Discover the strange world of the undead and the proof that creatures of the night exist. The facts about vampires are stranger than anything you may have read, heard, or imagined before. Vampires rips away the myth and exposes the habits and lifestyles of these beings. The author reveals the occult truths about these creatures, including actual first-person encounters with vampires of all types―the ancient undead of folklore, contemporary mortal blood drinkers, and the most dangerous creatures of psychic vampires who intentionally drain the life force from their victims. Included are letters from contemporary vampires; you will be shocked and surprised as you discover what these people are really like. Besides learning about the psychic vampire that unintentionally drains you of your energy as well as the intentional psychic vampire, you'll learn rituals for protection and methods to avoid falling into their clutches.
Konstantinos Rowley, born in 1972, has been a paranormal researcher for over fifteen years, is the author of six books published by Llewellyn and has a bachelors degree in English and technical writing. A recognized expert, he has consulted for and been a guest on various shows and documentaries on MTV, the SciFi Channel, NBC, History, Discovery Channel, and other networks. A former Physics major, Konstantinos been working on explaining the paranormal using modern scientific discoveries, especially in the realm of Quantum Mechanics.
Some of his research has inspired TV, film, and novels, fleshing out scenes in the film “Black Roses” and the novel “Dead Souls.” He has also appeared in the bestselling videogame "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City." He was lead vocalist of the now defunct band, Bell, Book & Candle, which appeared on three Cleopatra Records compilations: Goth Box, 100 Tears: Tribute to the Cure, and Vampire Themes. It is unclear how soon he will be able to devote time to a musical solo project.
I've read some amusing occult nonsense in my day, but I've never come across a person so convinced of their own intellectual ardor while simultaneously demonstrating such a poor understanding of basic logic, analytical thinking, and historical inquiry.
The first half: Are vampires real? Could be! I have no reason to think they aren't! This 16th-century Hungarian peasant seems to think so!
The second half: Psychic vampires are real because two people told me stories. They are purple.
Obviously I am being reductive. But not that much.
Nice one, Mr. I-Don't-Believe-In-Vampires-And-The-Like-So-I'm-Going-To-Write- A-Book-About-Them-And-Host-A-Halloween-Special-To-Tell-You-How- To-Kill-Them-With-Lemons. Konstantinos, you fail at life. Please stop writing contradictory books...Hell, just stop writing altogether, you slag.
Can't work out what possessed me to read this book...must have been one of those spirit sapping Vampires that make up the last chapter. To be honest it just seemed cheaply thrown together,more care in showing sources at bottom of pages rather than a small select bibliography may have helped. also the bit on factual blood drinkers was lacking Elizabeth Bathory made up about half a page and other 'Cradle of Filth' concept album figure Giles de Rais made up about the same again and had his credibility as a figure of evil roundly debunked!!..In fact it turns out you might want to invite him around for tea afterall. Konstantinos is on the fence throughout the book and even when seemingly certain of his facts provides a wooly interpretation of them, I am Goth friendly and even the 'new age' sensibilities of the latter part of the book aren't something I willingly debunk but 'fraid to say this book meant little to me and was a waste of my time...still at least it's off my actual shelf if not my virtual one.
La primera mitad estuvo bastante interesante, después se fue por un lado más espiritual hablando sobre vampiros psíquicos, lo cual no me gustó mucho, ya que yo quería leer más información y antecedentes sobre el vampirismo de las leyendas. La parte donde habla de los vampiros mortales a.k.a personas que se creen vampiros, me pareció super interesante también y me habría gustado leer más al respecto.
The rest of this long review is at Night Mode Reading : Author speaks in a pleasant manner too, a manner that allows a skeptic to remain a skeptic or reconsider, while a believer can continue believing or reconsider too, nothing is pushed, everything is questioned.
