Damon

[Music – Jazz Suite Waltz No 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich]

 

EMILY BISHOP: You're about to hear a conversation between myself, Emily Bishop, and a man we're calling Damon that took place in the evening of Monday, March 7, 2022. Damon is a vampire and this is his story

 

[Music – Jazz Suite Waltz No 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich]

[Sound of cassette being loaded and then recording]

 

DAMON: My name is Damon, um, I am a queer vampire. I'm also a witch and eclectic pagan. And I currently am living near Austin, Texas, but also moving to Virginia, back and forth. It's a whole thing. Um, and I make wands for- and read tarot for living. So like pride wands, like trends, trends by like, witchy wands, that kind of thing? Um, and, yeah,

 

BISHOP: Can you just walk us through the average day in your life?

 

DAMON: So normally, currently, I just, I usually wake up listening to music, and you know, do my morning routine. I'm currently on T. So like, when I go to the bathroom, I after like a shower, I put on my testosterone, get dressed, um, and just like do my housely chores, or whatever, and eat. And then go on social media, which is where I spend a lot of my day, either writing or on social media, listening to music, that kind of thing. Um, nothing too elaborate or special. Sometimes I walk around, and that, that's pretty much.

 

BISHOP: And how would you define a vampire?

 

DAMON: So, I feel like there's a... Vampire in the vampire community.... It's it's like a, it's a very big umbrella term. There's a lot of different people who describe it in different ways. And sometimes the spelling of it means different things. Um, sometimes like, sometimes it's spelled with a "Y" instead of an "I" to be like, more- so people can understand the distinction better. So it's not like- so to understand the distinction between someone who is just like, solely like a vampire lifestyler individual, but like, and then usually now called cosplayers, people who dress like vampires, and um, like, are usually in the goth community. And to make the distinction between lifestylers some people like, like vampires who are lifestyle- lifestylers they added in the "Y" instead of the "I". And a vampire, who would be considered a real vampire would be someone who needs the energy of others in some way, shape, or form, or the life force, the life force of others in some way, shape, or form, to maintain their own health, balance, and energy themselves.

 

BISHOP: So, can you talk a little more about what traits you think are necessary for someone to be considered a vampire?

 

DAMON: Oh, the traits. So basically, like what I would consider to be a trait is the awakening. The awakening is a trait in a way where it's like, the backstory, or the origin story if you're a nerd. Like so the awakening of a vampire usually happens around puberty. And it awakens different traits within yourself that are more vampy aligned. And it can be but it's not like you it's there's not really a criteria. That it's like someone who can feed from the energy of others. Energy or, you know, blood, or both. But it's not, there's not really a strong criteria. Besides, it's normally you are born as a vamp. And some people believe that you can, like you in the way that you become a vampire. It's not like someone bites you, you become a vampire. It's like someone, like trauma, or that kind of thing can mess up your aura and cause you to be a secondary vampire, which is someone who was not born a vamp. They like had trauma or had a very strong illness or something like that, that damaged their aura so they can- so they need to reach out of their aura to draw some more energy and to maintain their own balance, so there's not really a strong criteria, besides the ability to take the energy sometimes, if they're not just a sanguinarian.

 

BISHOP: So how did you first come to the conclusion that you're a vampire?

 

DAMON: It all kind of happened when I was 13. Um, I, I just... I, so there's like, a lot of talk of like, dreams of like blood and things like that. And I definitely had a few of those. And a sudden, it wasn't really sudden, it was like, I felt like that was a sort of a call to understand myself more. But at the same time, I was also having a spiritual awakening, like a spiritual awakening, aside from the vampire awakening. And I was getting more into witchcraft and the occult and stuff like that. And I was also like, I started doing like, past life regression things and started, you know, finding out that I was a therian which is a thing. And in, in researching therianthropy, I accidentally stumbled across a documentary that is really bad. The documentary has, it's not a good documentary, it's it's mainly fear mongering. I'm not gonna name it or anything, but it had, had a group of therians and vampires in San Antonio. And it like, in trying to learn more about therianthropy, I accidentally discovered some more about... I discovered vampires like, like actual vamps, and then I started researching it more. And I immediately was like, oh, yeah, okay, that makes a lot of things makes sense. A lot of pieces started falling together. And then I did a ton of research and then decided, I'll just pretend that that's not a thing for a while. And that doesn't work. It's not like, it doesn't just go away, if you ignore it, like you still, like, it's still a thing that you need. And then basically, in me trying to ignore it. Um, this was like middle school. So I couldn't just like go around telling my friends Oh, hey, I'm a vampire. Especially because I told those same friends that I was a witch and uh, continue to lose the entire friend group. And then I gained them back by saying I was just lying about that. So I knew that I couldn't be like, here, I'm a vampire. Because I know what would happen. So I was in a really bad time. And then because of my lack of feeding, and my... Just how I was behaving towards that, I ended up accidentally taking someone else's energy in a non helpful way. And then I was like, okay, clearly, I need to do something about this. And then I was just like, okay, fine, I accept it within myself. I'm gonna just keep this to me, and learn more about it as much as I can, and try to, like, maintain it without uh ever doing that again, because that was unpleasant for everyone involved. And then just did a lot of research and still am doing, ever so doing research.

