Vampyre Lifestylers or “Vampyres” (as opposed to “Vampires”) are individuals who are attracted to the contemporary vampire lore and who seek to emulate it by dressing in exotic vampire-like costumery, decorating their homes in dark Victorian (or funeral parlor) gloom, assuming prosthetic fangs and colored contact lenses. It is partly outgrown but distinct from the Gothic subculture.
The term is borrowed from “lifestyler Goth”, which denotes people who are so serious about being Goth that they dress and act the part at all times and in all areas of life, as well as for clubbing or concerts. Although aesthetic styles are similar and they tend to attend the same clubs, Goths do not become members of clans or adopt the vampyre ideology.
Believers in this sect-like lifestyle range from teenage devotees of Stephenie Meyer’s ‘Twilight‘ to adults who got hooked on Ann Rice’s ‘Vampire Diaries’ in the 1970s.
