Basic & Common Terminology Used In The Vampire Community

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This list is by no means complete and will be updated as needed. Usage of these terms may very in context.

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Awake - A vampire who has already gone through an awakening.

Awakening - The transition of one state of being to another. The process through which a latent vampire goes through before fully realizing both physically and mentally what they are.

Beast - An often difficult to control primal and powerful animalistic like urge to feed on or act violently towards others. See also "vamping out".

Blood - The fluid consisting of plasma, blood cells, and platelets that is circulated by the heart through the vertebrate vascular system, carrying oxygen and nutrients to and waste materials away from all body tissues. A vital or animating force; lifeblood.

Blood brother (sister) - A sibling by birth; One of two individuals who vow mutual fidelity and trust by a ceremony involving the mingling of each other's blood.

Blood doll - A slang term for a vampire's blood donor.

Blood Drinker - A person who drinks blood regardless of reason.

Blood fetish - A fixation for blood, but not life essential.

Blood Junkie - A negative slang term for a blood drinker.

Bloodsucker - An animal that sucks blood. Slang term for vampire.

Chi - The vital energy force believed in Taoism and other Chinese thought to be inherent in all things. See also "psi".

Cut - To penetrate with a sharp edge; To make an incision or a separation in.

Donor - someone who gives blood or energy to be used in another person.

Death - The act of dying; termination of life.

Drain - To physically draw out the lifeforce of another.

Elder - An older, influential member of a family, tribe, or community.

Embrace - A hug. A popular VTM term whereby a vampire prepares to feed from another person into a vampire by wrapping their arms around the person and positions their neck to enable them to easily pierce the skin through biting.

Energy - A source of usable power.

Fangs - A long, sharp, pointed tooth, especially a canine tooth.

Feed - To drink blood or drain energy from another person, usually a donor.

Fetish - An abnormally obsessive preoccupation or attachment; a fixation.

Happy Meal - Derogatory term for an unwilling or unaware donors.

Hunter - One who hunts or seeks after anything, as if for game.

Immortal - One who will never cease to be; one exempt from death, decay, or annihilation.

Incubus - A cultural reference for a male evil spirit supposed to descend upon and have sexual intercourse with women as they sleep and drain them of their lifeforce. A male vampire.

Lancet - A surgical knife with a short, wide, pointed double-edged blade, used especially for making punctures and small incisions.

Latent Vampire - A vampire who has not yet gone through an awakening and is currently unaware of what they are.

LARP - Live Action Role Playing

Larper - Someone who participates in live action role-playing games such as Vampire: The Masquerade.

Leech - One that preys on or clings to another; a parasite. Slang term for vampire.

Lick - To pass the tongue over or along.

Lifestyler - A way of life or style of living that reflects the often-stereotypical attitudes and values of a person or group.

Living Dead - No longer living but supernaturally animated, as a zombie. See "undead".

Lycanthrope - A person transformed into a wolf or capable of assuming the form of a wolf. See also werewolf.

Lycanthropy - The ability to assume the form and characteristics of a wolf or other animal. (Often associated with a form of psychological dementia.)

Mediums - A person thought to have the power to communicate with the spirits of the dead or with agents of another world or dimension. See also: psychic.

Mentor - A wise and trusted counselor or teacher. To serve as a trusted counselor or teacher to (another person).

Mundane - Common, ordinary. Derogatory term for nonvamps.

Out of Coffin - A state of being where someone has others publicly aware that they are a vampire.

Otherkin - A term often used to describe a variety of non human beings.

Parasite - An organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered on or in a different organism while contributing nothing to the survival of its host. Slang term for vampire.

Poser - A person who habitually pretends to be something he or she is not. See also wannabe.

Preternatural - Out of or being beyond the normal course of nature; differing from the natural.

Prey - An animal hunted or caught for food; quarry.

Psi - Para psychological phenomena or abilities considered as a group. A form of bioelectrical energy. An abbreviated term for psivampire.

Psychic - A person apparently responsive to psychic forces. Capable of extraordinary mental processes, such as extrasensory perception and mental telepathy.

Role-player - A person who participates in role-playing games such as Vampire: The Masquerade.

RPG - Role Playing Game

Sang - Abbreviated term for sanguinarian.

Sanguinarian - A person with a physical need or thirst for blood.

Seeker - An individual looking for information on or to make direct contact with vampires.

Shifter - A person that possesses the ability to move or transfer from one physical form to another.

Sire - A term from Vampire: The Masquerade role-playing system that has crept into general usage meaning the one who turned (or awakened) someone who is a vampire. A lord, master, or other person in authority. See also "mentor".

Slayer - Someone who causes the death of a person or animal. See also "hunter".

Stereotype - A conventional and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image.

Succubus - A cultural reference for a female evil spirit supposed to descend upon and have sexual intercourse with women as they sleep and drain them of their lifeforce. A female vampire.

Suck - To draw (liquid) into the mouth by movements of the tongue and lips that create suction.

Therianthropy - A condition of possessing a spiritual connection to another creature or ability to become one and take on their physical traits and abilities.

Thirst - A strong sensation of dryness in the mouth and throat related to a need or desire to drink.

Turn - To make someone a vampire.

Turning - The process through which one person becomes a vampire through various or unknown means.

Undead - No longer living but supernaturally animated, as a zombie. Slang term for vampire. See "living dead".

Vamp - A person who uses their sex appeal to entrap and exploit others. An abbreviated term for vampire.

Vampire - (Real) - A person who lives by feeding on others. (Mythical) - A blood-sucking ghost; a soul of a dead person superstitiously believed to come from the grave and wander about by night sucking the blood of persons asleep, thus causing their death.

Vamping Out - A physical state in which a person becomes overwhelmed and displays extreme behaviors related to vampirism. See also "beast".

Vampirism - Condition of practicing the behaviors of a vampire; a belief in vampires.

VTM - Vampire: The Masquerade (A popular role playing game by White Wolf)

Wannabe - Derogatory term for a person who wants to become a vampire with often-unrealistic expectations of what it would be like.

Were - Complex variation of the word "be". Most often used in conjunction with an animal noun, such as wolf. IE Werewolf. See also shifter, therianthropy.

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