Here's the interview--long forgotten by me--I did in 2010 that ultimately sank me with the "mainstream" online vampire community. On reflection, I'm not sure how the shitstorm that followed actually developed--a lot of slander, rumor, and hearsay, I suspect. At any rate, here it is for your edification. My only regret is not exploring my own nature as a sanguinarian. What can I say--I just wasn't comfortable sharing it with the world. Anyway...
Showing posts with label Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Media. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Vamping The Vampires
Philadelphia is an American metropolis with a thriving vampire community. But out of all the real vampires in the area, P. Rob Royal singled me out for a project about--of course--vampires. I wanted to share our (Facebook) correspondence with you.
P. Rob Royal June 17 at 7:18pm
Hello,
My name is Rob Royal and I'm an executive producer here at Channel 6. I'd like to talk to you about vampires. I need to get smarter about them. I would like to get a copy of your handbook. Can yo please call me at 484-664-8603.
Emilie Conroy June 17 at 10:49pm
I would be more than happy to help you to the fullest extent that I can, but as my schedule is so busy I prefer to use messaging or e-mail for communications. Let me give you the basics.
I am the elected Matriarch of the Order of Maidenfear, an international network of real vampires. This weekend we are celebrating our fortieth anniversary with an event we call the Ruby Solstice. Much of the vampire community participates in organized groups such as ours.
Additionally, I am the director and webmistress of Vampgeist Creative Media at http://www.vampgeist.com/ . Our main task has been to help people in the community and people outside the community find each other and successfully navigate media opportunities and traps. If you visit the website you will find a lot of information, all of which is freely available.
The Hybrid Vampire Handbook is available athttp://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-hybrid-vampire-handbook/2756708 . At the moment I'm contracted for several other real vampire book projects, including a conversational narrative about my personal experiences, a history of our Order, tales from the Vampgeist project, and a workbook in energy or pranic vampirism.
The world of the real vampire is multifaceted and always changing. It's been my experience that people find real vampirism even more interesting than the vampirism of film and fang. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
P. Rob Royal June 17 at 11:31pm
Thank you for responding to my message.
I have been reading information on the various websites you suggested since this afternoon. I have not been able to see a copy of the Hybrid Vampire Handbook, but we would like to read it.
I'm working with reporter Brian Taff to produce a report on vampires in our area.
As I'm sure you are aware, there is a renewed facination with vampires. Our network has a new TV show beginning and the newest Twighlight movie opens next week. But we're looking to give viewers insight into real vampire communities. Would you allow us to attend part of the Ruby Solstice? We would also need to interview someone about the vampire community. Could you do that video interview?
I've read some of your messages detailing what you do and don't do as a vampire ... kind of letters to educate people outside your community. I would really appreciate the opportunity to let our crew attend part of this weekend's event. We have attended and recorded Wiccan ceremonies in the past and have been very respectful.
You can respond via facebook or my email address: rob.royal@abc.com
Thank you again.
Emilie Conroy June 18 at 12:25am
Let me get back to you. I think I can provide what you're seeking, or if not I can point you in the direction of someone who does.
Unfortunately Ruby Solstice is a closed event, mainly to protect those in our group who do not wish to go public with their vampire lifestyles. I've been out in the open since 1988, and would have no trouble giving you a thorough and interesting interview--so long as no one is expecting Morticia Addams complete with fangs, cape, and a wooden coffin filled with the ground of my homeland!
I'm more aware of the pop vampire than I care to be, but it's all part of the package I suppose. For example, I have gotten e-mail addressed to the famous names in vampire fiction--Edward Cullen, Lestat, Celine from "Underworld", and the rest of the gang. That is, there are people who expect me to put them in contact with one of these characters, since I have the connections and whatnot. Sometimes I think a real vampire's biggest headache is the vampire fan!
Keep in touch, and take care!
P. Rob Royal June 18 at 12:47am
I thank you again for being willing to help.
Unfortunately for me, I'm trying to broadcast a report within the next couple of days. If at all possible, I would like to interview you tomorrow evening. You can reach me anyway that works for you ... facebook, email or my cell phone. Good night.
