I wrote this in response to yet another lost newbie's letter to an e-list asking about various fantasy vampire standard shitcks, trying to help point out the difference between what IS and what ISN'T. My style is my own, and if it offends, then stop reading, because I've no wish to offend anyone.
No, Virginia, that's an old drunk in longjohns
Clans and houses are a VTM thing. Nobody is innately a member of any of them. They are fictional and bogus, as is Anne Rice's stuff. That being said, some of us have started up households or 'clans' of our own, not unlike covens or SCA households. Some are regional associations, some are groups of friends, some loose online organizations.
'Types' of vampires are usually based upon feeding methods, and are actually pretty arbitrary. Most vampires can learn to take energy from many sources, although they usually have one that's a favorite and works best for them.
Not all of us are 'trying to pass' that wear regular clothing, sun ourselves, have jobs, standard family relationships, etc. We just are more comfortable that way. That's who we are. Vampires come in many different styles. Some of us old folks have been this way damn near all our lives, and I personally am not gonna Goth up to suit others. Not all of went through an awakening. I didn't. Theories abound about our origins, so far not one that's even remotely factual.
There is no vampire religion, unless someone's concocted one recently. Spiritually, we are as different as we are physically and stylistically.
Anne Rice is no more knowledgeable about things vampiric than any other writer of popular fiction. She is no more spiritually cued in to any dark magical secrets than any other author of popular fiction. VTM, Dracula movies, the Matrix, and H.P. Lovecraft are fiction. Not true. Made up. Like Middle Earth and Hobbits. The Necronomicon (in all it's several forms) was written up after Lovecraft died. It isn't some ancient and forgotten tome of wisdom and knowledge. Because you and your friends 'channeled' some spirit calling itself Merrick does not mean anything, other than that you got caught up in some of the stuff typical of 'newbies' to things magical. I'm writing this not to be insulting, but because this stuff keeps on coming up, over and again. Fiction is just that, fiction. No dark vampire princes with secret underground palaces. No prophets in the guise of pulp novelists. We are not sired. We are not made. We are born what we are. And anyone poking about in magic/witchcraft needs to understand that not everything you see or intuit is so. I had to learn this last bit the hard way, because when I started digging for information in that area, there was a lot of nothing available. Books on 'real' magic didn't show up until the 70's, and I had more than my share of Ouija board incidents and the like in the 60's. Take EVERYTHING with a grain of salt. Accept NOTHING at face value!
Read, read, read, ask questions, question everything, especially your dreams and visions. Use your intelligence. Experiment, yes...but question your findings. Nothing is what it seems, and everything is both true and false on many, many levels. Start with and maintain a healthy skepticism, or you will lose touch with hard, physical reality. It's a damn fine line between being a shaman and pushing a shopping cart and mumbling about the spirits controlling your thoughts. Nutting up sucks, trust me, I've done it. I've also been a practicing 'witch' for want of a better term, for 36 years. But I hold tight to the real, physical world because the nut house is not a good place, I've narrowly avoided it more than once and I want to continue to do so. Actually, I can think of few things that would be LESS pleasant that encountering a folkloric-type vampire. I don't want to be anyone's "Meals on wheels" or, far worse, a folkloric vamp's 'play toy" shudder.
I don't want to come off as a mean old bitch, but I really don't want anyone young and new to all of this stuff hurt. And by the way, anyone who wants money to teach you anything occult, forbidden, arcane, or the like is to be avoided like the plague they are. Asking for legitimate recompense for printing costs, or other materials charges, or an enrollment fee for say, a community education class is another thing, or everyone chipping in for hall rental, or pizza...but wanting you to support them while they impart their knowledge to you is bogus. It generally means they don't know Jack, or just enough to use other folks. Steer clear of people who want you to sever ties with your family and friends, too. Nobody has the right to tell you who to associate with.
Finally, if it sounds too good to be true...that's because it is. Half a century and I'm still getting the stars knocked out of my eyes and a face full of mud as a wakeup call about every Tuesday, sigh. Reality sucks, but that's just how it is.
Peace,
Pepper, Jauhara, or Deb