 

BISHOP: So, there's a term you keep using, therian?

 

DAMON: Mhm

 

 BISHOP: Can you talk about what that means?

 

DAMON: So, a therian, at least the definition that I hold I subscribe to is someone who believes that either their soul is of a nonhuman animal thought to exist in this like plane of reality, so like, dogs, wolves, cats, frogs, owls, you know, that kind of thing. Or they believe that they were them, like they were one of those animals in a past life or a combination of the two.

 

BISHOP: So, you said that you are a hybrid?

 

DAMON: Yes.

 

BISHOP: What does that mean?

 

DAMON: So, a hybrid to me is a... Someone who is a combination of a sanguinarian and a psy vamp or psychic vampire. So basically, I can feed from energy or blood, and I am a primary psy vamp, which means that I was born with my aura all whackity. So I was born as a psy vamp and a sanguianarian. So a hybrid. And some people who identify as hybrids are people who are primarily sanguinarian, but learned how to feed psychically or primarily a psychic vamp. You've learned how to feed also, in sanguinarian ways.

 

BISHOP: So, you feed off of energy and blood.

 

DAMON: Yes, yeah.

 

BISHOP: So, what is the process of you feeding off of blood? How do you go about doing that?

 

DAMON: So, there's, there's a... There's a lot of different ways that different vamps do it but the ways that are respected in the vampire community is like using a very, very clean, sometimes a one time use, I think uh scalpel blade or something like that, and making a small incision, cleaning the area first, cleaning the area after, making sure that the donor is on every level okay to do this, and physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, every all of it. Making sure that it's 100%, consensual and healthy, have blood tests- blood test from you and from the donor ,and feed from a like small incision or a couple of small incisions and then clean it afterwards, bandage it, and then you're good to go. But this this, there's also there's, there's something called uh, if you like, if you, or anyone wants to learn more about that there's a book that I'm not like, sponsored by or anything my vampire, someone I considered my vampire elder here, actually recommended this book to me. And it's "Vampires in Their Own Words." And it shows like, it has the donor Bill of Rights in here, which is made by a vampire called Belfazaar Ashantison in New Orleans, and it's basically a like, a like a thing for the donor to sign and the vampire to sign to make sure that the whole thing is completely consensual and okay, and yeah, but like it's very, it is a very, you know, sacred and oftentimes formal and very thought out action. By, and , those are the ways that are like respected.

 

BISHOP: So how does feeding psychically differ from that? How does that work?

 

DAMON: So, feeding psychically is real fun, uh sorry. Feeding psychically can be done in multiple different ways and in multiple different... You can feed from multiple different types of energy. And there's, there's ethical ways to feed, which is the ones- the only ones that I'm going to talk about. Ethical ways are essentially, you can feed from someone's sexual energy you can feed from someone's romantic energy can feed from someone's just like regular, mundane energy you can feed from, like a lot of different types of energy. The way that it's done is essentially, so vampires have like, our auras have tentacle or trendle I think they're tren-trendle. It's like, uh think of like a string, basically, on our aura that we can extend into others auras and get the energy we need from them in that way. And there's multiple different ways to do that. And yeah, I honestly don't know too much on it. Because it's, I've never had to do past that really, it's, it's definitely easier. And, um, but the same consent levels are still supposed to be maintained. You're only supposed to feed from people consensually, and in their like, right state of mind, righ physical, you know, state as well. Making sure it's fully consensual, making sure that they're fully physically, mentally, spiritually, etc, etc. Okay, with, um okay with it. And never take too much energy.

