Vampires: Emotional Predators Who Want to Suck the Life Out of You

Emotional vampires are individuals we deal with in daily life who leave us feeling normally angry, confused, upset, or fatigued. These manipulative psychological leeches may be total strangers or our best friends, co-workers or family members. By controlling situations and people for their own purposes they prey upon their victims with the deliberate aim of stealing emotional energy - just like mythical vampires. Many of these predators know exactly how much frustration, anger, and anxiety they inflict, while others carry on virtually unaware of the damage they cause, and victims are many times unaware that they are being bled. These vampire attacks may be one-time interactions or they could go on for years. They can range from just being emotionally troublesome to threatening the careers, mental health, and even the lives of their victims.
This work identifies and classifies emotional predators, exposes the methods they use, describes the collective "vampirism" of groups, and offers ways to combat the effects of an emotional attack.

Daniel Rhodes (Missoula, MT) is a well-known novelist who specializes in the horror genre.
Kathleen Rhodes (Napa, CA) has worked in the area of psychiatric care for more than twenty-five years.