(Otherkin is a collective noun for people who identify themselves as being spiritually and/or physically other than human.)

Although I agree that vampirism in itself is a lifestyle and not a religion, and I cannot dispute that Paganism does not mean “anything goes”, I think one also has to acknowledge that the subculture known as “Otherkin” (which includes vampirism) can not and should not simply be tossed aside and ignored.

The question is indeed how inclusive should Paganism be? Is there a limit? If not should there be? Should we even be paying attention to groups like these Otherkin, when we have not even settled relations between larger established groups within Paganism?

Paganism itself is a pretty eclectic family, which encompasses Celtic Reconstructionists, Asatru, Druids, Goddess worshippers, Radical Faeries, Discordians, the Reclaiming tradition, Shamanism, Wicca, etc. And because of this it is to be expected that debate will rage over who should and should not be included under the umbrella term Pagan.

So, at what point will, or should, the Pagan community finally put its collective foot down? At what point should Pagans say: “Whatever your eccentricity may be is fine, but stop pretending it has anything to do with our religion. You are a bunch of weirdoes, you are embarrassing us and you are making the rest of us look stupid!”

On the other hand … less we forget.

I think Pagans need to think back and remember how important it was for them to be able to go against the mainstream, and how important their own rebellion was in creating their religious and spiritual identities. Not too long ago weren’t we “the weirdoes”, the “Others”? From that standpoint, how different is what Otherkins believe in? And, now that Paganism has received at least “official” recognition, what should Pagans do with it? Should we guard it jealously, or explore how to share it with other people operating outside the “normal” paradigms of society (a place where Pagans were, and may still be, not too long ago)?

Perhaps more importantly questions about freedom of religious practice come up. At what point do Pagans look at what somebody else claims is a religious belief and say: “This is just too much.” When does somebody else’s “religious belief” and “spirituality” become “too stupid or too juvenile or too weird or too confusing” for us to, if not accept, at least respect?

Otherkins worldwide tend to identify with Paganism. So although vampirism may not be a religion in itself, what about someone who belongs to that subculture and who is Pagan? Have we reached the point where we are actually starting to judge a person’s lifestyle instead of respecting their spirituality?

Saying that vampirism belongs in the realm of fiction and urban legend, I believe, is a path full of potholes. To the majority of people in the world, magick, witchcraft and witches also belong to the world of myths, urban legends and the realm of fiction and fantasy - sometimes even to the world of the possessed or the mentally ill.

And …

 ...if Paganism is the “restoration and reconstruction of indigenous (European) religions”; and
 ...if a religion, “is a set of tenets and practices, often centred upon specific supernatural and moral claims about reality, the cosmos and human nature, and often codified as prayer, ritual, or religious law. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history and mythology, as well as personal faith and religious experience. The term religion refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction.”

… then belief in vampires, blood-drinking pagan deities, and even drinking blood as a spiritual/religious experience does indeed meet these “standards”.

Forget about modern myths, urban legends and fiction … Ancient pagan myths about vampirism and vampires are as old, perhaps even older than many of the myths and legends that Pagans embrace. In fact “vampire myths” are an integral part of Pagan mythology, whether we like it or not.

Many ancient cultures and religions had “mythical” entities that consumed blood, and within certain ancient pagan religions blood-drinking deities were in fact aplenty. Vampires have been mentioned in humankind's recorded history for thousands of years, and versions of the vampire tale can be found in Assyrian writings on clay and stone tablets, and among the ancient Chaldeans in Mesopotamia - some have been dated as early as 2000 BCE.

The goddess Sekhmet of ancient Egypt, for example, is one of the oldest deities in the world, known as the daughter of Ra but she is also described as older than Ra. On the walls of the tomb of Seti there is a version of her myth that depicts Sekhmet as a blood drinker. Of her four thousand names, only a few hundred have survived, but some of them hint at a possibly deeper connection to the realm of the vampire: Lady of Transformations, Enrapturing One, Giver of Ecstasies, Mother of the Dead, Lady of the Bloodbath, Devouring One, and Terrible One. Some of these very names are also titles for a number of Greco-Roman and Celtic goddesses - such Hekate and other triple goddesses for example.