 

BISHOP: Does it feel different? When you feed on blood compared to energy? Does it fulfill a different need within you? Or are they pretty similar.

 

DAMON: Both of them are kind of similar in a couple of ways where you gain the the energy and energy tastes different, and blood tastes different. So that's also a similarity. Also, after you feed, you usually end up craving it more, because it's kind of like a, if you take a bite out of food, you realize you were actually very hungry, that kind of thing. But you can't- you know, don't over feed. So though in those ways that they're similar. The ways that they're different would be probably the like processes. And there's just a lot more you have to do for feeding from blood, besides the fact that it's just like, it's the difference between blood and energy. But the ways in which it feels can also be up to the individual vampire and the energy and the, like the mood that the person they're feeding from. The donors, like their energy and their mood and what they ate and that kind of thing. But that's basically a similarity. So they're not, they're not very different energetically, I don't think, but it's also up to the individual vampire and donor experience.

 

BISHOP: What has been your process of finding a donor?

 

DAMON: I used to have a donor who was also a vampire, which you really shouldn't do, which I didn't realize that you shouldn't do and it's not fulfilling. It's just it's, it's fulfilling in the moment for like, a couple minutes and then it's not at all anymore. You're not supposed to feed- a vampire is not supposed to feed from another vampire. So that's my blood donor experience. And I haven't gone further than that just because I don't think... I feel like I need to understand the ethical ways to feed psychically as much as I can, before I start feeding from blood again, and also maybe feed correctly, like not from another vampire, which it can be done, but it's like, it's, it's, it's, it's not the same. It's not that it's like it's like Diet Coke compared to regular Coke. And I hate Diet Coke... I forgot the question. Sorry.

 

BISHOP: Oh, just what has your process been finding a donor to feed off of

 

DAMON: Energetically, I am still in the process of finding someone. But I have, you know, close friends and family members who, if they have an excess of energy, they are willing, are okay with me partaking in it. As long as I of course, don't take too much and that kind of thing. Yeah. And that's, I think, a good place to start with any psy vamp, or hybrid, consensually, the people around you. And if they say no, then get over it.

 

BISHOP: So, who in your life knows that you're a vampire?

 

DAMON: Um, the entirety of my friends, family, and people online. Because it used to be a secret. And I used to have a lot of shame in it and a lot of negative feelings about it. And now I... I mean, I still have issues sometimes. But for the most part, it's, it's okay, because my family accepts it. And my friends, acknowledge it and accept it. And I have other vampire friends online. So of course, they're gonna, they're gonna dig it. Uh, even my therapist even knows. And my therapist has also been the therapist of a lot of people who... They used to go to the vampire court of Austin back when that was a thing. So I got really lucky with that. So I got a therapist who is experienced in vampires, which was totally, like, kind of like a fluke kind of thing. I have a queer therapist specifically. So other queer vampires is very, very lucky, very lucky on my part. So everyone, basically,

 

BISHOP: How did your family react when you first told them?

 

DAMON: My dad thought it was really cool and already knew about vampires. And he's the one who introduced me to a vampire shop in Austin, which is one of my favorite places in the world. It is The Glass Coffin run by a wonderful vampire named Joey Slayne. Yeah, my dad was just very interested in in it. And he very much wanted me, like, wanted to throw me into the vampire community. And I wanted the exact same thing. So he took me to The Glass Coffin a few times. And then I just like got obsessed with The Glass Coffin. Because it's, it's an amazing shop. And he still has like, a lot of questions and, and I love answering them. And he doesn't, he doesn't like know everything about it. But he definitely like, accepts it. Every now and then I'll talk about some sort of blood thing or make a joke about blood or something. And then he'll be like, Oh, God, but my favorite thing to do is to annoy him with vampire puns. It is one of my favorite things in the world. And then my mother, she accepts it. She has a lot of questions and concerns, but she accepts it. And doesn't really- isn't like too like concerned with it, because he's like, eh, it makes him happy. And I know that he's not walking around just biting people's necks. So it's fine.

 

BISHOP: How did your friends react when you told them?

