There's something in the air this week that I'm just going to blame on Halloween. First the Ministry show Monday night in D.C. (yeah, I missed it but they have that song "Halloween Everyday"). Last night we had a damn fine lunar eclipse followed by the Red Sox breaking their curse and the discovery of little people (thanks to Anon L for the article). And now today I get my first invite in about four years to the Vampyre Ball.
For those of you who don't know, Vampyre culture is a weird little offshoot of Goth. Mostly its people dressing up goth and wearing fangs, pretending to "hunt" each other and "feed" off each other. Mostly a lot of play acting backed by a goth-industrial soundtrack. There are those oddballs who think they're psychic vamps, meaning they think they suck the lifeforce from people around them, and there are a small handful of people who actually get into the bloodletting thing as a fetish. There you get into the culture of feeders (those who get their jollies by giving blood) and hunters.
Anyway, several years ago I fell into this little culture for a short time. I was on the periphery mostly. It was fun and interesting, until a I met some way-too-serious people in the last category. D.C./Baltimore has always had a pretty strong underground for this sort of thing if you know where to look, and this invite is for the annual blowout in a warehouse in the middle of nowhere, Maryland. I had actually thought it died out, but then I've been out of touch with that side of things for a good while now. Not sure why I'm broadcasting this to the world, but the invite's bringing up a whole host of memories, both good and bad. It's served me well, though. A character in my novel is a crazy girl who thinks she's a vamp.
If I were more superstitious I might think it was a sign of something on All Hollow's Eve. Fortunately, I'm not. I'll still be able to sleep at night. Unless, that is, something else happens.
Excelsior
5 comments:
NICE! Though I listened to (well, and still listen to, the other day I was listening to the Birthday Party) all manner of goth stuff, I never got into the vampire subbaculture... though vampire movies are amongst my favorite in the genre.
However, an invite to the Vampyre Ball... wow. Talk about some fodder for your writing! That's excellent. (And that song by Ministry has been going through my head all week, in fact -- well it always does at Halloween, ha.)
The planets are indeed aligned. That "little people" article was really interesting. And the Red Sox curse being over is pretty mind blowing.
Wait, so does this mean you can't go to said ball because you're supposed to baking cookies with me? While I think I can sometimes pull off entertaining (intentionally or not-so), I don't think I hold much of a candle to ball o'vamps. Is this what the chapter I've read is based upon? I didn't realize it was a real thing, but I still think that chapter is one of the strongest pieces I've read from you.
-L
Anon L: The ball is Sunday night, so it doesn't conflict with our getting together on Saturday. The chapter you've seen is based more on an amalgam of shows I've been to, not necessarily a Vamp party. I don't know if I'll go on Sunday or not. Have to see what kind of mood I'm in and how tired I am afterwork.
I think you should go. They sound a little bizarro, but it's been four years. Aren't you curious to see what has/hasn't changed? Maybe it'll reinspire your novel.
-L
Well, going certainly would make a cool blog post! :)
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