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Slate Culture

Decoder Ring: The Philosophy of Vampires

Slate Culture

Slate Podcasts

Arts, Tv & Film, Music

4.42K Ratings

🗓️ 30 November 2021

⏱️ 34 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In literature, the choice to become a vampire is a metaphor for transformative experiences. On this episode, we bring you a story from Slate's Hi-Phi Nation podcast, which explores problems in contemporary philosophy through story. From real-life blood suckers, to Lord Byron, to Twilight, vampires are a tool for philosophers to think about otherness, sexuality, and the transformative experiences we all go through in life. To listen to more Hi-Phi Nation, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. If you love the show and want to support us, consider joining Slate Plus. With Slate Plus you can get ad free podcasts, bonus episodes, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

I found a vampire researcher. His name is John Edgar Browning and he's so into studying

0:19.0

vampires that he decided to let one suck his blood. Could you describe the experience

0:25.6

to me? Sure. John Edgar Browning. It was a little difficult for me because

0:29.5

I'm aachmaphob, basically a person who is afraid of sharp objects. I was like, okay, I'll

0:36.3

let you do it. He took an area from the upper back because it typically doesn't

0:41.8

scar very easily and it's out of you washes his hands, wears gloves. He uses a

0:48.2

sterile scalpel after he cleans the area and then makes a very small prick or two

0:54.8

and then squeezes the skin around it and the blood begins to come out a little

0:58.6

bit. It was just deep enough to where it would draw the blood. He sucks on it,

1:02.9

squeezes more, sucks on it again and did that for five or eight minutes. John is

1:12.0

talking about real vampires or people. They're all over the world who feel a very

1:18.0

strong physiological need to consume raw blood from humans or animals and they

1:25.5

have to do this regularly or they don't feel right. Initially, they don't

1:29.7

realize they have this problem. They just know that they can't eat

1:32.2

healthily or do enough to make themselves healthy. This is just that for

1:35.6

puberty. They always feel sluggish and weak and lethargic and often by accident

1:40.1

they come in contact with blood or human blood animal blood. Either they

1:43.0

get in a fight with someone or they mother brings home a steak and there's

1:47.2

some blood tainted liquid at the bottom and sometimes they have friends who are

1:50.3

just like, hey, I just cut my finger. You want to drink it and they're like

1:53.2

actually yes and they find it that way. They had no way of proving that they

1:59.6

had this need. I mean doctors have tried diagnosing them. They've tried taking

...

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