Emilie Conroy June 18 at 1:13pm
I have to apologize. You had originally written I "I'd like to talk to you about vampires. I need to get smarter about them", and so I believed you were planning to take the time to research. I didn't realize how important rushing this story was. That being the case, I really can't do more than I've already offered.
Getting an inherently secretive community to open up about its activities is hard enough. Best of luck working with a tight time constraint.
I'm looking forward (in a macabre masochistic way) to seeing what these guys do manage to produce. Sure, it was an opportunity to talk about the vampire community as we know it, but I'm pretty sure anything I said would have been mangled and the whole thing turned into a one-ring circus. Sigh.
(2016 postscript--nothing ever materialized)
P. Rob Royal June 17 at 7:18pm
Hello,
My name is Rob Royal and I'm an executive producer here at Channel 6. I'd like to talk to you about vampires. I need to get smarter about them. I would like to get a copy of your handbook. Can yo please call me at 484-664-8603.
Emilie Conroy June 17 at 10:49pm
I would be more than happy to help you to the fullest extent that I can, but as my schedule is so busy I prefer to use messaging or e-mail for communications. Let me give you the basics.
I am the elected Matriarch of the Order of Maidenfear, an international network of real vampires. This weekend we are celebrating our fortieth anniversary with an event we call the Ruby Solstice. Much of the vampire community participates in organized groups such as ours.
Additionally, I am the director and webmistress of Vampgeist Creative Media at http://www.vampgeist.com/ . Our main task has been to help people in the community and people outside the community find each other and successfully navigate media opportunities and traps. If you visit the website you will find a lot of information, all of which is freely available.
The Hybrid Vampire Handbook is available athttp://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-hybrid-vampire-handbook/2756708 . At the moment I'm contracted for several other real vampire book projects, including a conversational narrative about my personal experiences, a history of our Order, tales from the Vampgeist project, and a workbook in energy or pranic vampirism.
The world of the real vampire is multifaceted and always changing. It's been my experience that people find real vampirism even more interesting than the vampirism of film and fang. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
P. Rob Royal June 17 at 11:31pm
Thank you for responding to my message.
I have been reading information on the various websites you suggested since this afternoon. I have not been able to see a copy of the Hybrid Vampire Handbook, but we would like to read it.
I'm working with reporter Brian Taff to produce a report on vampires in our area.
As I'm sure you are aware, there is a renewed facination with vampires. Our network has a new TV show beginning and the newest Twighlight movie opens next week. But we're looking to give viewers insight into real vampire communities. Would you allow us to attend part of the Ruby Solstice? We would also need to interview someone about the vampire community. Could you do that video interview?
I've read some of your messages detailing what you do and don't do as a vampire ... kind of letters to educate people outside your community. I would really appreciate the opportunity to let our crew attend part of this weekend's event. We have attended and recorded Wiccan ceremonies in the past and have been very respectful.
You can respond via facebook or my email address: rob.royal@abc.com
Thank you again.
Emilie Conroy June 18 at 12:25am
Let me get back to you. I think I can provide what you're seeking, or if not I can point you in the direction of someone who does.
Unfortunately Ruby Solstice is a closed event, mainly to protect those in our group who do not wish to go public with their vampire lifestyles. I've been out in the open since 1988, and would have no trouble giving you a thorough and interesting interview--so long as no one is expecting Morticia Addams complete with fangs, cape, and a wooden coffin filled with the ground of my homeland!
I'm more aware of the pop vampire than I care to be, but it's all part of the package I suppose. For example, I have gotten e-mail addressed to the famous names in vampire fiction--Edward Cullen, Lestat, Celine from "Underworld", and the rest of the gang. That is, there are people who expect me to put them in contact with one of these characters, since I have the connections and whatnot. Sometimes I think a real vampire's biggest headache is the vampire fan!
Keep in touch, and take care!
P. Rob Royal June 18 at 12:47am
I thank you again for being willing to help.
