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Unholy Hungers: Encountering the Psychic Vampire in Ourselves and Others
Vampires are not just imaginary creatures of fiction or legend—they really exist. They are the people who, having never received love, settle for power instead, and become experts at robbing others of their vital energy. We've all known them.
In her fascinating study of this dark psychological archetype, Barbara Hort looks to traditional myths as well as to their modern equivalents in literature, theater, and film, following a blood-soaked trail to such unexpected destinations as The Silence of the Lambs, "Snow White," and the Broadway musical Gypsy. She offers insight into how psychic vampires originate, how we allow ourselves to be caught in their clutches, and how we can protect ourselves from their seductive influence.
In her fascinating study of this dark psychological archetype, Barbara Hort looks to traditional myths as well as to their modern equivalents in literature, theater, and film, following a blood-soaked trail to such unexpected destinations as The Silence of the Lambs, "Snow White," and the Broadway musical Gypsy. She offers insight into how psychic vampires originate, how we allow ourselves to be caught in their clutches, and how we can protect ourselves from their seductive influence.
272 pages, Paperback
First published June 18, 1996
7 people are currently reading
135 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 10, 2015
great book! definitely will make you learn and understand your"shadow".
Good book for the ones who try to develop and know themselves
Good book for the ones who try to develop and know themselves
Currently reading
April 18, 2024My review is for the paperback version of this book.
I started reading this book today, the author explains how Jungian psychology relates to psychic vampirism or vampirism in general.
It makes a lot of sense how the archetypes Carl Jung described, relates to the psyche & vampires/vampirism, or Gods/Goddesses in ancient civilizations and especially in the modern day-spirituality, witchcraft, various religions, spiritual & occult practices/beliefs.
Most ancient civilizations, believed in vampiric spirits, or vampiric entities, vampiric demons, or ancient vampiric Deities that are long forgotten about, faded into obscurity except for the minority that know about them.
It's interesting that psychic vampirism relates to Jungian psychology, it relates to modern society and how people treat others.
There are some weird spelling errors, typos in this book, which sometimes makes reading this book difficult to read sometimes or difficult to fully understand some of the sentences in this book.
Servants that serve their vampiric masters are known as a familiar and a donor for blood to satiate their vampiric master, they exist in a in-between state of life & death they aren't alive but aren't dead either. The familiar serves their vampiric masters during the day.
I started reading this book today, the author explains how Jungian psychology relates to psychic vampirism or vampirism in general.
It makes a lot of sense how the archetypes Carl Jung described, relates to the psyche & vampires/vampirism, or Gods/Goddesses in ancient civilizations and especially in the modern day-spirituality, witchcraft, various religions, spiritual & occult practices/beliefs.
Most ancient civilizations, believed in vampiric spirits, or vampiric entities, vampiric demons, or ancient vampiric Deities that are long forgotten about, faded into obscurity except for the minority that know about them.
It's interesting that psychic vampirism relates to Jungian psychology, it relates to modern society and how people treat others.
There are some weird spelling errors, typos in this book, which sometimes makes reading this book difficult to read sometimes or difficult to fully understand some of the sentences in this book.
Servants that serve their vampiric masters are known as a familiar and a donor for blood to satiate their vampiric master, they exist in a in-between state of life & death they aren't alive but aren't dead either. The familiar serves their vampiric masters during the day.
July 13, 2018
This is by far the best book I've ever read about psychic vampires and how to identify them even when it's yourself!
June 8, 2022
You run into a very charismatic stranger, someone who draws you in. They are lively and vivacious. Yet after the interaction you feel drained and just empty. You have just had an interaction with a psychic vampire. The approach of this book as it explains the phenomena is not metaphysical or new agey but rather very psychological and in depth.
The psychic vampire is an archetype much like the warrior, scholar or ruler. It is something that any individual can tap into. Most of us if we have been victimized by the vampire had our first experience as small kids. Most of the time psychic vampires are unaware that they are vampires. We come into this world seeking love but when love is not found the individual finds a way to compensate usually by exploiting others. Once someone is vampirized they usually become psychic vampires themselves or they are in need of repair.
The author discusses several different paradigms of psychic vampirism. Going through the male vampire and female victim, male vampire and male victim and female vampire and male victim and female vampire. All of these instances are pulled from literature and movies. There are some personal stories as well along with deep analysis.