 

DAMON: So different friends reacted different ways. I have some more atheistic friends who are just like, oh, well, I don't believe in that. But okay. And then I'm like, Alright, and then I'm more spiritual friends who have reacted positively. And in the past, I have had spiritual friends who have reacted very negatively, because there's this some, you know, spiritual individuals who think that all vampires of any sorts are either completely insane. A lot of people think that vampires are just like, inherently kind of like toxic and draining people, which some are, but also so are, a lot of people, but the awakened ones, the ethical ones are usually not

 

BISHOP: Is being a vampire a part of your identity that you tend to reveal right away when meeting new people or do you wait to tell them?

 

DAMON: There's actually kind of like a... It's kind of like a rule kind of thing, where you're not really supposed to reveal to someone that you're a vamp unless you know that it is going to be... Not exactly that, you know, it's going to be received well, but you know that they are like worthy of that information. And also, for me, it's out of also convenience because if I'm talking to someone I know I'm gonna have to be around them. And I make a joke about blood, which I do fairly often, I love making puns and stupid jokes. So I don't want to have to explain it all then and there. I do like telling people, if I so feel like it, right away. So that- cause some people will draw the line there. And I like to know beforehand, because it's very annoying to you know, waste your time making any connection with someone who will immediately you know, like, block you or something if they find out that you're a vampire, and it just like, nah.

 

BISHOP: You mentioned earlier, being involved with some online communities of other vampires. How did you get involved with those communities? And what are the connections you've made with other vampires online like?

 

DAMON: It's less communities, and more just like random vampires that I've found. I've found some through Tik Tok. I used to make videos on Tik Tok where I was pretending I was cosplaying a vampire. And then I just talked about actual vampire stuff. And I used the hashtag vampire cosplay with the hashtag sang vamp Because I thought no one's gonna get it. This is Tik Tok. There's no vampires on Tik Tok despite the fact that I was a vampire or Tik Tok. And then actual vamps found me. And then I was like, oh, and then I made some friends that way, who I'm still friends with to this day. Through Tumblr, I've also made a couple vampire friends that I talked to occasionally. But that's mostly it online, except for before I went to The Glass Coffin, I started following them. But I also never really talked to them until I think, last year, like early last year, or something like that. Now it's one of my favorite things to do. Yeah, so it's not very... There's like ways to find vamps. And there's, there's like sites and things you can go on. And like, I know, there's forums and stuff. But I am not very active in the online community at the moment, but perhaps I will be in the future.

 

BISHOP: Do you find it easier to connect with people that that share a vampiric identity than people that don't? Or is it about the same,

 

DAMON: I feel like it's as easy to connect. But I feel like we're connecting on different levels, if I know the other person is also a vamp. Because usually like we inherently have some experience. And also, there's like a energetic difference. Vamps can oftentimes tell by the energy of another vamp that they're vamp. And to me that energy is very comforting. I've been told by non vamps it is not exactly comforting. But- so energetically I feel there's a difference. Also, I feel there's a difference in meaning sometimes, because sometimes if it's an older vamp who's been in the community longer than you, the connection can be more meaningful than just like an older, random person. Because they inherently, like have a lot more experience within the community and like wisdom that they can share, and things like that.

 

BISHOP: When you were first having your awakening and sort of having these cravings, did you consider seeking like medical help to explain it?

 

DAMON: I don't think so. Just because I was still you know, I was in middle school. So I still had to get like, well, which you still should probably do. But I like checkups regularly and vaccines for this and that. So I was... I was fairly up to date and I knew that like, if if something was up, they would probably know it. Because like physicals are a thing. And they take blood there and it's like, my blood was wonky. They'd probably tell me or tell the other people that are in charge of me or something. So not really, but I know that some vamps definitely do.

 

BISHOP: So you mentioned earlier that you consider yourself a witch that you're a practicing pagan.

 

DAMON: Yes.

 

BISHOP: How did you first get into that?

 

DAMON: Ooh, that's a good one. That's a good story. In order to explain this, I have to go off on a tangent a little bit. So I was adopted by my parents who I still still live with and before that I lived with basically the exact opposite of my parents very, very bad people who are very, very religious and very, very, very anti witchcraft and anti queer and all that fun stuff. The biological mother would tell me horror stories of how she would do this spell and that spell back when she was Wiccan. And, and would tell me, you know, how she did it and how that was evil and horrible. And the entire time I was thinking, Oh, this is quite similar to things that I'm doing and this was when I was really, really young. This is quite similar to things I'm doing. And also, that's really cool. I remember this specific story, she told me about a money spell. Like she did a money spell, and then like someone robbed a bank near her, and then gave her some money. And then she was like, and that's evil and horrible. And I was like, Cool money, spells work. And that's what I took from the story.