Konstantinos is a well known author of occult works and he focuses largely on Nocturnal Magic. In this book he focuses on vampires. Vampires have been identified in every culture going all the way back to the first civilization, the Sumerians. Seems that thorough out the different cultures there are two main types of vampires. Physical vampires that actually drink blood and psychic vampires that feed off your psychic energy. In Sumeria there are emikus or angry spirits who died a violent death. They come back for retaliation. There are seven demons who are vampires and it is noted that they feed off human flesh and blood and are afraid of holy people and places. Lilith who is a demon is not a vampire but at first was a nuisance to the Gods. In the Indus river value and the orient there were Vampire Gods with green faces and long fangs. In Africa and Canada there are Hags and witch doctors that have astral bodies that leave at night and psychically attack people when they sleep. This stuff is not fiction it is folklore and back in the day folk lore was considered fact. These people got it from somewhere. He does warn about the dangers of blood drinking for mortal blood drinker and he does approach the subject witha very scientific attitude. Psychic vampire are what we need to fear the most.
Vampires are further subdivided. Among physical vampires there are immortal blood drinker and there are mortal blood drinker. Immortal blood drinker are not what they appear as in the movies. They ussually have long nails, long hair, somewhat bloaded and have a shade of red about their skin. They can be killed by driving a stake through their chest, holy water or burned. Even enchanted bullets can kill them. With regards to this type of vampire the author advises keeping an open mind and mentions that it is highly unlikely that one will encounter this type of vampire. Their existence is hard to prove.
The second type of vampire is a mortal blood drinker. These folks ussually are imitating their favorite demon. There is a disease called Renfields Disease where in a young kid will have a craving for blood. Other mortal blood drinkers feel a craving for blood and feel that drinking blood gives them extra powers and makes them feel good. Some even believe that they have characteristics of vampires.
The next two types of vampires are psychic vampires. The first type of psychic vampire is an unintentional vampire who is usually sick or very old and cannot generate enough psychic energy on their own so they unintentionally get it from others so that they may survive. Some times they have tendril creeping from their auras in order to tap into the energy of others. Sometimes their astral body leaves them at night and finds victims.
The intentional vampire can use his eyes and has learned how to be a psychic vampire duringg his lifetime. His/Her astral body continues feeeding off of peoples aura even after he/ she dies.
The author has filled his text with stories and ancedotes and he has communicated with mortal blood drinker.
In the last chapter of the book he gives a program or visualization to combat psychic vampirism, The first part is purification. This means taking a shower or bath. Meditate while bathing and picture the shower stream being energy that are cleaning off the negativity of the day.
Next is the banishing ritual.Set up your materials before bathing. Stand at the Western end of your table facing east. Take three slow deep breaths and feel yourself getting energized. Light your incense and move around clockwise saying I purify this space with air. after going around your sacred circle place the Incense at the Eastern end off the table. Next take your candle colored white. Walk around clockwise saying I purify this space with fire. Place the water on the south side of your table. Next take the element of water mark the perimeter by sprinkling drops of water on the floor. Say "I purify this space with water" When done place the water on the West Side of the Table. Then take salt and walk around sprinkling bit of salt saying i purify this place with Earth. Put your salt dish on the Noerth side of your table.
Next you see a globe of glowing light. With each breath picture it coming closer to you. Eventuyallly it is inside you and expands. You will be enveloped in thee light. The ligght should eventually engulf in your circular area. Come up with a symbol for protection It should bee the size of your hand floating off your chest it glows in a blue light visualize it to the East,soth west and north. Then seal it by visualizing the symbol on above you and the floor. Finally say " Ii stand now in sacred space. Only light may enter this purified area"
Breaking the ties means that you explore your aura and see where it;s tendril have attached themselves to you. Take deep breaths andd picture your index finger becoming like a light saber cutting away the tendrils breaking the connection with the psychic vampires. Last you visualize your aura expanding with deep breaths and invision it getting porcupine spines. At thee end things decrease bacck to normal this trains your aura for psychic self defense.
