\"The People Who Drink Human Blood\" - BBC

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In Depth Psychology Medicine

The people who drink humanbloodIn most major cities around the world, communities of ordinarypeople – nurses, bar staff, secretaries – are drinking human bloodon a regular basis. The question is, why?

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BBC - Future - The people who drink human blood http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20151021-the-people-who-drink-human-blood

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In the French quarter of New Orleans, John EdgarBrowning is about to take part in a "feeding". It begins asclinically as a medical procedure. His acquaintance firstswabs a small patch on Browning’s upper back withalcohol. He then punctures it with a disposable hobbyscalpel, and squeezes until the blood starts flowing.Lowering his lips to the wound, Browning's associate nowstarts lapping up the wine-dark liquid. “He drank it a fewtimes, then cleaned and bandaged me,” Browning saystoday.

To Browning’s bemusement, he was not quite to his host’staste. “He said my blood was not as metallic as it shouldhave been – so he was a little disappointed,” he recalls;apparently, diet, hydration and blood group can all make asubtle difference to the flavour. After they had cleaned up,the pair went to a charity dinner in aid of the homeless.

A self-confessed “needle-phobe”, Browning had not been

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By David Robson21 October 2015

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"There are thousands ofpeople drinking bloodin the US alone

looking forward to the feeding. “I’m actually pretty fearful ofanything sharp approaching my skin,” he says. But as aresearcher at Louisiana State University, he was willing togo through with it for his latest project: an ethnographicstudy of the New Orleans “real vampire” community.

Was the blood-feeding a religiousritual, a delusion, or a fetish?Before he had met any vampires,Browning suspected they had justblurred the line between fact andfiction. “I’d assumed that thesepeople were bonkers and had justread too many Anne Rice

novels.”

By the time he had offered himself as a donor, however, hisopinions had taken a U-turn. Many real-life vampires haveno belief in the paranormal and have little more than apassing knowledge of True Blood or Dracula; nor do theyappear to have any psychiatric issues. Instead, they claimto suffer from a strange medical condition – fatigue,headaches, and excruciating stomach pain – which, theybelieve, can only be treated by feeding on another human’sblood.

Deadly if you believe it – and contagious

How you can be made to believe in demonsThe people with ‘blindsight’ who see the world likeHow saving a tooth cost a man his mindThe strange consequences of 'alexithymia'

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“There are thousands of people doing this in just the USalone, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence, and I don’t thinkit’s a fad,” says Browning. Their symptoms and behaviourare a genuine mystery.

For many, real-life vampirism is a taboo; over the last fewdecades, it has come to be associated with gruesomemurders such as the notorious case of Rod Ferrell in theUS, a deluded killer apparently inspired by a fantasyrole-playing game. “When people talk about self-identifiedvampires, a lot of times these horrible images come tomind,” says DJ Williams, a sociologist at Idaho StateUniversity. “So the community has been closed andsuspicious of outsiders.” As a result of the stigma, thevampires I've contacted online have asked me to usealiases within this article.

It was not always this way; across history, we can findcases where human blood was considered a bona-fidemedical cure. At the end of the 15th Century, for instance,Pope Innocent VIII’s physician allegedly bled three young

(Credit: Olivia Howitt)

So-called "medical sanguinarians" claim that regular shots of blood relievethem of fatigue, headaches and severe stomach pains (Credit: OliviaHowitt)

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"From what we can tell,most major citiesacross the world seemto have a vampirecommunity – DJWilliams, sociologist

men to death and fed their blood (still warm) to his dyingmaster, with the hope that it might pass on their youthfulvitality.

Later on, it was used to treatepilepsy; the afflicted wereencouraged to gather around thegallows and collect the warmblood dripping from recentlyexecuted criminals. “Blood was amedium between the physical andspiritual,” explains Richard Suggat the University of Durham, whorecently wrote a book on “corpsemedicine” and who is currently

writing a volume on vampirism. By drinking the blood of ahealthy young man, he says, you were imbibing his spiritand curing whatever afflicted your soul. These treatmentsonly fell out of favour following the Enlightenment, and theonset of a more general sense of prudery that took hold inthe 18th and 19th Centuries.

