Thanks to various posts and explanations. Thanks everyone and especially Byakko.
I think I have pretty good idea now of what is a Were/Therian, and I am comfortable with what causes shapeshifting now too. Thanks Dragonslorefury and especially Byakko.

But I am now wondering what is a real Vampire? What makes a Vampire a Vampire?

Vampire usually refers to an individual with an abnormal energy deficiency.

Vampires need increased sources of prana in order to function normally. The generally discussed types of Vampires are as follows:

Ageless/Classical: This is the idea from Bram Stoker's fable, or Anne Rice novels, few people believe in the existence of these Vampires, and fewer still are the rare individuals who claim to be one and seem to be able to speak intelligibly. I personally do not believe in Classical Vampires, but I would not be surprised very much if they exist.

Inheritors: This is in reference to an individual who has Vampirism as a result of heredity. The idea here is that the energy deficiency has been passed down from parent to child and would support that Vampirism can exist as a genetic malady. There is no scientific evidence that I am aware of to support the existence of such a trait.

Psychic: This is generally the most common type of Vampire, and individual who absorbs Prana in forms other than blood. This can be from fruit, fresh meat, ambient energy off of crowds, deep feeding from consenting donors* or other specialized forms of feeding (some feed from the Astral plane and many entities encountered there, some can only feed effectively from highly charged emotional energy or sexual energy).

Sanguine: Individuals who need to absorb prana from blood, most often Human. If I am not mistaken, Sanguinarium actually considers Sanguine Vampires not to be separate from Psychic Vampires but rather as a subtype who have nothing more than a specialized way of absorbing prana.

*: To deep feed from a non-consenting individual is referred to as "Vampire Rape," such an action is considered highly offensive and wrong and is treated by many Vampire circles as being just as inappropriate as stealing property from or assaulting an individual.

Terro basically covered it all. A vampire is a human with an energy deficiency. I'm not too keen on inheritors or ageless existing personally.

Well, I thank you both for your replies.
I have to say that I was not looking for a list of Vampire types because Lady C's list, found here http://otherkin.30.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=34
seems really comprehensive, and quite excellent.

I was looking for an explanation of what makes a Vampire a Vampire.
I am hoping that perhaps Lady C or one of the other Vampires here might give us their ideas on their Kin, and what makes them what they are.

Kes.

Unfortunately we have little information of what actually makes a vampire have an energy deficiency.

Experiments utilizing Kurlian photography have shown evidence or transfer of electromagnetic energy from an object (plants mostly) to the "Vampire." Nothing conclusive though.

There are those that believe that Vampires result from wounded souls which "leak" energy like you leak blood when cut, there are those that believe Vampires are more spiritually able and thus need to replenish the prana they expend.

There are those that believe it is something physical or at least confined to the body currently inhabited. The supposition is that one may be a Vampire in this life because of a deficient body and the individual was not a Vampire prior to this life and will continue to not be a Vampire after this life.

As far as Ageless and Inheritors, I'm a disbeliever in both. They are however worth mentioning as they are believed to exist, and droves of them come into the Otherkin Community at large with the release of each Blade or Underworld movie.

you may actually benefit from these:

http://youtube.com/user/vampirezilchy

The unofficial "Vampire soap box." You can also send messages and questions if you are curious as to more, I know he is always anxious for good questions (you run out eventually).

Ah, well it's basically an energy deficiency caused by a hole in the subtle body or aura, commonly at the heart chakra. At least that's what I've heard/read. I'm sure a vampire would have more info for ya

Oh dear.

I could not comment on if he knows what he is talking about, partly because I am not a Vampire and partly because he couldn't seem to get the words out properly around those truly awful looking fangs!
Why would anyone who is purporting to have a serious message to give do anything as foolhardy as reverting to such a stereotype?
This is not a problem I have with what he likes to do in his private life, but while he is putting himself forward as a spokesperson for the Vampire race he is talking to non kin and re-enforcing many of the stereotypical views they already have of Vampires.

I don't know why any Vampires would want to do that to their teeth, I think it makes them look like they're trying a bit too hard. But he must like them, and they're more subtle than some I've seen.
Putting his teeth aside I think he talked a lot of sense and I am grateful to Terro for the link.