I went into this book thinking it was going to be another campy vampire book that while it had genuine vampire tidbits in it, was told like the rest of the books of its ilk. Thankfully I was wrong although I have to say that while it was refreshing getting away from the camp, Konstantinos was, at times, a little dry in the execution of his point and it was sometimes hard for me to get through. But those spots are pretty few and far between.
What I liked most about the author was that while he takes his subject of vampires very seriously, he doesn't force that on the reader. Throughout he's very insistent that you take what you will from what he tells you, draw your own conclusions and hear the stories with some grains of salt added in. He presents his theories concisely and without pretense and he doesn't force his own conclusions on you but encourages you to come to your own. I liked that.
With that being said, this isn't a book for the girlies looking for more vampire giggles. This is actually a pretty serious reference book for people looking for genuine vampire information not ripped from movies, TV or literature. While Konstantinos does reference those characters, he quickly brushes them away for being far too removed from the "actual" vampires of history. Those vampires are reanimated corpses, ghouls, demons, or thought to be. They're steeped in lore and exist more in the fear of the villages they spawn from than in the air itself. These are not creatures to woo by.
Now I have to say I am a believer of psychic vampires. I have a feeling one of my friends may be one without even realizing it. I'm always so drained when I'm done hanging out with her. If you've ever known someone to be like that, completely draining, chances are they're psychic vampires and they probably don't know it. As for "real" blood drinkers, I'm a little less convinced of those people. The letters that were included in the book just seemed pretty patchwork from movies and TV and whatever else they could grab from. I just think these people are so psychologically invested in the idea that they need blood that they've actually convinced themselves they need it. I'm sure they'd say otherwise but I'd like to see them sit with a psychologist. Not because I think they're crazy but because I think their need is more psychological than physical.
Ultimately this is a pretty good reference book to use if you're looking for some good, genuine vampire lore. You will get accurate depictions of vampires from folklore without all of that Hollywood taint. And if you're looking for genuinely terrifying vampires, you'll need that.
I had picked this book up while I lived in Calgary, Alberta in the late 1990's, and read nearly all of it; judging by the bookmark in it at page 185. However, I do not have any recollection of how it was. It is now back in my "to read" pile of books!
2nd Read: February 1, 2015 - February 2, 2015
I found this book to be much like others about vampires, which I have read in the past. It is informative and educational in the sense that it does not stick to one kind or a certain type of vampire, as there are variances. It was almost a duplicate of Rosemary Ellen Guiley's book, Vampires Among Us, which I'd read in early 1996.
I enjoyed that the author did not stray into areas that needed not be written about or discussed. He made the point and moved on, though brought up past material often. The chapters with personal letters from the vampires and vampire-like people were interesting, as were the final chapters on psychic vampires.
As well, he avoided the typical Hollywood stereotype of what a vampire is. I applaud him for that. Fuckin' Hollywood...always has to make shit beautiful! The appeal of vampirism wouldn't be remotely as strong to people if books, films and movies would have stayed on track with the monster that was Bram Stoker's Dracula. There was nothing sexy and beautiful about Dracula. That is the way it should be, in my opinion.
The most important element Konstantinos put into his book...were the dangers involved of ingesting blood, especially human blood. That as well, is worthy of an approving nod of good advice to those reading and pondering the idea of consuming blood.
This was a decent book to read and reacquaint with. Reviews vary with it and that is cool. We all have our likes and dislikes. Much like music, we have to be in an open frame of mind to indulge in certain flavors!