Self-identified vampires come from all walks of life. Many have families,regular jobs, and even go to church (Credit: Olivia Howitt)

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And yet, the practice seems to have lived on among a smallgroup of people. Before the Age of the Internet, they werelargely isolated, but through dedicated webpages they havenow forged thriving underground networks. “From what wecan tell, most major cities across the world seem to have avampire community,” says Williams.

Thanks to their fear of exposure, these communities havebecome adept at hiding, a barrier Browning faced when hestarted his study. “This is not a population who are askingto be found,” he says. He was living in Baton Rouge,Louisiana, at the time, just an hour’s drive from NewOrleans, a city famed for its vibrant subcultures. Herealised that if he was ever going to get the chance to meeta real vampire, it was now.

Walking the streets at day and night, he began to home inon the places (typically goth clubs) where vampires mighthang out. Even at the beginning, he was not too scaredabout the characters he would meet. “It helps being a guywho is 6ft 4in, and 220lbs,” he says. In fact, his biggestconcern was not his own safety, but the vampires. “Youcould ‘out’ them,” he says – potentially putting theirpersonal and professional lives in jeopardy.

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"When she smiled, I sawtwo fangs protrudingover her lips. Theywere atrociously sharp– John EdgarBrowning, researcher

Eventually, he found himselftalking about his project to theowner of a goth clothes shop,who subtly pointed out a womanstanding with her two children inone of the aisles. So Browningsidled up to her, and told herabout his study of vampires.“Finally she smiled, and said ‘Ithink I might know a few’,” herecalls. “And when she smiled, Isaw two fangs protruding over her

lips.” They were, he says, “atrociously sharp”. Although hesubsequently lost contact with “Jennifer”, the encounterencouraged him to proceed, and he eventually formed goodrelationships with a large group of vampires, whom heinterviewed regularly.

In fact, the deeper he delved, the wider and more colourfulthe spectrum of personalities he uncovered. Although somedo wear fangs and sleep in coffins, most take very littleinterest in the books and films. “This was the late 2000sand they weren’t even watching True Blood!” he says withdisbelief. “These people knew about as much as theaverage person about vampire literature and cinema.”

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"The identity ‘vampire’means little to nothingto us. However, whenwe are blood drinkers,the label is impossible

Vampirism, it seems, comes in many shades. The blood-feeding community held jobs as bar staff, secretaries andnurses; some were church-going Christians, othersatheists; often, they were very altruistic. “Vampires aren'talways skulking around graveyards, attending gothnightclubs, or feasting at blood orgies,” explains onevampire named “Merticus”. “There are real vampireorganisations who feed the homeless, volunteer in animalrescue groups, and who take up any number of socialcauses.”

Importantly, while some vampiresare looking for psychic energythat gives them strength, others(known as “med sangs” ormedical sanguinarians) believetheir need for blood is purelyphysiological. “The identity‘vampire’ means little to nothingto us,” says one med sang knownas “CJ!” (the exclamation mark is

Drinking blood can be fetishised, and vampires sometimes have sexualrelationships with their donors. Many donors, however, are simplywell-meaning friends (Credit: Olivia Howitt)

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to shake – CJ!, blood-drinker

"After consuming sevenshot glasses of blood,

part of her online alias), who I metonline. “However, when we areblood drinkers – especiallyhuman blood – the label is

impossible to shake.”

Renewed vitality

Gently questioning his cohort about the onset of thecondition, Browning found the hunger for blood seemed tostrike around the onset of puberty. One of the first peopleBrowning interviewed, for instance, had been 13 or 14years old, when he realised he felt weak all the time,lacking all the energy to run and play sports like his friends.Eventually, while fighting with his cousin, he drew blood,and his mouth brushed against the wound. “He suddenlyfelt a lot of vitality,” says Browning. That taste for bloodeventually turned into a compulsive hunger.

It was a common tale thatseemed to resonate with most ofthe vampires he met. Besidesrelentless fatigue, other commonsymptoms appear to includesevere headaches and stomach

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our digestive systemworks wonderfully –CJ!

cramps. CJ!, for instance, hasbeen plagued with an irritablebowel, which she says can onlybe cured after a drink of blood.“After consuming a sizeablequantity (somewhere between

seven shot glasses to even a cup), our digestive systemworks wonderfully.”

