Smart Vampires Blend In

By Dr. Katherine Ramsland

Recently, a network reporter asked me about members of the vampire subculture and we looked up and down the street “to see if any vampires were nearby.” I had to smile. For all we knew, it was the camera guy or the young woman keeping notes. Maybe it was the reporter. It’s not as if there’s a clear signal, like picking a mime out of a crowd, but many people believe there is.

I’m often asked if I can spot a vampire. Likewise, I’m often asked if I can spot a psychopath. These questions are related because my experience with both populations has shown me this: the clever ones avoid detection. Vampires, like psychopaths, can best feed off others by moving with the crowd. It’s tactical. They know that if they stand out, they’re less likely to get what they’re after.

There’s a lot of interest these days in both subjects, and with Internet access to the Psychopathy Checklist by means of which psychopaths are diagnosed, plenty of people think they can identify a psychopath on sight. In fact, certain TV anchors do it pretty often. But they probably don’t know what they’re talking about any more than when they ID some skinny, pale kid who dresses “Goth” as a vampire. Truthfully, such assessments are superficial and often based in silly stereotypes. While we’ve seen plenty of exhibitionists who claim to be vampires, as well as needy narcissists who publicly strut their stuff, in fact skillful members of either group can fool even the experts.

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