For me, as a Vampire I do not believe we have anything leaking that makes us Vampiric. I would know if my Aura or any of my Chakras had a hole in them and were leaking energy, and they're not.
It is obvious that the energy deficiency is very acute, and has some semi-serious side effects which can become very serious for some of us. But wondering where it comes from is like wondering where the hunger comes from for Weres, and where the empathy comes from for many of us.
I think that the reasons for the way we are are something else that each of us may have a theory about, but no-one will ever have an answer that we can all agree on, and that in the middle of what we all think, the truth lies somewhere, but none of us will ever really know where.
To me a Vampire is a human body with a vampire essence, and that Vampire essence needs more energy than it can produce for itself, so it has to take in energy from outside itself, it has no choice. But it can choose where to take it from and how it takes it.
As Terro said to take energy from anyone by force is an unacceptable thing to do, and is frowned upon by many in the Vampire community.
If Psi feeding from non-kin is what you do and you have no donor, then the free energy they give off is perfectly adequate to sustain you without having to feed without permission. Even better for you is the energy from nature as you don't have to worry about it having been contaminated with feelings that might just pass to you along with any of the energy you absorb.
As Zilchy said blood drinking is now also considered unwise by many of the Vampire community. It gets more and more risky every year. But if you really have to find your energy that way then for Goddess sake be safe about it.
A Vampire might also have a skin sensitivity to sunlight, and an eye sensitivity to bright light of every kind. A delicate stomach that has problems with unusual/over flavoured food or even just an inability to eat 'meals', having to snack on small amounts throughout the day in order for the stomach not to get over full. Cravings for unusual substances are not unknown, perhaps for some they are looking for a blood substitute, and for others something that 'feels' right and satisfies their need to take in something to fill the void they have that nothing seems to fill.
Fangs I believe are a misrepresentation, since there is no reason for them, and no-one I have ever met has any memories, or has seen any clan writings/history or knowledge of any kind that says we ever even had them. Except of course the movies love them.
The truth is that biting someone is NOT a good way to get blood from them. It mangles the arteries and veins and makes blood go everywhere, even with the sharpest teeth you never get an even puncture or a straight cut. This would make feeding difficult, time consuming, and messy, three things you don't want if you are trying to feed in secret.

To be an ageless Vampire is a physical impossibility, as the human bodies we all have to inhabit age just like all Otherkin human bodies age, and just like the non-kin bodies age. Vampires may age slower than others, but there is no proof of that, and if it is true it isn't true for all of us anyway so.. Ageless Vampires? Hmmm Universal Studios anyone??

Zilchy's fangs are not permanent, temporarily glued on actually. He makes them and offers to make them for others who want them, look up "Fangs by Zilchy."

It may be a stereotype, however it is one thing he does to signify himself as a Vampire when he makes those videos. You could always ask about it to him if you'd like.

I think he looks funny, but he did tell me some things I didn't know.
One thing doesn't have anything to do with the other really, not for me anyway. I mean how unusual he looks and what sense he talks.
I've seen some really sensible looking people in normal looking suits and boring shoes who talk absolute rot!
I hope that most of the people who want to know about this kind of thing will look past the fangs to listen to what he has to say. For the people who can't, and as Wraith says there are bound to be some, they might miss something that could help them, and that would be a pity.

Well to me a Vampire is a being that needs to take in energy from outside sources, but then I feed in what I guess would be a similar way to Psi Vampires and there is not part of me that is Vampiric, so I am stumped.

For a list of questions and answers about Vampires this is very informative: Lady C's Vampires Myth Buster

I hope this answers some of your questions Kes.

Faith

I think on the issue of the fangs, that it is all about how the person in question wants themselves to look. I have a specific self image, how I see myself, as I'm sure many do. I also sometimes change my voice or make myself walk with a limp. I have no idea why, I just saw people doing them and they feel right so I do them.

As for Vampires. I think that it's more along the lines of a type of otherkin. I think it makes more sense that way. For instance, each different otherkin type has a different essence type that comes along with it. It's not so hard to imagine that vampires aren't just less animal correlated otherkin with a specific need for extra energy for whatever reason.

