Misconception: Vampires are undead; are corpses; are immortal.
Truth: Real life vampires are normal, every-day people from ALL walks of life, race, background, religion who work normal jobs, have normal families and live normal lives. They are neither immortal, nor all-powerful.
Misconception: Vampires can not enter sunlight; are harmed/killed by running water, crosses and garlic; live in coffins, etc.
Truth: Real life vampires may be light sensitive, but will not burst into flame anymore then anyone else; might be afraid of water but are not harmed by it; have no issue with holy symbols nor food items; and live in normal homes like everyone else.
Misconception: Vampires are evil; vampires are affiliated with Satan, the Devil, or some other evil lord/master/demon
Truth: Vampires are normal people and come from every religion and faith on the planet and have as much potential to be a good person as they have to be a bad person the way everyone else does. Vampirism is a medical condition and has NOTHING to do with one's religion and DOES NOT mean a person is automatically evil.
Misconception: Vampires are all kids dressing up in black; are "Goths"; are just "acting out" or want to be "different"
Truth: Real life Vampires are people of adult age and up (the condition tends to remain dormant until after puberty is complete). They are people of all clothing tastes and do not engage in vampirism to be "cool." Vampirism has nothing to do with what clothing you wear or what your tastes in music are. Vampirism is a medical condition and does not make a person "special" or "better".
Yes, there are kids out there who dress up like characters from books, but they're engaging in dress up; real vampires are just trying to live their lives and that has nothing to do with fictional books, movies, or characters.
Misconception: Vampires have mental illness and are delusional for thinking they're something fictional.
Truth: Real vampires aren't anything like their silly, fictional counterparts except that they require small amounts of blood as a supplement to their diet. Real vampires don't think they are, or act like they are, or try to be like their fictional counterparts. It is VERY much like a diabetic who requires insulin to remain healthy; a real vampiric person simply requires small amounts of blood to remain healthy. Sure, a real vampiric person can suffer from a mental illness just like anyone else on the planet, but to be a vampiric person does NOT automatically make them "crazy" or "delusional" any more then a person suffering from other medical conditions.
Misconception: Vampires are just anemic; vampires just have Porphyria.
Truth: Anemia is in NO WAY helped or overcome through the ingestion of blood. Anemics need iron in it's raw state (generally through iron pill supplements or through iron injected via IV) as iron is a main component for hemoglobin (the main part of red blood cells). Red blood cells are responsible for delivering oxygen through the body and without enough red blood cells, a person lacks enough oxygen. Iron is stored the Bone Marrow where red blood cells are produced. Drinking blood would in no way give the needed iron and would be expelled, unprocessed, by the kidneys.
Porphyria is a name for six separate conditions and despite being associated historically with vampirism, it has nothing to do with it. "Porphyria victims don't crave blood. Drinking blood will not alleviate their symptoms, nor has there ever been a general belief that it would. The blood chemicals porphyria victims need do not survive digestion."
Misconception: Vampires are/think they are "supernatural"; vampires are/think they are not human; vampires are/think they are "better" then normal people
Truth: Real life Vampires ARE HUMAN. They are NOT supernatural. Vampirism is a medical condition. It does not make a person special, better, or "more" then anyone else. It's just a difference like any other health problem people the world over suffer from. (Be it diagnosed or undiagnosed and understood or not understood. The list of medical conditions for which doctors and scientists actually understand is infinitesimal compared to those they do not, so it is not hard to accept that there are health concerns that are not yet explainable)
Misconception: Vampires attack people to steal their blood; kill people; are violent and hostile.
Truth: Real life vampiric people use volunteer, willing donors; engage in safety via blood tests, sterile tools and safe and sane bloodletting practices. We're talking small amounts - a mouthful or two - and only under safe conditions. Real vampiric people will do everything possible to minimize pain and scaring for the donor and do not compel anyone to donate their blood to them. Failing accessibility of a donor, many vampiric people will use animal blood obtained from butchers (kosher if possible), generally in the form of beef blood.
Misconception: Drinking blood is just an addition - not a need.
Truth: Yes, there are some people who are blood fetishists. They gain pleasure from the consumption of blood (mainly in sexual situations). There are also people who enjoy the "dark and morbid" overtones that modern fictional vampirism embraces. Real vampiric people do not drink blood because they are blood junkies, they do so because they lack something in their physical/spiritual make up and can only fulfill it through the ingestion of blood. For these people, it's not about a high, or a rush, or for fun, it's about maintaining health. The consumption of blood is used to regulate the real vampire's body the same way that a diabetic uses insulin to regulate their blood sugar levels. When a vampiric person ceases to drink blood, they become ill and exhibit signs of immune system damage and become prone to catch viruses and bacterial infections. Real Vampires do not die from lack of blood, but they will wither and potentially die from secondary effects as a result of ceasing blood ingestion.