CJ!’s friend “Kinesia” paints a similar picture. “I would gomore than a week without a bowel movement while‘hungry’, and feel nausea if I ate anything other than my‘cure food’,” she says. Describing her apparent relieffollowing a blood meal, she says: “I felt 100% better; mymental faculties were sharpened. I can eat whatever I want,without running to the bathroom, and there is no joint ormuscle pain. This tends to last about two weeks, dependingon how much is taken and how often it is taken.”

Needless to say, donors are hardto come by. How do you possibly

After harvesting, mixing blood with tea and herbs can help preserve theprecious commodity (Olivia Howitt)

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The utmost care istaken of the donor,making sure they arerelaxed and willing atall times - Kinesia

ask someone to let you drink theirblood? CJ! says donors are oftenclose friends who understand herperceived needs; Kinesia feedsfrom her own husband everycouple of weeks. In other cases,it may involve some kind ofpayment, says Browning.

Whatever the precise nature of the donor-vampirerelationship, it’s always consensual. “The utmost care istaken of the donor – making sure they are relaxed andwilling at all times,” says Kinesia.

As Browning himself found, the extraction itself is closer toa medical procedure than a passionate ravishing. Typically,both the donor and the vampire are first tested at sexualhealth clinics (or regular blood donation centres) fortransmissible infections. To make the incision, the vampiremay use disposable scalpels or syringes, which they openand clean in front of the donor – and they will swab the skinbefore the first cut. If they are drinking directly from thewound itself, they are also sure to clean their lips, brushtheir teeth and gargle mouthwash beforehand.

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"The community as awhole is very carefuland conscientiousabout health and

Alternatively, they may have more advanced medicalknowledge; CJ!’s paraphernalia includes a tourniquet andintravenous draw. Before taking the blood, she gives thedonor a small rubber mouse to squeeze, which makes iteasier for her to find the vein. If they have the luxury, thevampires refrigerate an excess, which they mix with an(edible) anticoagulant and store in sealed “vacutainers”.Failing that, Browning says that some vampires will make aconcoction with tea and herbs, which apparently also helpspreserve the blood for longer.

“The sang community as a whole is very careful andconscientious about health and safety,” says “Alexia” in theUK, who researched phlebotomy before attempting anintravenous draw. The feeding itself, she says, is“impersonal, much like taking a pill.”

Following feeding, the vampiresdo not seem to suffer any illside-effects; although ingesting alarge volume of iron could betoxic, the amount consumed in afeeding does not seem toconstitute a danger. “No vampireI’ve interviewed has complained

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safety – Alexia of any medical complications as aresult of consuming blood,”Browning says. Even so, Tomas

Ganz at the University of California Los Angeles points outthat they cannot completely eliminate the risk of infection.“Testing in sexually transmitted disease clinics does notcover the full spectrum of potentially transmissiblediseases, but should cover the more common ones such asHIV or hepatitis B and C,” he says.

The best way to get a real measure of the dangers wouldbe to study official medical records. Unfortunately, mostvampires are too afraid of the stigma to tell doctors orsocial workers of their habit. “We had one person say that ifa clinician found out I was a vampire, they’d take my kidsaway,” says Williams, who has studied the possible effectsthe stigma may have on the vampires' healthcare.

A few, like CJ!, are becoming more open; she hasdiscussed her blood-feeding with both a gastrointestinalsurgeon, and a psychiatrist. “Both have been supportive,

Thanks to the stigma, vampires tend to hide their perceived condition,even from loved ones (Credit: Olivia Howitt)

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"Far from relishing theblood drinking, thevampires I’ve spoken toare desperate to find amore socially-acceptable treatment

although sadly neither had any insight beyond theimmediate issue at hand,” she says.

Indeed, far from relishing theritual of blood drinking, most ofthe vampires I’ve spoken to wouldhappily give it up – but so far,they say doctors have apparentlyfailed to find other ways to relievetheir symptoms. “Many of uswould rather not go through thecyclic symptoms and just behappy to live life like a normalperson,” says Kinesia. Alexia

agrees: “If the cause could be identified, I would mostcertainly take a pharmaceutical pill.” One of their owntheories is that they have some problem with their digestivetract, which means they cannot absorb nutrients from usualfoods – it is only when they are readily dissolved in bloodthat their bodies can access them.