~Farshief

This seems to have drifted a little off topic, and so to bring it back to the excellent question Kes posted I will place my reply.
I apologise to you Kes for taking so long to leave a reply to your question, but as you know my personal circumstances I know you will understand why this is the first chance I have had to leave such a long reply to anything.
In order to give you an understanding of what a Vampire is to me and what I think makes a Vampire a Vampire, first I have to explain to you what the term Kin means to me, and then progress from there.
So

WHAT IS KIN?

I use the word Kin to describe myself, and this word for me has always been used to mean someone who whilst human on the outside believes themselves to be something else on the inside.
This is a phenomena that occurs in the part of a being that many Non-Kin refer to as the 'soul'. However soul is almost always a word associated with Non-Kin, and for Kin this same part is often called the 'Spirit' or 'Essence'.
I believe that this Essence is actually that of a different kind of being, whose origins come from either an actual creature like a Wolf or a Tiger, a Bear or a member of the Big Cat family, or a creature never known to have been seen but often written about through history like a Dragon, a pheonix or a Unicorn, a Pegasus or a Griffin, or possibly a humanoid creature such as an Elf, or a Vampire, a Fairy or Sprite or an Angel of some kind, even sometimes a formless creature such as Shadow and Wraith who even in myth and legend have no identifiable true form.
But what makes Kin different from Non-Kin? (Just for personal preference I will say that I always refer to the human being as Non-Kin, and myself as Kin, I prefer not to refer to myself as a Non-Human. Simply because if I did that I would be using what I am not as the way to identify myself. If someone said to you what do you do for a living and you were a Doctor, you would never reply by saying well I'm not a Dentist, that would be ridiculous.)
I believe that All things that exist vibrate with an energy signature that is exclusively their own. Each tree and rock and creature has it's own unique 'feel' to it. It is this energy that becomes visible as the colour spectrum of everything you see, and it is this same energy you 'feel' when you use Crystals and stones. Each group of beings collectively has an energy vibration that identifies them as that being, and all members of that collective group will vibrate on that frequency. Above that comes the personal vibrational frequency. This vibrates alongside the collective one to identify you as an individual.
So whilst Non-Kin vibrate on one level, Kin vibrate on a different one, the different races of Kin have different vibrational levels, and each individual has a personal vibration aswell.
Awakening begins as a switch in the vibrational level (which may just happen naturally, or be triggered by contact with a similar vibration) and progresses as you recognise and work with each new level you notice and each step along the path you take.
Also many Kin find that they are empathic to some extent, this is merely an affinity for certain vibrations that exist at a level close to our own, it is a natural thing that many Kin find impossible to avoid, and very hard to control without practice and plenty of effort. However once you understand that it is only a case of vibrational attraction it is a simple matter to fix it. You just need to find the empathic level of vibration and set your shield to block it, and it is done.
Psi feeding also relies on the manipulation of vibrational energy, you simply move the energy of something/someone else to you and change the frequency as it goes to make it acceptable to you, and useable by you to replenish your own dwindling energy levels.
Vampires vibrate on a very high frequency, this uses a lot of extra energy that a Vampire must replenish as best it can. This always means subsidising the energy it naturally produces with a supplement from an outside source. Feeding as either a Sang or a Psi takes care of the shortfall, and the amount needed varies with the individual. Some produce more than others, and some use more than others. So it is not possible to say what is a 'normal' amount of extra feeding. You must do as much as you need to to take care of yourself in the best way possible.
For me a Vampire is a being whose spirit/essence vibrates on a set energy frequency, a Vampire could never be mistaken for or confused with any other kind of Kin. It isn't in my blood, or the way I feed, it isn't a disease or a leaking Chakra, it is all in my essence, the very thing that makes all of us who and what we are inspite of how we may appear.
I hope this answers your questions Kes, if I haven't explained it very well or if you have anything else that you want to know please ask and I will do my very best to answer you.

I wonder Lady C, could you please tell me what it is that makes a Vampires essence so very different to Other Kin essences.

Thanks, Wild