Understanding real life vampires begins with distinguished between three types. “Lifestyle” vampires are a sort of, “vampire light,” if you will. Lifestylers are attracted to the vampire aesthetic, but don’t feel the need to consume blood. Their identity revolves around appearance—prosthetic fangs, all black garb, and colored contacts.

The other two types of vampires, sanguinarian and psychic, do not adopt the aesthetic. Williams defines these two types as “individuals who cannot adequately sustain their own physical, mental, or spiritual well being without the taking of blood or vital life-force energy from other sources.”

Sanguinarian vampires gain energy by drinking small amounts of blood (either human or animal); physic by feeding on “life force energy.” While Merticus harbors no resentment towards “lifestyle vampires,” he does make it a point to distinguish between the two. “ I typically dress in black from head to toe but I’ve never owned a pair of prosthetic fangs,” he says. “I don’t identify specifically with the Goth culture from a social identity standpoint.”