Unfortunately for me, I'm trying to broadcast a report within the next couple of days. If at all possible, I would like to interview you tomorrow evening. You can reach me anyway that works for you ... facebook, email or my cell phone. Good night.
Emilie Conroy June 18 at 1:13pm
I have to apologize. You had originally written I "I'd like to talk to you about vampires. I need to get smarter about them", and so I believed you were planning to take the time to research. I didn't realize how important rushing this story was. That being the case, I really can't do more than I've already offered.
Getting an inherently secretive community to open up about its activities is hard enough. Best of luck working with a tight time constraint.
I'm looking forward (in a macabre masochistic way) to seeing what these guys do manage to produce. Sure, it was an opportunity to talk about the vampire community as we know it, but I'm pretty sure anything I said would have been mangled and the whole thing turned into a one-ring circus. Sigh.
(2016 postscript--nothing ever materialized)
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
The Totally Unofficial Edward Cullen Answering Service
Vampgeist Creative Media
Philadelphia, PA 19149
Dear Utterly Overheated Twilight Fan:
Yours is roughly the ten thousandth letter our office has received asking for details or contact information for the vampire of the moment, Edward Cullen from the Twilight series. We have been asked everything from what is his personal cell phone number to whether is he accepting wedding proposals and almost anything you can imagine in between.
Normally we work to promote communication between our visitors and our clients. But in this case, I hate to break it to you. It just isn’t going to work. Why?
1) Edward Cullen is not a client of Vampgeist. The leading cause of this would be
2) Edward Cullen is a fictitious character and does not actually exist outside page and screen.
We’re not kidding when we say that there are lots of people–mostly teenage girls–who would give anything to just breathe the same air as Edward Cullen. I’ve heard over and over again, “I want to marry Edward Cullen! I’m GOING to marry Edward Cullen!” Er, well, no, you’re not.
Ol’ Eddie-Puss isn’t the first fictitious vampire we’ve been asked to contact–Lestat, Sookie Stackhouse, Celine, any of the Lost Boys, and the Comte de Saint-Germain are a few others.
Well, we can’t put you in contact with vampires who just don’t exist in what we assume is the experience of the real world. However, if you’re determined to invite Edward Cullen to prom (or whatever), allow us to direct you to the site of Edward’s creatrix, Stephenie Meyer.
Philadelphia, PA 19149
Dear Utterly Overheated Twilight Fan:
Yours is roughly the ten thousandth letter our office has received asking for details or contact information for the vampire of the moment, Edward Cullen from the Twilight series. We have been asked everything from what is his personal cell phone number to whether is he accepting wedding proposals and almost anything you can imagine in between.
Normally we work to promote communication between our visitors and our clients. But in this case, I hate to break it to you. It just isn’t going to work. Why?
1) Edward Cullen is not a client of Vampgeist. The leading cause of this would be
2) Edward Cullen is a fictitious character and does not actually exist outside page and screen.
We’re not kidding when we say that there are lots of people–mostly teenage girls–who would give anything to just breathe the same air as Edward Cullen. I’ve heard over and over again, “I want to marry Edward Cullen! I’m GOING to marry Edward Cullen!” Er, well, no, you’re not.
Ol’ Eddie-Puss isn’t the first fictitious vampire we’ve been asked to contact–Lestat, Sookie Stackhouse, Celine, any of the Lost Boys, and the Comte de Saint-Germain are a few others.
Well, we can’t put you in contact with vampires who just don’t exist in what we assume is the experience of the real world. However, if you’re determined to invite Edward Cullen to prom (or whatever), allow us to direct you to the site of Edward’s creatrix, Stephenie Meyer.
Advisory--Real Vampires Wanted
Not even vampires are safe when the creeps decide to come out of the woodwork.
One Vampgeist client became our client after the following events. She received an e-mail. Some huge network or another was seeking “real vampires” to be featured in a series “showing the truth about modern vampirism”. Interested real vampires were told to show up at a local television studio at a given time for an audition.