I really liked this book. Probably like most people I thought vampires to be like the Anne Rice ones (a bit disappointed that they might not be, because I love Lestat and Marius). I never imagined that vampires could be more like psychic entities. While reading this book, I was also completely shocked to find out that when I was a child I was the victim of a psychic vampire attack! I've been a horrible insomniac for as long as I can remember, never able to sleep and always staying awake for most of the night and now it makes sense why! It was a bit terrifying to read some of the encounters and know it was the same as what had happened to me, but I feel better knowing how to explain that weird occurrence when I saw a creature with red eyes right beside my bed and wasn't able to move or cry out because I was paralyzed. He also included in his final chapter rituals for protection, which I fully intend on doing even though it has been years. I also liked how he went into detail about different vampire beliefs from around the world. He also included letters he'd gotten from mortal vampires, I think. They were interesting to read. So if you want vampires to be Lestat, don't read this because you might be disappointed. On the other hand, if you're just curious about occult things like I am, then it's a very good read. The only problem I had is that throughout his book, he kept referring to his other books (but maybe he had to say that because it was for the Llewellyn series). loved it
Listen here, this book screamed 90’s, leather jackets, and long black hair. Google the author, you’ll see what I mean. It immediately caught my attention at a book sale as if it beckoned to me. My thanks to whoever decided to let this treasure go because now it’s mine and I covet it. With a name like Konstantinos, I was like this author better not disappoint and let me tell you guys, Konstantinos did his research. Reading this book was like purchasing a ticket for a vampire museum tour led by Konstantinos as he covered the history of vampires, the lore, their origins, the facts, the fiction, and then told me all about the different types of vampires. Psychic vampires?! 🤯 I emerged from this book knowledgeable, I feel and ever more intrigued with the mystique of vampires. This is a book I would recommend to fellow blood bags if asked about vampires as if I were myself, a Frog brother. Think of it also as a survival manual. So do yourself a favor and read this book - preferably in a red-lit room, wearing a leather jacket, and listening to Type O Negative. It’s a vibe. Vampires. They’re just fucking cool 👍
This was quite possibly the most ridiculous load of B.S. that I've ever read on the subject. It took me forever to get through it due to the amount of times I had to stop myself from setting it on fire. Konstantinos obviously suffers from some kind of inferiority complex as the book is peppered with useless facts about himself. I interpreted this as some sad attempts at adding validity to what he was saying. Do yourself a favor and skip this one as the amount of magical thinking in the pages has me rather concerned that anyone who is even remotely impressionable may be conned into thinking this guy actually knows what he's talking about. If you want some real science, check out Katherine Ramsland's "Science of Vampires" or her earlier work "Piercing the Darkness."
I like reading this book so far but I'm not sure how it explains the "occult" truth about vampires when he didn't even mentioned the Highgate Cemetery vampire in London. I am not sure if they were a real flesh and blood person that died and became a vampire but he was a ancient prince, people have sighted seeing some kind of spectral vampire in the cemetery numerous times, there have been nefarious satanic rituals performed in the cemetery, demons have been summoned so I am not sure if it relates to that in some way. The author has explained historical accounts of vampire sightings and encounters and even vampire hunters but I don't see how it is connected to the occult so far. The aurhor has not mentioned a way a person could become a vampire with the use of the occult via black magick, satanism, such as people like Gilles De Rais or possibly Elizabeth Bathory. I have personaly met people online that are a modern day vampire specifically a (psychic or sanguinarian vampire) the sanguinarian vampire is also a satanist in a vampiric cult, he dabbled with occult, black magick or satanism and became a sanguinarian vampire (blood drinking modern day vampire) People who are like me psychic and a empath need to be careful about being around these types of people. Be careful if you are sensitive to energy, or the influence of anything demonic, evil, lower vibrational energy spirits and entities and people that are or have a lower vibrational energy and they are toxic, abusive or narcissistic and don't have your best interests at heart they can and will manipulate you and abuse you or take your energy and use that to give part of yourself in the form of energyto use witchcraft against you, or to take your energy and blood and sometimes it can be something people who are like me that are naive about the intetions people might have towards me, so sometimes myinvolvement with modern day vampires, the occult, or demonic entities was not by choce and I did it unknowingly. Be careful who you share you energy with, because people are manipulative and will deceive you, lie to you to get your energy blood or a part of you that opens up to them in a way that can be dangerous to you especially if you are a spiritual and naive and sensitive person.
