Vampirism

Vampirism is a term used differently in popular culture and in zoology. In popular culture the term generally refers to a belief that one can gain supernatural powers by drinking human blood (see vampire). In zoology it is used to refer to leeches, mosquitos, mistletoe, vampire bats, and other organisms that prey upon the fluids of other creatures.

Table of contents

1 Vampirism in Popular Culture
2 Vampirism in mythology
3 Vampirism as a form of spirituality
4 Vampirism in Malawi??
5 Vampirism in Zoology

Vampirism in Popular Culture

The consumption of another's blood has been used as a tactic of warfare intended to terrorize the enemy, it has been used to reflect various spiritual beliefs.

The disease porphyria has been speculatively linked with the vampirism myth, based on a number of superficial resemblances between the symptoms of porphyria and attributes of mythical vampires. However, these claims are generally considered to be false and based on a misunderstanding of the nature of porphyria, and have been abandoned by those who first proposed them.

To some extent contemporary consumers of blood appeal to myths about vampires for legitimacy.

Vampirism in mythology

The term generally refers to some sort of "demonic", or otherwise supernatural, practice; which is centered around the drinking of human blood. In vampiric mythology it is sometimes argued that energy may be harvested through not only through blood, but through any number of sources of spiritual or psychological "energy". These mythological vampires need not always be humanoid, but are sometimes bats, dogs, or spiders.

Vampiric legends have abounded throughout history and are sometimes intermixed with legends of cannibalism, although "true vampires" are generally considered to be mythological, certainly a number of people have not only believed in vampires, but believed they they themself were a vampire.