15 What is a "psychic vampire"?
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This article is from the Vampires FAQ, by BJ Kuehl bj@alpha1.csd.uwm.edu with numerous contributions by others.
15 What is a "psychic vampire"?
The term "psychic vampire" was popularized in the mid-1800s when members
of The Theosophical Society turned their attention to researching the
psyche, described as the human mind, soul, emotions, and all the latent
mental processes which take place within an individual and which are not
visible or measurable in the physical world. Psychic vampires (sometimes
referred to as psi-vamps) are characterized as individuals who suck
energy (as opposed to blood) from others.
Members of The Theosophical Society theorized two types of psychic
vampires. One was the "astral", described by Henry Steele Olcott as
undead but able to separate astral from material body and leave the
grave in search of blood or energy from the living, which it could
send back to the buried body in order to sustain its hold on life.
The other was the "magnetic", described by Franz Hartmann as a living
"psychic sponge" who absorbed energy from those around it.
Although psychic vampirism seems to be a relatively recent phenomenon,
legends about vampirelike beings who drain others of their energy or
lifeforce, soul or vitality, chi or pa, or who use humans as a means
of procreation, predate blood-drinking revenants by thousands of years.
More information on some of these ancient psychic vampires can be found
in section 2.04, q.v. empusa, incubus, and mulo.
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