The male vampire and female victim plays out in Dracula and Silence of the Lambs. Both Hanibal and Vlad are at the top of the game. Very charismatic and charming. They know how to manipulate people. Dracula victimizes Mina Harker and Hanibal Lecter victimizes Clarice a young police detective. The mediocre vampires are Renfield and many prison guards. They victimize the less fortunate. They tend to be prison guards who feed off of inmates. Perhaps the most dangerous vampire is the noble vampire. They come about ready to protect or advise but their ultimate goal is exploitation.
The female vampire comes off as a helpless damsel in distress. Looking for a strong man who will protect her and provide for her. She controls her victim by giving or denying approval and by giving the silent treatment. Example of this are the Glass Menagerie where in the mother exerts supreme control over her son by using guilt and vulnerability. Another example of female vampire is Medusa. She fixes men with a hard look and uses anger and wrath to get her way. Of course there is the story of Gypsy Rose and her Controlling mother who tries to live through her daughters vicariously.
The male-to-male paradigm involves an older vampire siring or teaching a younger man or vampire so they have a partner in crime. The younger vampire ends up turning against the older vampire and supplants him or her. You see this a lot in corporations. The author uses Dorian Grey and an example.
Vampires prey on the lonely an vulnerable. It is often the lonely who project their image of a perfect lover onto another. Vampires are shapeshifter. They can appear as anything. The only way to defeat this vampire is finding self love, accepting truth and coming into contact with your internal perfect lover.
The psychic vampire is an archetype much like the warrior, scholar or ruler. It is something that any individual can tap into. Most of us if we have been victimized by the vampire had our first experience as small kids. Most of the time psychic vampires are unaware that they are vampires. We come into this world seeking love but when love is not found the individual finds a way to compensate usually by exploiting others. Once someone is vampirized they usually become psychic vampires themselves or they are in need of repair.
The author discusses several different paradigms of psychic vampirism. Going through the male vampire and female victim, male vampire and male victim and female vampire and male victim and female vampire. All of these instances are pulled from literature and movies. There are some personal stories as well along with deep analysis.
The male vampire and female victim plays out in Dracula and Silence of the Lambs. Both Hanibal and Vlad are at the top of the game. Very charismatic and charming. They know how to manipulate people. Dracula victimizes Mina Harker and Hanibal Lecter victimizes Clarice a young police detective. The mediocre vampires are Renfield and many prison guards. They victimize the less fortunate. They tend to be prison guards who feed off of inmates. Perhaps the most dangerous vampire is the noble vampire. They come about ready to protect or advise but their ultimate goal is exploitation.
The female vampire comes off as a helpless damsel in distress. Looking for a strong man who will protect her and provide for her. She controls her victim by giving or denying approval and by giving the silent treatment. Example of this are the Glass Menagerie where in the mother exerts supreme control over her son by using guilt and vulnerability. Another example of female vampire is Medusa. She fixes men with a hard look and uses anger and wrath to get her way. Of course there is the story of Gypsy Rose and her Controlling mother who tries to live through her daughters vicariously.
The male-to-male paradigm involves an older vampire siring or teaching a younger man or vampire so they have a partner in crime. The younger vampire ends up turning against the older vampire and supplants him or her. You see this a lot in corporations. The author uses Dorian Grey and an example.
Vampires prey on the lonely an vulnerable. It is often the lonely who project their image of a perfect lover onto another. Vampires are shapeshifter. They can appear as anything. The only way to defeat this vampire is finding self love, accepting truth and coming into contact with your internal perfect lover.
March 3, 2025
Everyone’s a vampire. Someone has power over you, their a vampire. You have power over someone, you’re a vampire. This was a waste of time to read.
October 9, 2016
Frau Hort hat hier ein ganzes Stück Arbeit geleistet. Das Buch ist untermalt mit Mythen und Sagen und vielen Praxisbeispielen aus dem Leben. Es ermuntert zur Selbstreflexion!
Bin kein Englischprofi - mit Vokabelbüchlein aber doch "einfach" zu lesen gewesen.
March 22, 2008
Amazing and illuminating book... :)
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April 13, 2012i just started it but it has my attention...
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews