself and her family after leaving the coven.
"Most of it was a bunch of high school kids sitting around trying to figure out who and what they were," she said.
Christina said she did not partake in drinking blood.
"I was a psychic vampire, which means that you feed off the energy of others," she said. "There is no blood drinking. Psychic vampires enjoy crowded clubs because they can feed off the energy there. If you are part of a coven, you feed off of their energies."
Christina said one way to obtain energy is by having sex with the coven members.
"Sex is one of those wonderful energies," she said.
Arendas said he drinks blood by cutting the palm of his hand because he does not have visible veins there. He said the pain does not bother him.
"There's a burning sensation, but I have a high tolerance of pain," Arendas said. "I've become S&M. Being gentle is relaxing sometimes, but if I want to really feel it, it has to be rough."
Arendas said the only person's blood he has drank besides his own is his ex-girlfriend's. He said he only draws his own blood once a month for fear of losing too much blood at one time. He said he usually drinks about a "shot glass" amount of blood each time he drinks and likes to have someone with him when he draws blood in case he cuts himself too deep.
Wikipedia states, "Safe bloodletting practices are highly encouraged within the community, including prerequisite blood tests to ensure the health and safety of the donor. It is generally believed that only one or two tablespoons are required for a feeding."
Arendas said blood makes him feel "energized" and called the taste "indescribable." He said drinking blood is different from alcohol because it makes him hyperactive.
Thecovenorganization.com describes blood as "power," "the source of life" and "liquid energy."
Arendas said that although he drinks blood, he does not have the desire to hurt any one or drink someone else's blood.
"I drink my own [blood]," he said. "I haven't found a blood bank who would give to me, and I don't trust drinking from others because of AIDS and HIV. Drinking from my ex[-girlfriend] was a bad idea."
Arendas said people are scared of him.
"I know they're scared of me," he said. "I've cleared a room with my looks. I've cleared a room with my laugh. I walked into a room filled with laughter and chatter then everything went silent. I think it's because of their petty fear, stupidity. I feel pissed off, like I'm close to being persecuted like a gay guy back in the '50s. At least gay guys have half the world on their side."
Arendas compared his feelings of being outcast to being in a war.
"I thought this war with society would finally be over, but I was wrong," he said. "They don't like that I'm a vampire, and I don't think they want me to spread the idea. I love war, but I'm getting sick of the war with society. I just want to be accepted."
He said he does not see a connection with the way he dresses and his vampire lifestyle.
"I don't have too much black stuff, but I want to," he said. "I like it, but I don't have it. I have started wearing eyeliner and black nail polish, but I just like the Goth look. I believe there's no connection between the gothic look and vampirism."
Christina said many members of her coven blended well into the gothic scene.
She said many of the coven members were young with two "headmen," or leaders, in their late 20s and early 30s.
One of the headmen in Christina's coven played his vampire role at all times, she said.
"Laurent never seemed to age," she said. "If it is an act, he played the part really well. I never saw him eat or drink, never saw him during the day, and he lived in a huge house with gates and guards."
Christina said she became active in the coven through her boyfriend.
"I was 18 and in high school and got into it through my boyfriend," she said. "Even after the relationship was over, I was stuck."
Arendas said he is currently in a relationship with a girl who is not a vampire.
He said his mother, who is a registered nurse, does not try to stop him from drinking blood.
"My mother thinks it's just a passing thing, so she goes along with it," he said. "She's been nursing for 30 years and teaches it now. She helped me by extracting my blood by needle, so I don't have to cut myself."
Arendas said his father does not know that he drinks blood, but he would not approve of it.
Arendas said he does not do any kind of illegal drugs because of his faith.
"I don't do any kind of drugs," he said. "I'm also on God's side; I'm Roman Catholic. There are very few of my kind."
He said Roman Catholicism plays a large role in his life.
"I lost my fear of death because of God, and Jesus is my closest friend," Arendas said. "He helped me out a few times."
Arendas said he is not offended by the cross being used as a symbol for warding off vampires.
"I've never seen [it] as a sign of hatred," he said. "I've seen it as a sign for protection against vampires, but that's Hollywood. It doesn't work. Stake through the heart, decapitation and being set ablaze - that works."
Arendas said that although he is a vampire, he spends his days just like any other college student.
"My days go about the same as your day would go," he said. "Just once a month I drink some blood."
New Orleans has gained the reputation, through movies and Anne Rice's "Interview With a Vampire," of being a gothic city, ideal for the vampire lifestyle. Sidney Smith, director of the New Orleans Haunted History Tours, said New Orleans has been the site of paranormal activity for years.
"New Orleans is the most haunted city in the country, and the city itself is a good atmosphere for that activity," he said.
Smith said the Haunted History Tours have vampire tours where they go through places in the French Quarter where scenes of movies have been shot or where there have been vampire-type crimes that have occurred. Smith said they have researched vampire culture and met people who think they are vampires.
"There are people we have interviewed who believe they have to drink other people's blood to survive," Smith said. "Whether they are real or not, I don't know."
Kalila Smith, founder of the New Orleans Paranormal & Occult Society and author of "Journey Into Darkness.... Ghosts & Vampires of New Orleans," said the New Orleans vampire culture was at its height in the mid '90s.
She said there is no longer a prevalent vampire culture in New Orleans, and the bad behavior of some vampires had to due with its disappearance.
"It probably died out because of all of the bad publicity with the murders it was associated with," she said.
-----
Contact Kelly Caulk at kcaulk@lsureveille.com