 

And also, I was experiencing some wonderfully witchy events in my life, like heightened intuition and things like that. Like, I would just like, say that things were happening, things were gonna happen, and then it would just happen. And then it'd be like, I was right, cool. And also prophetic dreams. And that kind of thing. Like, it was a lot more prevalent when I was younger. I also like practiced divination, before knowing what divination was, I would say stuff like, Oh, if I see this many stars today, then this means this. If I see this many skulls today, then I should do this, or this is going to happen. And it was always right. And it was always made up by me. It was, but it was definitely a form of divination. So and then when I got in to when I... When middle school hit, and I was like, allowed to touch the internet. I don't know, when, how or why. But I delved immediately into witchcraft, and then just immediately started practicing because I felt an enormous draw to it. And I also felt a strong draw to paganism, despite the fact that I really wanted to be an atheist, because I- but Iwas like a mean, atheist. I was like an I know everything atheist, which is probably why the gods were like, Stop that nonsense. Because I was just a mean guy. And I just wanted to be the very opposite of the people that I was living with. And to me, that meant atheism. But yeah, I started getting into, like, deity connection. And mostly, I started getting into spells at first, and that kind of thing. And like meditating and finding my spirit guide and, and then later down the road, started working with deities, became a god phone, and I'm still a witch, and a pagan to this day. But in middle school, when I came out as a witch, I didn't really come out as a witch, I came out as a wizard, because I grew up secretly watching the Harry Potter movies, and thought that um, wizard was man, witch is girl, I can't be a witch, I am a man. And anyone who would tell me that it was a gender-neutral term, I would get mad at them. Because I was an angry little man. So I came out as a wizard, and then they were like, No, that's not real. And then I was like, You're wrong. And then it was bad.

 

BISHOP: Yeah. So you said that you're a god phone? What is that?

 

DAMON: So a god phone is essentially, at least my definition or understanding of it is the same way that you meditate to communicate with deities, it's basically that but the meditative part is kind of like, let like, you don't have to do a lot to be- have that meditative like, state in your mind. So sort of, it's okay. So it's like, you can communicate with deities by like, intuitively, knowing what they are, like, where they are, what they're saying, or what they're saying to you, or whatever it is, whenever they do arrive or whatever. And it's not like you physically hear or physically see them or anything like that. It's more like you're communicating with them through your intuition and your mind's eye, the same way that I feel like you do if you meet the deity on another plane, and they communicate to you.

 

BISHOP: So what kind of like like, what deities, do you find yourself interacting with in your practices?

 

DAMON: So I am a collect- an eclectic and I love my deities and have a lot of deities, but, not a lot. But the ones that I work the closest with and, well, the ones I've worked the closest and for the longest with has been goddess Hecate, which is a Greek goddess. She's associated with the underworld, death, vampires. And a lot of Greek deities are literally vampires like they, they drink... They used to drink human blood as an offering. And she's very cool, and I love her and she mothered me when I was living with the bad people. And I also for the longest have worked with the god Odin, who was kind of like a more father figure, which is, of course he's the all father. But um, and he helped me get through a lot and helped guide me in the wisdom of trying to understand myself and my practice, and how I fit into this planet. And I also work with a extended list of deities. Oh, another one I've also worked with for a very long time is Lucifer when I was in that like limbo of trying to be a pagan, not trying to be a atheist but wanted to be a pagan. I was like, Okay, I'll start do something in the middle: Satan. I will, like I first was like, I'm a LaVeyan Satanists, which I don't think they call it that anymore, but it's a non theistic Satanists, who doesn't actually believe in Satan, or Lucifer or anything. And then I hopped to theistic Satanist. And then I hopped to Luciferian, which that term is, the definition is a bit all over the place, in my experience, so I might not be very good at describing it. But I still kind of identify as uh, a Luciferian and I still work with Lucifer, and occasionally Lilith, but yeah, those are the ones that I've worked with for the longest.

 

BISHOP: Can you walk me through some of your your daily pagan practices, the the practices that you do the most frequently?

