Unholy Hungers: Encountering the Psychic Vampire in Ourselves & Others [Paperback]

 

 

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"Unholy Hungers" revealed Barbara Hort's most intriguing study on the dark psychological archetype of what we would know as a "Vampire." In this study, she is looking at the psychic vampires, who are very much like everyone else as they are the people who thirst for power, robbing other individuals of their energies. Hort's work showed how easily we can be caught into the psychic vampire's grasp, and this is important because it showed our weaknesses and strengths during our interaction with people.

Throughout our lives, we can choose what trait we can act on and what trait we choose not to act on, but we cannot deny any traits of ourselves, which are considered to be our "shadows." According to this book, the most traits "of any loved one are always the traits, good or bad, that we don't acknowledge in ourselves - our shadows" (p. 207). Our shadows are our traits that we don't even know about. This is the most important point to which we would need to discover some hidden aspects about ourselves.

Hort also addressed the issue of psychic vampires and the truth behind them. From this book, I would like to stress out two most important points: psychic vampires and archetypes. Psychic vampires are commonly known to be the people who drain other individuals of their vital energies. These may be our loved ones, co-workers, friends, or even a stranger just passing by. Hort pointed out two ways to know if we have been in a presence of a vampire: "the first is a feeling of shameful insufficiency...in this state, we feel that our flaws make us unworthy of life, love, and simple human respect...[and] the yearning for replenishment is the second symptom of having encountered a psychic vampire, and it usually is experienced as a hunger for more" (p. 15-6). When we were in the presence of a psychic vampire, we also run the risk of becoming one ourselves. The desire for more energy will compel us to manipulate other individuals and rob them of their energy. This will engage us to use exploitation, which focuses on satisfying our cravings at another people's expense (p. 18-19). This is critical for us to be aware of.

Secondly, Jung's model of an archetype is the important part of this book. According to Jung via Hort, "every human psyche is composed of basic elements called archetypes...[which are] constellations of energies or traits that make up our personalities'[and] the energies of an archetype will influence what we do, but even more importantly, it will influence how we do it" (p. 4 - 5). Hort called this type of archetype a "vampire" as relevant to her study. Readers will see from this book that there are great deal of examples and tales to illuminate the importance of the vampire archetype. The one important point that we should be aware of is when the vampire archetype becomes active in ourselves, we would feel "compelled to pursue the psychic exploitation of others, driven by the vampire's demonic assistants, fear and contempt" (p. 19). In order to deactivate this archetype in us, we must be reflective both in ourselves and others. We would need to maintain our consciousness as a way to reflect our light back to the darkness of the vampire, which would become deactivated. Given that we are living in a narcissistic society, we are constantly being exposed to having our vampire archetype activated. We also need to be aware of the archetype's influences on us before we blindly fall prey to the vampire's grasp.

I cannot stress enough how important "Unholy Hungers" is for everyone. This book is strongly recommended.

What an amazing read this is! I've read a lot of psychology books, but this is certainly one of the best.
The book explains how and why people drain others of their vital energy, and how to protect yourself against these psychic vampires. You start to see how this happens in everyday life, and in many relationships. I found the book to be very well explained, using myths, archetypes and even contemporary films to illustrate how the vampire operates. The different examples really help in being able to recognize it when its happening. Highly recommended!

The only people who don't like this book are the psychic vampires who prey on nurturing people. This book opened my eyes and set me free! I recommend it to everyone I know along with Martha Stout's "Myth of Sanity," "The Sociopath Next Door," Hare's "Without Conscience," "Snakes in Suits," and Lobaczewski's "Political Ponerology". If you never read anything else in your life, read this short list of books for your own protection!

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5.0 out of 5 stars A journey into the dark, with light at the end of the tunnel!
Even though it goes in-depth into the human psyche, it was very easy to read, like a novel. I had picked this book up while in a band where I would feel constantly drained of... Read more

Published 8 months ago by Dan

5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable Reading!
Unholy hungers is a book that examines the vampiric 'feeding' that takes place in relationships and the different dynamic forms this can take: parental-child, male-female, same... Read more

Published on Nov 27 2007 by aimforthestars

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Do you feel drained when you are around certain people?

This book tells, in easy to understand terminology, just what is happening. Read more

Published on Nov 8 2007 by Lynne Grey

5.0 out of 5 stars An in-depth study of the psychic vampire
A powerful and detailed book that covers the many different combinations the vampirical aspect of feeding takes amongst human beings, with great references to stories and mythical... Read more

Published on Nov 6 2007 by Aeneas

5.0 out of 5 stars not for the faint hearted
this book takes you on a journey into the human condition, like no other. It describes the archetypal feeding dynamics that have happened within humanity for as long as we have... Read more

Published on Nov 3 2007 by sleepyvinny

5.0 out of 5 stars More starts than 5
This is THE best book I have ever read on the psychic vampire. There is thousands of dollars in therapy in the price of this book

Published on Aug 1 2003 by J. Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars GRRRRRRRREEAT!
It's great to see someone who actually knows what a psychic vampire is! I've actually seen books by people who think a p.v. Read more

Published on Nov 22 2002 by D. Hadley

5.0 out of 5 stars All that and a pack of stakes
I'm not exactly sure what to say, but given how much this book is helping me I felt compelled to say something. Read more

Published on Jan 2 2002 by SerratedAngel

1.0 out of 5 stars False Information
All of the information in this book about vampyres is false. Barely .11%is true. And that is only the fast that this is a book. Read more

Published on Dec 19 2001 by ice_crystals

5.0 out of 5 stars Ressurection
This book is stunning. It helped me understand how my wives devoured me. It gave me a way to understand screwed up relationships -- with everyone -- including corporate vampires,... Read more

Published on Oct 17 2001 by Rich Zubaty

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