Well, our client squealed in enthusiasm. Imagine! National television! I suppose we can all understand how this might be heady stuff, heady enough to not wonder how the e-mail address had been attained or the solid logistics of the production. She put on her vampire best as requested and went off to audition.
The “studio” was a loft apartment, but this didn’t dissuade hundreds of “real vampires” from going after their moment. A line of potential talent lined up down the hall, down the stairwell, and outside into the cold January morning. Our client waited patiently for her turn with the “producers”, and then finally was ushered into the loft with a swish of the assistant’s hand.
Our client remembers how she had to tell herself that she was new to the whole TV thing, that maybe this was how it was done. She didn’t have the time to reflect more because one of the three male “producers” started laughing at her. “You’re precious,” he said, coming towards her, scrutinizing her body. “Doll, we want real vampires.”
“But I am a real vampire,” she insisted.
Now the other two men joined the third. “Look at you. You’re too damn fat to be a real vampire.”
Her jaw dropped. She is a thin woman and always has been. “What the hell does that have to do with being a vampire?”
But they weren’t about to answer her. They showed her the exit, making certain she didn’t speak to anyone else waiting in line.
All of this transpired as the result of a plague of e-mail invitations to participate in television shows and other media outlets that has been infecting the mailboxes of members of the real vampire community. If there has been a legitimate project–something setting out to explain rather than exploit–it has been buried under invitations to make talk shows more interesting and teasers about possible reality series.
If there were one or two of these making the rounds, this advisory might not be necessary. But it has become something of an epidemic. What’s worse is that these invitations appeal to a certain sense of vanity that we probably all feel to some degree. Being on national television is appealing, but that’s not the likely end to a real vampire’s encounter. Exploitation, abuse, mockery of the real vampire to increase an audience–these are the ultimate products of these projects, when there is actually a project at all.
The answer to this problem is in all of our hands. We must protect ourselves and venture forward wisely. Vampgeist has compiled these rules for safe conduct among media teasers.
1) Go with your gut. If you get a bad feeling, delete the message.
2) Recruiters for legitimate media outlets may use a canvassing method to announce a project, but they will still remain professional in their e-mail. Check to see if there is clearly a name and other contact data, as well as the outlet they claim to be representing. Do a web search for further verification.
3) Check the spelling, grammar, and syntax of the message. This is not elitist so much as another check for professionalism.
4) Ask questions. A professional will be expecting it, and will also find the time to answer.
5) Do not give out too much information, especially personal information, on your first attempt at contact. They need to establish a kind of trust and reciprocity with you first.
6) Remember that THEY are seeking YOU out because your knowledge may be a valuable commodity.
7) No one is going to think any less of you if you just delete the message and move on with your activities. Televised appearances have nothing to do with being a real vampire.
At Vampgeist we have staff who are checking out potential media contacts and projects. We offer this service to anyone in the real vampire community free of charge. Our safety and our integrity as a community are too important to be compromised by people seeking to make us look a little less than sane.
One Vampgeist client became our client after the following events. She received an e-mail. Some huge network or another was seeking “real vampires” to be featured in a series “showing the truth about modern vampirism”. Interested real vampires were told to show up at a local television studio at a given time for an audition.
Well, our client squealed in enthusiasm. Imagine! National television! I suppose we can all understand how this might be heady stuff, heady enough to not wonder how the e-mail address had been attained or the solid logistics of the production. She put on her vampire best as requested and went off to audition.
The “studio” was a loft apartment, but this didn’t dissuade hundreds of “real vampires” from going after their moment. A line of potential talent lined up down the hall, down the stairwell, and outside into the cold January morning. Our client waited patiently for her turn with the “producers”, and then finally was ushered into the loft with a swish of the assistant’s hand.
Our client remembers how she had to tell herself that she was new to the whole TV thing, that maybe this was how it was done. She didn’t have the time to reflect more because one of the three male “producers” started laughing at her. “You’re precious,” he said, coming towards her, scrutinizing her body. “Doll, we want real vampires.”
