True true blood: As pop culture sucks on myths, some real Kansas City vampires tell their stories

More real vampires this time interviewed in the Kansas City Pitch -they even have a MeetUp group

I'm sitting in the Winstead's by the Plaza waiting for a group of people I've never met. It's the monthly meeting of Gathering Dusk, a Midwest meet-up club that's primarily for people who identify themselves as vampires.

I realize, when they arrive, that I wouldn't give half of them a second glance if I saw them on the street; the other half look as I'd expect a vampire to look in Kansas City in 2008: lots of black clothing and eyeliner and lipstick. For most, it's a good look.

The oldest is Sylvere, 38, who's dressed for comfort tonight rather than in gothic style. She has gone by the name Sylvere since high school, when she picked up the nickname because her fashion tastes favored silver tones. She wasn't immediately agreeable to a story on local vampires. "I won't be set up as the local freak of the week, if that's your angle," she had written me. "I have my family's welfare to consider."

Read on HERE