Vampires are not just the stuff of folklore and fiction. This book explores the modern world of vampirism in all its variety. Based upon extensive interviews with members of the Atlanta Vampire Alliance and others within vampire communities throughout the United States, "Vampires Today" looks at the many expressions of vampirism: lifestyle vampires, those who adopt a culture and a gothic ascetic associated with the vampires of art and legend; real vampires, those who believe they are a separate race and must actually consume blood and/or psychic energy in order to survive; or others who self-identify in some way as vampires. Over the years, but particularly in the past decade or so, vampirism has come under increased study, yet most scholarship has portrayed the vampire community at best as a cultural phenomenon and at worst as a religious cult. In this book, author Laycock explores the modern world of vampirism in all its variety. Having interviewed many vampires across the country, he argues that today's vampires are best understood as an identity group and that vampirism has caused a profound change in how individuals choose to define themselves.