At a time when self-identification is becoming increasingly acceptable, one minority is taking this opportunity to step into the light- vampires.

A recent article entitled “Do We Always Practice What We Preach? Real Vampires’ Fears of Coming out of the Coffin to Social Workers and Helping Professionals,” published in the Critical Social Work journal, highlights the incredibly stressful situation people who identify has vampires are forced to face when seeking counseling.

“The gist of the article is that self-identified vampires are probably more common than most people realize,” said D.J. Williams, lead author in the study. “A lot of people probably assume they are younger kids or young people who watch ‘Twilight’ or other pop-culture types of things. Yet, the real vampire community, which is self-defined by people who claim the need for extra energy (either blood or psychic energy), tend not to fit that demographic stereotype.”

The study takes great pains to differentiate between ‘real’ vampires who consume blood for energy and ‘lifestyle’ vampires who dress up like popular characters and sleep in coffins. The research focused on real vampires.

The Atlanta Vampire Alliance was instrumental in helping Williams and his team understand this notoriously reticent subsection of America. The AVA connected the researchers with 11 adult vampires willing to discuss their habits.

Vampires do not lurk in the dark waiting to prey on fair damsels. Instead, they seek out consenting individuals. “A willing ‘donor’ [is necessary] in order to maintain physical, psychological and spiritual health,” said Williams.

Using a razor or scalpel, a small incision is made in the donor. From there, the vampire licks or sucks out the blood. Williams found that more often than not, the donors were in committed romantic relationships with the vampire.

A self-identified vampire genuinely fears “their overall health and well-being suffer” without regular feedings.

“People with alternative identities have the same set of issues that everybody has,” said Williams. “People of all kinds sometimes struggle with relationship issues or have a death in family or struggles with career and job-type issues. Some of these people with alternate identities may come to a therapist with these issues, and if clinicians are open and educated about this group they should be able to help the individual much better.”

It is very difficult for these individuals to seek mental health care. Vampires feel unable to open up to counselors or ‘come out of the coffin’ as they say. The 11 vampires the researchers spoke with all reported fears that if they were to disclose their vampire identities, they would be labeled delusional or threats to public safety. They were worried that if they confessed, they would lose their jobs, even their children.

“Any little-understood minority group can be at risk for not being understood,” said Williams. “So the same fears that these vampires reported would apply to other minorities.”

“This is a study with a specific alternative identity but it also relates to a larger issue that we are moving into as we are seeing more alternative identities and practices,” said Williams. “In our codes of ethics, and this is true of social work, counseling, psychology and medicine, we talk about being open and non-judgmental and to try to understand a client’s world and context. This study explored the world and context of self-proclaimed vampires. A lot of clinicians are still not willing to accept these types of studies or are not aware of them.”