The pantheons of Buddhism, Hinduism and the still more ancient Bon Religion of Tibet feature many deities that can be described as blood drinkers. There has always been a symbolic and sacred connection in the East between blood and life. In Hinduism, Chhinnamasta, also called “She of the Cut Neck” or the “Headless One” is a goddess concerned with sex/life/death who provides a particularly vivid illustration of the idea of blood as the vehicle of nutrition, life- and sexual essence - although in these myths this goddess is the “blood-donor”.

The Aztec culture had the Tlahuelpuchi, shape shifters who drank blood – in fact South and Central American civilisations had numerous deities who demanded blood sacrifices and offerings

In Ancient Europe we had the Strix, a Roman legendary creature, usually described as a nocturnal bird (possibly an owl) of ill omen that fed on human flesh and blood. The Shtriga in Albanian folklore was a vampiric witch or demon that would suck the blood of infants at night while they slept. The Strzyga is a kind of vampire in Slavic (and especially Polish) folklore. In Romanian mythology, Strigoi are the evil souls of the dead rising from the tombs that transform into an animal or phantomatic apparition during the night to haunt the countryside, troubling whoever it encounters. Strigoi are also known as Moroi, a type of vampire or ghost in Romanian folklore.

We also have the Lilin or Lilim, dangerous creatures of Jewish folklore. In Sumerian and Akkadian (Babylonian and Assyrian) mythology, the Gallu is a great underworld demon or devil. In Mesopotamian mythology Lamashtu (Sumerian Dimme) was a female demon, monster, goddess or demigoddess that menaced women during childbirth and, if possible, kidnapped children while they were breastfeeding, she would gnaw on their bones and suck their blood.

Then there is the goddess Lilith, who first appeared in a class of wind and storm demons or spirits as Lilitu, in Sumer, 4000 BCE. Many scholars place the origin of the phonetic name Lilith at somewhere around 700 BCE and Lilith appears as a night demon in Jewish lore and as a screech owl, and as a drinker of blood.

The Gypsies have the Mullo, a vampiric creature that returns from the dead to punish a variety of people. In India there is the Bhuta, in the Carribean there is the Loogaroo (probably from loup garou in French for werewolf), in Africa there is the Adze, the Asanbosam, the Ramanga, etc. In China there is the Jiang Shi, in Bulgaria the Ubor, in Serbia the Veshtiza, in Russia the Upyr, in Scandinavia the Mara, the U’tlunta of the Cherokee, etc, etc …

There are vampiric entities even in Celtic mythology. The Celts of Scotland had their Baobhan Sith. A baobhan sith (pronounced baa'-van shee) is a type of vampire in Scottish mythology, similar to the Manx Leanan Sídhe or Irish banshee. Usually found in forests or natural settings, a baobhan sith has the form of a beautiful woman. Legends have them seducing young men with their beauty, inviting the men to dance with them and eventually drinking their blood. The weakness of the Baobhan Sith seems similar to most vampires: they cannot tolerate daylight. Similar to other vampires, Baobhan Sith uses seduction to gain their victim’s trust.

In many ancient societies blood was sacred. For example, among the Germanic tribes (such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norsemen), blood was used during their sacrifices; the Blóts. The blood was considered to have the power of its originator and after the butchering the blood was sprinkled on the walls, on the statues of the pagan gods and on the participants themselves. This act of sprinkling blood was called bleodsian in Old English and the terminology was borrowed by the Roman Catholic Church becoming to bless and blessing.

As I mentioned, vampires and blood-drinking deities have been mentioned in humankind’s recorded history for more than four thousand years. And it is obvious that many of our ancestors believed in deities and other entities who consumed blood, and more likely than not these very same ancestors took part in religious rituals where blood was consumed – whether the action of drinking blood was cultural, ceremonial and/or symbolic is neither here or there, it was most likely a spiritual/religious experience often involving ancient (pagan) deities.

(SOURCES: Wikipedia; Tmbchr; Ancient Vampire in Folklore – unknown; Vampire myths and legends – unknown; MatriFocus; Les Vampire – unknown; and Alleee and Franc’s Insolitology)