Vampires The Occult Truth is a treatise in vampirism where Konstantinos exposes his theories on the probable existence of vampires in real life. He does so by sharing on some of his personal experience and knowledge on "the future science" (the occult), historical folklore, and by presenting possible cases of vampirism. According to some research, this text is considered canon in the vampiric community, being its author a respectable one on the topics of the occult and Western Magick.
Overall, I found it entertaining; plus, the design is quite pretty. Descriptions are presented in a clear, respectful and friendly manner, making it easy to understand even for people who are not involved in occult or supernatural matters.
However, it ends on a less serious note than intended. As the writing develops, Konstantinos presents high expectations that are usually followed by confusing, contradictory and weak arguments on some important topics: expressions like "let's allow the facts to speak for themselves", are usually followed by others like "however, that still doesn't provide actual evidence", leaving the reader with a sensation of not getting to any real point.
But if you can keep up with that, there are some pieces of information which, while not being presented fully, still offer some pointers on interesting facts that can be explored further on other sources. Of particular interest are the historical folklore facts on vampirism around the world. Also, Konstantinos has a simple and clear way to explain on what it looks like complicated supernatural elements and interactions, trying always to land them into the practical side.
What I liked the most was the humble and respectful tone at all times: while Konstantinos made a clear effort to promote attention into his ideas, the need to accept them was never imposed. And even though he may not be completely successful on his task of justifying his work, he kept himself on the side of avoiding fanaticism and sensationalism.
I enjoyed the book and don't feel it was a waste of time at all. I can see why it may be included as canon for the vampire community. Vampires The Occult Truth will be kept on my vampiric reads collection, no doubt.
At first, I almost DNF'd it. Why? Because he uses the phrase 'later in this book' WAY too many times. Basically spoiling his own book repeatedly. But then spiteful rage made me continue anyways, just so I can count how many times he does say it or phrases like it. I counted 157 times in his 162 page book (technically 172 pages, but there's ten blank pages that were counted in the page count). That is almost one a page. His first chapter? Which is 13 pages. 42 times. 42 times he says 'later in this book' in that chapter alone.
Now, the reason why this somehow got three stars when I was so close to DNFing it at chapter one. Thanks to my spiteful rage forcing me to read on, I calmed slowly to intrigue. Not just from a 'I believe in the occult' standpoint, because I do, but also from a skeptic standpoint as well, because I'm aware not everything is paranormal and can be explained away as something else. I was actively trying to debunk things as he was. There is a lot of good information in here, from old reported supposed vampire attacks to simply detailing vampiric traits known from all over the world.
His closing statement was great too. To paraphrase, he basically said do not believe blindly what you are told but do not disbelieve blindly either. To do your own research, as this book is "only one person's research and ideas". "Information should be analyzed before one's opinions are formed".
So yes, I am glad my spite got me to read this book, despite that one major annoying flaw. Will I read more of his books? On the fence, for fear the others will be just like this. Maybe though.
Was going to say it was a funny and adorable example of committing to the bit and then I reached the part where people dealing with serious illnesses are vampires that you have to protect yourself from and even as a joke that is harmful garbage.
Still giving a second star for all the clinical pretense at science in the first few chapters, because that bit was pretty funny.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This reads like a high school freshman's poorly researched book report. Konstantinos grabbed a few interesting stories about vampires and stretched it by over compensating with filler words and junk paragraphs to reach a certain page/word count. The most frightening part of this book is the grammar.
Overall it was okay. It's refreshing the author didn't push his personal views/beliefs onto you. However there were many missed opportunities of stories from history that could have been presented. The book is well written, if a bit dry it just felt like he was skimming the surface of the topic.
Give great general information about various types of Vampires, including the blood sucking and energy vampires. Has some good pointers for those wanting to explore the surface of certain aspects of Vampirism in Spirituality.