“But I am a real vampire,” she insisted.
Now the other two men joined the third. “Look at you. You’re too damn fat to be a real vampire.”
Her jaw dropped. She is a thin woman and always has been. “What the hell does that have to do with being a vampire?”
But they weren’t about to answer her. They showed her the exit, making certain she didn’t speak to anyone else waiting in line.
All of this transpired as the result of a plague of e-mail invitations to participate in television shows and other media outlets that has been infecting the mailboxes of members of the real vampire community. If there has been a legitimate project–something setting out to explain rather than exploit–it has been buried under invitations to make talk shows more interesting and teasers about possible reality series.
If there were one or two of these making the rounds, this advisory might not be necessary. But it has become something of an epidemic. What’s worse is that these invitations appeal to a certain sense of vanity that we probably all feel to some degree. Being on national television is appealing, but that’s not the likely end to a real vampire’s encounter. Exploitation, abuse, mockery of the real vampire to increase an audience–these are the ultimate products of these projects, when there is actually a project at all.
The answer to this problem is in all of our hands. We must protect ourselves and venture forward wisely. Vampgeist has compiled these rules for safe conduct among media teasers.
1) Go with your gut. If you get a bad feeling, delete the message.
2) Recruiters for legitimate media outlets may use a canvassing method to announce a project, but they will still remain professional in their e-mail. Check to see if there is clearly a name and other contact data, as well as the outlet they claim to be representing. Do a web search for further verification.
3) Check the spelling, grammar, and syntax of the message. This is not elitist so much as another check for professionalism.
4) Ask questions. A professional will be expecting it, and will also find the time to answer.
5) Do not give out too much information, especially personal information, on your first attempt at contact. They need to establish a kind of trust and reciprocity with you first.
6) Remember that THEY are seeking YOU out because your knowledge may be a valuable commodity.
7) No one is going to think any less of you if you just delete the message and move on with your activities. Televised appearances have nothing to do with being a real vampire.
At Vampgeist we have staff who are checking out potential media contacts and projects. We offer this service to anyone in the real vampire community free of charge. Our safety and our integrity as a community are too important to be compromised by people seeking to make us look a little less than sane.
Vampgeist Statement of Purpose
There are already more real vampire sites and projects on line than any online explorer could visit in their lifetime. All right, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but there are still a lot of sites out there.
So what is Vampgeist? What is the operating idea? What is it we plan to offer those who come a seeking?
In short, it goes something like this.
First and foremost, we are seeking to better understand ourselves through the vampire archetype. This archetype has been found in virtually every human culture around the world.
Vampgeist aims to describe a system of vampiric practice that can be understood by society in general.
Vampgeist operates independently of the real vampire community and of society at large. In this way, we serve both through information and education.
Vampgeist will assert that our paradigm is but one of many in the vampire community.
Vampgeist seeks to represent the real vampire community with respect and dignity.
Vampgeist is here to provide information to people outside of the community about the phenomenon of real vampirism. If you think people aren’t perennially interested in vampires, ask someone.
Vampgeist hopes to provide timely and relevant warnings and cautions against media traps and disambiguations.
Vampgeist will mediate access to the real vampire community for those seeking to learn or satisfy their curiosity.
Vampgeist can provide provisionary legal advice to individuals who feel that their essential rights are being threatened.
So what is Vampgeist? What is the operating idea? What is it we plan to offer those who come a seeking?
In short, it goes something like this.
First and foremost, we are seeking to better understand ourselves through the vampire archetype. This archetype has been found in virtually every human culture around the world.
Vampgeist aims to describe a system of vampiric practice that can be understood by society in general.
Vampgeist operates independently of the real vampire community and of society at large. In this way, we serve both through information and education.
Vampgeist will assert that our paradigm is but one of many in the vampire community.
Vampgeist seeks to represent the real vampire community with respect and dignity.
Vampgeist is here to provide information to people outside of the community about the phenomenon of real vampirism. If you think people aren’t perennially interested in vampires, ask someone.
