Samoa Pacific Break Launch event
After the huge success of last year's concert in Fiji, this year Samoa will host the Pacific Break launch concert.
Posted 6m ago 6 minutes ago Thu 5 Jun 2025 at 7:05am
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Mobsters. Doctors. Politicians. Musicians. What's the common thread connecting this motley crew? They're all in Australia's secret society of real vampires. Spawned from the goth subculture, this shadowy community – known as a 'vampire court' – now includes Aussies from all sorts of walks of life. Think real vampires are just pale people drinking red cordial? Think again. To many of its followers, the true blood lifestyle is about much more than fashion. It's about survival. And though they might not transform into bats or live forever, they do drink real human blood, wear surgically-enhanced fangs and let loose at vampire balls. These days, their ranks are being quietly pumped by social media and the decline of religion. Just don't ask these creatures of the night to throw light on their very dark way of life. They claim they keep to themselves and aren't dangerous. But critics claim some vampires use this cloak of secrecy to exploit people. So are they really monsters? 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Inside the party, she claims to have found herself in imposing company. She was greeted by yakuza and triads – otherwise known as the Japanese and Chinese mafias. 'They were just standing around wearing suits and watching anime movies', Crystal told 'And they weren't shy about what they did'. As it happened, the mafia is not the only bloodthirsty group these men belonged to. Crystal soon learned they were part of the Australian chapter of an international 'vampire court'. Inside, Crystal says she was given a glass of champagne. Soon after drinking it, she claims she sat on a couch and lost consciousness. When she woke up, she alleges she felt lightheaded and her neck and arms were dotted by what she calls 'love bites'. Looking back, she believes she'd been drugged. There were no other signs of assault. 'I didn't know what to think at the time,' she says. Before she left, Crystal was given a dark diagnosis. 'They told me I'd been infected with the virus.' 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But it begs another question: why? Real vampires claim they feel sick and lethargic if they don't feed on human blood. It balances their energy. Some believe this thirst for blood is a sign of a deeper mental health problem. So is it all a big delusion? When vampires follow a code of silence, it's not easy to say. But that secrecy is well founded. They've learned the hard way their lifestyle inspires revulsion. That's why this community stays in the shadows. Most Australian vampires I contacted for this story declined to take part in it. One local fanged figure you need to know is Jason De Marco, otherwise known as Don Jason. Don Jason runs the Sydney Vampires Meetup Group. He's also an electioneering member of the Liberal Party, bringing new meaning to idea of a bloodsucking polly. At least this one is honest. In a YouTube video made by married artists Gillie and Marc Schattner, Jason is seen wearing Edwardian-era clothing, surgically-enhanced fangs, and a wide smile. Among the graves of Waverley cemetery, he says Don Jason first knew what he was aged four. 'I was different to other children' Jason said. 'I said I'm going to grow up and be Dracula.' He says he drinks exclusively from the razor-sliced thighs of female donors. They don't just consent to this feeding. They're aroused by it. 'They seem to get an orgasm off it every time,' he claimed. 'People can assume we're insane: why do you have this need to drink blood?' 'The only thing I have to worry about is my innate illness, which was ironically an illness associated with the vampire myth.' 'My vitals can shut down and I look like a corpse. People who had it used to be buried alive.' Marc Schattner said Don Jason suffers from porphyria, a rare blood disorder thought to have inspired early vampire mythology. 'It can cause symptoms like extreme sensitivity to sunlight, skin blisters, and a reddish-purple discolouration,' he says. Jason is an extreme example. Some people just like vampires for a good old-fashioned doof. 'Not merely an event' The dawn of the vampire ball is misty. Sometime during the rise of Europe's medieval masquerade balls, a darker event emerged in honour of the undead. These days, the vampire ball circuit is an international network spanning Romania, the US and Australia. Melbourne's annual Carpe Noctem Vampire Ball was recently held in April. The founder of the event, who asked to remain anonymous, said it's about something bigger than costumes. 'More than just an opportunity to don elaborate attire, the Carpe Noctem Vampire Ball is a celebration of identity and belonging.' After a signature 'bloodbath cocktail' (ingredients undisclosed), the crowd – comprised of goths, role players and the real deal – take part in rituals including a 'sacrifice' that 'lifts the veil between the living and the dead.' Australian vampires Few real-vampires claim to have the magical powers you'll find in Twilight. 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He believes it's a 'hyper-real religion' – a modern hybrid of religion, philosophy and popular culture that helps people find their identity in a noisy world. 'The vampire is no longer a monster that needs to be destroyed,' he said. 'It's now a superman-type of character that people aspire to become to realise their full potential. 'As society becomes more consumerist, I expect hyper-real religions like vampires to grow. But it's tricky to quantify.' 'Are they people who identify with the image alone? How far do their practices go? And how long will they keep them up?' Though Australian vampire groups have picked up have thousands of members on social media, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said in a statement they don't formally recognise vampires. 'Vampires don't describe a stand-alone group in any of the statistical standard classifications used to disseminate Census data,' a spokesperson said. 'The ABS regularly reviews statistical standard classifications and holds public consultations to ensure standard classifications reflect the Australian community.' Until vampires are socially acknowledged, we'll never know how many of them walk among us or what secrets they hold.
