October is here and it's definitely not too early to start thinking about your Halloween costume. However, for one man being spooky isn't a once-a-year thing, because Andreas Bathory claims he is a real-life vampire who spends his days drinking blood, kipping in a coffin and 'connecting with souls of the dead'.
Romanian Andreas says that despite what you may have thought, vampires aren't just horror movie stuff, they're the real deal and they walk among us.
Rocking about the place dressed all in black, obviously, Andreas lives on the grounds of 'Dracula's Castle', aka Bran Castle in Transylvania, and says that 'true vampirism' shouldn't be confused with the more modern, fetishised idea of drinking blood.
Andreas, who refuses to reveal his true age, goes on to say that the traditions he indulges in date back over 600 years.
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"I keep a distance from the modern online vampire community," he said.
"We preserve traditions that are more than 600 years old.
"The modern vampire community is full of sexual practices that work against the nature of existence of the higher self of the vampire.
"The vampire within doesn't fulfil itself through sexual deviance, blood fetishes, or BDSM.
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"This is not the way of the vampire."
So, what is the way of the vampire then? Well, to Andreas it involves drinking the blood of willing volunteers - whom he refers to as 'black swans' - and spending time in a meditative state inside a coffin where he will connect with the souls of the dead. Sounds fun.
"We feed from consensual donors only," he said.
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"You would be surprised by the number of people who freely offer themselves to you if you let them know you are a vampire.
"Believe it or not, I never ask - few of us have to. People offer themselves to us of their own free will to understand vampires and our energy.
"There are health risks, but no different from crossing the street. We take measures to make sure the transaction is safe."
Adding: "Sometimes I sleep in a coffin when I want to be dead to the world and meditate."
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He is also the 'elected leader' of the Ordo Dracul coven, a group of like-minded folks who claim that the coven dates back to 1476.
Andreas says his life changed a few years back when he was visited by Vlad Tepes - also known as Vlad the Impaler, and the real-life inspiration for Count Dracula.
He explained: "Four years ago, he came to me in my dreams. He was in a dark chamber calling me 'my son'.
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"I don't believe I'm his descendant, but that rather he chose me to relay his message and traditions with the new generation.
"After that night, I brought an offering to the place where he was killed and he told me, 'Your life will change forever now.' It did."
But not everyone is on-board with the whole 'real-life vampire' thing, as Andreas found out when he decided to go public with his blood-drinking.
"Of course, we deal with plenty of online haters," he said. "They are just jealous.
"If somebody told me all of this a decade ago, it would seem like fantasy. But if you faced the forces that I have, you would understand."
Featured Image Credit: Caters
Topics: Interesting, halloween, Weird