Blood comes in many different flavours, depending on blood group, diet,and whether the person has been drinking enough water (Credit: OliviaHowitt)

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"Doctors are stillgetting to grips withthe way our brain cancontrol our health in avery real, physical way

The vampires are, however, disarmingly open about thepossibility that their experiences may be psychosomatic.“This could very well be in our heads,” admits CJ!. For thisreason, some of the vampires have tried to stop feeding onblood, to see if the symptoms would just go away – but sofar without success. “For me, one scary moment was whenI was admitted to ER for having a low heart rate that wouldjump up to 160 when I stood up, or walked around, followedby a massive migraine, and often losing consciousness,”says Kinesia. “Basically, my heart was working extra hardto keep everything functioning – a reaction, I believe, toabout four months without feeding.”

Ganz suggests that the relief thatcomes with drinking blood couldbe largely psychological; doctorsare still getting to grips with theway our brain can control ourhealth in a very real, physicalway. “There is likely a strongplacebo effect, akin to ingestingbitter powders, brightly colouredliquids, or other substances that

do not look or taste like conventional foods,” says Ganz.“This effect can be further enhanced if there is a ritual

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component associated with the ingestion, and if theindividual feels a sense of some kind of exclusivity (such asdrinking a very expensive and rare wine).” Combined withthe fact that blood is highly nutritious, and a naturallaxative, he thinks this may be why it offers some temporaryrelief for both the digestive and mental difficulties.

Some may question whether a thirst for blood is sometimesa sign of deeper underlying mental health issues. ButSteven Schlozman, at Harvard University, says thatdiagnosing these people could be something of a“tightrope”. “I know that if a patient came to me with thisissue as a complaint or was worried about the practice, myfirst response as a psychiatrist would be to assess forpsychosis since the practice is so far outside of culturallynormally done behavior,” he says. Still, he would keep anopen mind, and explore whether they were genuinelybenefitting from the practice. Certainly, Browning andWilliams both say that through their extensive contact withthese people, they saw no evidence of psychiatricdifficulties. Joseph Laycock at Texas State University, whohas also studied vampire identity, agrees: “They haddifferent premises but they thought about it logically – theyproceed logically from the need to drink blood.”

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It is an interesting case study of a prolonged and difficultdiscussion in psychiatry – just how do you avoidmedicalising harmless but unusual activities, withoutaccidentally missing people who genuinely need help? “Wehave a collective tendency to label unconventionalbehaviours as psychiatric abnormalities,” says Ganz. “But Ihave no basis for describing it as such if the individual andtheir donor are comfortable with their unconventionalnutrient choice.”

Perhaps now the vampire community is opening tooutsiders, scientific enquiry will be able to explore thesequestions and finally offer some answers. In the meantime,a group of vampires, led by Kinesia, are taking the firststeps themselves. Using commercial companies such as23andme and uBiome, for instance, she is starting to profilethe genes and microbiomes of other med sangs. “The pointof inquiry is not about validation for our ‘vampirism’. It is tofind more socially practical ways to fulfil whicheverdeficiency or need that we ultimately have, basically we areseeking more treatment options,” says CJ!.

The vampires are desperate to find an explanation for their symptoms -and a way to assuage their cravings (Credit: Olivia Howitt)

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Whatever they find, Browning’s encounters have taught himthat we should treat them with the same respect we affordother minority groups. “When I first went into the study, Ijust assumed I’d meet kooky people, but within a year, Irealised that vampires didn’t have the problem. It’s usnon-vampires that have had the perceptual problem.”

Just because we don’t yet understand their experiences,doesn’t mean we should scorn them or dismiss them out ofhand, he argues. The vampire identity is, after all, a way forsome people to cope with mysterious and debilitatingfeelings. “What’s happening to them is real. We don’tunderstand what it is, and they don’t understand what it is –but they are doing their best to deal with it.”

David Robson is BBC Future’s feature writer. He is@d_a_robson on twitter.

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\"The People Who Drink Human Blood\" - BBC

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