Vampgeist hopes to provide timely and relevant warnings and cautions against media traps and disambiguations.
Vampgeist will mediate access to the real vampire community for those seeking to learn or satisfy their curiosity.
Vampgeist can provide provisionary legal advice to individuals who feel that their essential rights are being threatened.
Vampgeist exists to protect individuals from media predators and exploitation.
Vampgeist will produce quality non-fiction articles and press releases independently and at the request of Client-Members.
Vampgeist is a SERVICE, not an Order or a Court.
How can we do this? We are media professionals, with experience in print and broadcast journalism. Our basic tenet is that being a vampire is fascinating enough without needing to dress the part or throw in some stereotypical imagery.
Vampgeist will produce quality non-fiction articles and press releases independently and at the request of Client-Members.
Vampgeist is a SERVICE, not an Order or a Court.
How can we do this? We are media professionals, with experience in print and broadcast journalism. Our basic tenet is that being a vampire is fascinating enough without needing to dress the part or throw in some stereotypical imagery.
Introduction to Project Vampgeist
VAMPIRE. It’s a loaded word. The mere whisper of the word conjures up an amazing spectrum of images and human emotions–from fright to passion to curiosity. Understandably, many people are reluctant to accept that there are real vampires wandering about society, and denial turns into a kind of defense. Yet vampires–use defining the word instead of the word defining use–are very much real.
Well, not in the legendary sense. They're not immortal, they don’t shirk away from sunlight, and they don’t only feed on human blood. At the other end of the spectrum we have self-proclaimed vampires claiming to writhe in exquisite agony from a lack of feeding. When people from outside of the community encounter one of these attention vampires, they may dismiss everyone as products of a warped imagination. What’s the fun in a vampire so very dark in emotion drinking soda and eating white bread?
Yet somewhere in between Count Orlock and Lestat de Lioncourt and the Hot Topic pay-to-be-different crowd you will find most of the real vampire community. Not being fabulous creatures certainly hasn’t rendered the community boring.
VAMPGEIST is the brainchild of individuals who are active leaders in and advocates of the real vampire community, but Vampgeist itself exists to serve the community, to serve those outside the community, and to serve people’s endless curiosity about vampires. Vampgeist is its own community, an independent entity that welcomes everyone. There is no one truth that explains away the personal philosophies of everyone who calls themselves vampire, but Vampgeist aims to explore and share a few truths. Vampgeist is not about cosmetic fangs or aesthetic sensationalism, but rather about thought, deed, and experience.
You do not need to count yourself as a real vampire to interact with Vampgeist–in fact, one of Vampgeist’s main purposes is to be accessible to the general public as well as the media.
The age of the vampire is here.
The time to embrace a new reality is now.
Well, not in the legendary sense. They're not immortal, they don’t shirk away from sunlight, and they don’t only feed on human blood. At the other end of the spectrum we have self-proclaimed vampires claiming to writhe in exquisite agony from a lack of feeding. When people from outside of the community encounter one of these attention vampires, they may dismiss everyone as products of a warped imagination. What’s the fun in a vampire so very dark in emotion drinking soda and eating white bread?
Yet somewhere in between Count Orlock and Lestat de Lioncourt and the Hot Topic pay-to-be-different crowd you will find most of the real vampire community. Not being fabulous creatures certainly hasn’t rendered the community boring.
VAMPGEIST is the brainchild of individuals who are active leaders in and advocates of the real vampire community, but Vampgeist itself exists to serve the community, to serve those outside the community, and to serve people’s endless curiosity about vampires. Vampgeist is its own community, an independent entity that welcomes everyone. There is no one truth that explains away the personal philosophies of everyone who calls themselves vampire, but Vampgeist aims to explore and share a few truths. Vampgeist is not about cosmetic fangs or aesthetic sensationalism, but rather about thought, deed, and experience.
You do not need to count yourself as a real vampire to interact with Vampgeist–in fact, one of Vampgeist’s main purposes is to be accessible to the general public as well as the media.
The age of the vampire is here.
The time to embrace a new reality is now.
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