A woman has forked out for a set of permanent 'vampire fangs' to be fitted, after spending years fascinated by the mythical creatures.
Julia Kumpulainen, from Kotka in Finland, says she can smell blood from a distance and that she enjoys the taste. Lovely...
The 24-year-old says she has always felt she shares personality traits with vampires she saw in movies, so she started to do some research into them and ended up getting herself a set of temporary teeth.
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She wore the fangs every day for the next five years, despite them causing jaw pain and making it difficult to eat. That's dedication for you.
However, in January 2019 she managed to find a cosmetic dentist who made her a set of specialised fangs for her teeth that could be fitted permanently.
The teeth cost her more than £430 (€500) and she says since getting them she's received a bunch of comments from strangers... well, I can't say I'm surprised.
Julia, who has a four-year-old daughter called Elli, says her little girl loves her fangs, but that not everyone is won over and some people have even run away from her in fear.
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She's hoping to change the perception that all vampires are blood-sucking bad guys and says that, while she does enjoy the taste of blood, she would never bite someone.
Julia said: "I was always the weird kid, and when I first ever heard about vampires, I knew I wanted to be one, or at least look like one.
"I started developing vampiric habits as a teenager, following 'how to seem like a vampire' articles religiously.
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"I heard about Scarecrow vampire fangs that can be moulded to stick to your own teeth, and you could take them off and snap back on; too bad I couldn't eat in those.
"I started to get really keen on my fangs, even though they were Halloween fake ones and they caused pain in my jaws after I used them daily for a while.
"Then I found a dentist who makes different kind of teeth out of curiosity, I think. He made my fangs in about an hour and a half
"I was really excited about the result and I got what I wanted, permanent fangs. I'm going to get these filed a bit sharper later.
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"People around the world ask me on Instagram if I could bite them and if I'm at a bar, I get people asking if they could take pictures or if I could bite them. I won't.
"I share a lot of characteristics with movie vampires really; I don't like the sun as I get burnt easily. Just like a Twilight vampire, I'm so pale I could sparkle.
"I've only had problems with talking to older people and sometimes that I get too deep in this whole vampire thing.
"I don't know how or why, but I can smell blood/metal from a small distance which is a nuisance because yes, I think blood has a good flavour to it but no, I'm still not going all sanguine about it.
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"Most of the times I've smelled blood somewhere is that there has been a fight somewhere near and I find puddles of blood somewhere.
"It's a weird thing really; I get some sort of a rush when I taste or smell blood. If I get a paper wound or something, yes, I taste the blood, but I don't cut myself to drink my own blood - it's already in me so why bother?"
When it comes to dating, Julia admits the fangs don't help, but she also reckons that if the teeth put the fellas off then they're clearly not The One.
"I've been laughed at a lot; 'You're getting what? Grow up.' I'm not sure but I think some people in my hometown think I'm an actual vampire, they tend to walk fast away from me," she said.
"Mostly I get a 'Wow. Can you show me them? Are they real?' - sometimes I get harsh comments like 'I wonder what oral sex would be with those'.
"They scare away those who are not serious about me; if they were, my fangs wouldn't be a problem. My other half won't let me bite him as often as he used to. He's scared I'll bite too hard I think.
"In a dreamworld being a vampire means never having to see the sun, living forever and enjoying your undead life to the fullest when it's dark.
"But because the world works how humans want it to, everything happens during the daytime. So, in other words I'm a day-walker.
"The main message I want to spread is to inspire others to be themselves. Just go and be you, whether it's a vampire or a unicorn."
Featured Image Credit: Media Drum WorldTopics: World News, Interesting, Weird