 

DAMON: So besides just communicating with the deities, asking them questions, whether it be through like the mind's eye kind of thing, or whether it be through tarot, or oracle deck, or a pendulum, those are the things that I do the most. So divination, it's basically texting the gods. And it's, it can be really fun if you don't take it too seriously. And also you respect the deity, and that they're okay with, you know, but you can also do spells with deities, you can have them help you in making potions, spells, any sort of kitchen witchery, any sort of anything, really. I mainly am a hearth witch, which is essentially, kind of like kitchen magic, I have- I highly focus in herbs, potions, and fire spells, which isn't very hearth, but whatever. Daily, I do communicate with my deities, but I don't daily do spells or make potions because I already have a not so strong energy balance just yet. Still trying to appropriately maintain and balance that. But when I can, or when I get the urge to or the calling to I will call in a deity or a set of deities to help me with a certain spell or potion. It's normally a potion because there's a lot of deities that I work with that are witchy aligned. So potions are a very good way to connect I feel like

 

BISHOP: So what is the process of calling in a deity? Is it sort of like praying? Or how do you do it?

 

DAMON: So this is one of those things where it's it's definitely up to the individual, the practice, the Pantheon, and how the individual plays all of that together. But with me it can be, it can be a prayer and it also can be a going to that mind's eye state  and communicating with the deity and just asking them questions within my mind in a ,like a more meditative way. And I know that's not like super fantastical but you know, that's god phones we've been boring since you know 01. That is not you know, the most common experience so oftentimes you have to pray to a deity, have a candle for the deity, you can have them answer questions on their altar or their shrine with pendulum or tarot or oracle. There's many ways to connect with deities and to call them in and it looks different for everyone basically, depending on you know, their practice and their their set of rules if they have any and the deities that they're working with.

 

BISHOP: Do you find there to be an intersection or interaction between your identity as a pagan and your vampiric identity or are the two fairly separate?

 

DAMON: So I feel like they used to be separate back when I had a lot more vampy shame. But now they are a lot more connected as I am still learning to grow and heal from the way that I was treated when I was younger for being both of those things. And... I also my vampirism, I feel like is a strong part of my practice and has always been a strong part of my practice, whether I've known it or not, because it's energy and it has to do with energy and that's what magic is and that's what everything is. So I feel like they're quite connected now. Yeah.

 

BISHOP: Can you talk a little bit about how you think that the pop culture vampire differs from your reality as a vampire?

 

DAMON: I feel like there's two kinds two like flavors of pop culture vampires, well, maybe like three, one would be like the, let's try to make this beast sexy kind of vampire. And usually plays into all of the stereotypes. Turns, turns into bats, glows in the sunlight, that kind of vibe. And then there's the other kind where it's like, let's try to make this the most hideous monstrousus- monstrousus? Let's make this the most hideous monstrosity we possibly can that is just like this horrible corrosive thing that everyone will be scared of. And sometimes that's cuter than the other vampire. And then there's another kind where it's like trying to... Trying to paint some real vamps in a certain light, like if it's a documentary or something like that. But usually, the ones that I've seen have a different kind of motive behind them. Like the one I was talking about with the the vampires in San Antonio, that entire documentary is very much fear mongering and saying that these children are being sucked into this cult, and the main vampire they were interviewing was 18. And it was it was not good. It was not it was not a good interview. And then I don't know in what category the vampires of What We Do In The Shadows would play into but I feel like ironically, they're the most accurate in media. It's just because like they have to interact with the mundane world, which a lot of vampire things don't really show vampires being people it's it shows vampires being only monstrous creatures, not not people who have to go to the grocery store.

 

BISHOP: What are some common misconceptions that you think people might have about real vampires?

 

DAMON: That we think that we are the vampires in media, that we think that we are Dracula, that we think that we are, you know, Lestat, that we think that we can do the things that they can do or that we all think that we are immortal or something, and that is very inaccurate. There are some vampiric traits, there are very few things that Hollywood got anywhere near correct. Like, some vamps have a sensitivity to the sun, and we some of us definitely drink blood, you know, but most of us are pretty ethical and don't just walk around biting people's necks. At least you know, the awakened good ones don't, which will be the majority. I choose to believe, you know, most vamps are pretty ethical.

 

[Sound of cassette recording and being stopped]

[Music – Jazz Suite Waltz No 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich]

 

BISHOP: Thanks for listening to this interview from “The Vampire Tapes.” I hope you enjoyed it. There are five interviews in this series, so be sure to listen to all of them. For more information on this project, check out tinyurl.com/vampiretapes.

 

[Music – Jazz Suite Waltz No 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich]