When you roam around the Vampyre Community (VC), you’ll see people talk about a handful of different styles of organizations that VC folks end up belonging to. Vampyres, despite projecting themselves as mysterious brooding loners, are actually often pack creatures. Even the solitary practitioners and self proclaimed loners who “can’t stand people” flock to online gathering spaces to find shreds of community. Why do you think that is?

In media representations of the vampire you’ll find the same thing. Broods, Covens, Societies, and all manner of grouping come to mind when you think of media vampires. True Blood has its Nests, Vampire the Masquerade has its Clans, Underworld had its Covens, Blade and the Houses, the Lost Boys lived together in a Cave. Pods of vampires are known to join together, so why wouldn’t real life end up emulating that? Real life vampyres end up emulating a lot of things they find throughout pop culture. But besides that, humans are also inherently tribal by nature. So, why wouldn’t our human programming drive us to create pods of vampyres to exist within for companionship and survival?

It is no secret that much of the tradition today’s Vampyre Community is coded with has been influenced by Vampire the Masquerade [V:tM]. Anyone who tells you otherwise is in denial. The Clans of VtM also have smaller Houses that the bigger clans are comprised of. Our reality in the VC mirrors that… See an article about it here. One of the most common styles of these structured vampyre organizations is a “House”. Most would assume Vampire the Masquerade is the only influence to the House structure, but that isn’t the case.

Where does the idea of Vampyre Houses come from?

As you may or may not know, the Vampyre Community’s history technically starts in the 60s & 70s [see article about VC history here]. Granted, it’s aligned a lot more with cosplay and media back then with things like the Count Dracula Fan Club, Dark Shadows Conventions and the like. However, during this same time period, the world was experiencing an insurgence of counterculture. Witches, Leather Bars, Satanism, Hippies, Punks, then Goths… Alternative lifestyles and the chosen families that sustained them were brewing up a storm through the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.

Leather culture in the Queer community started in the post-WWII era when gay men formed motorcycle clubs and adopted the leather biker aesthetic to combat the effeminate “camp” stereotypes cast upon gay men of the time. [see more about this history here] This culture originated in Los Angeles would and quickly move to New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco. They originally had their motorcycle clubs, but over the decades it would open up to societies, coalitions, sex clubs, etc. The move away from strictly Motorcycle Clubs and into more organizations would breed the culture of Leather Houses. Houses were formed for safety, mentorship, and reclaiming their power as Queer members of society that weren’t accepted by the mainstream. Leather culture is characterized by strong tradition, mentorship between older and younger members, and fostering growth and understanding about themselves and their chosen lifestyle. They provided safe spaces to explore kink, alternative sexuality, and celebrate their community and artistry together. They rallied around each other’s shared interests and values with individuals adopting familial roles, jobs, and/or titles within their houses.

At the same time, Ballroom Culture that was extremely popular in places like Chicago, New Orleans, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City in the 1970s also included House dynamics. In 1972 Legendary drag queen and trans woman Crystal LaBeija & her partner Lottie founded the House of LaBeija together to fight the clear racial bias happening in the Manhattan drag competition circuit. According to Royal House of LaBeija’s website:

In ballroom, a “house” is a safe- haven for queer people of color and a home with a family for those who don’t have one. As with any traditional home, it is structured with a Mother (the head/leader/financier of the house) and Children (younger members of the house). A staple that is still implemented today.

How much did these things actually influence Vampyre Houses of today?

It’s hard to say, really.

What I can tell you, is that “Momma Vi” or Viola Johnson, the author of Dhampir written in 1996 – Someone whose influence on the VC predates most modern recorded VC history, is deeply ingrained in the Leather community to this day. She was then, she is now.

The Ballroom Culture influence wouldn’t be a far stretch either since some of the leading Vampyres who molded the community in the 1990s worked in venues that catered to Ballroom Culture.

I would be willing to bet money that both of these things are an underlying influence while V:tM & the ToV are the main influence for the community dynamics seen from the mid 1990s forward.

So, What is a House in Real-Vampyre terms?

A Vampyric House is essentially an organized chosen family. Like the Leather Houses & Ballroom Houses we speak of before, Houses are organizations of chosen family who come together for the purpose of rallying your people together and providing them with something.

Who are your people? Well, that’s for you to decide.

But generally when a House is formed, it’s got a specific target audience in mind. If it doesn’t, it’s probably not a very good House. A House’s target audience is usually folks who vibe on the same level as them, carry similar ideals, philosophies, and values… things of that nature. They should be ambitious and hungry for the same things you are so you can easily work together. A House generally knows who they want to bring into their House and why.

Houses usually begin with an Elder who has a plan. Whether they’re fed up with the current VC social climate they’re subjected to, or they have a vision of something more they can offer to folks in their part of the community, or maybe it’s something else entirely… but the point is that a House should be driven by a purpose. Even if that purpose is gathering and hanging out and eating snacks every now and again, the House should have a clear vision of what its goals are and purpose is.

Once you found your people, those who shared similar mindsets, demeanor, ideals, and energy with one another, you stick with them. In the 1990s & early 2000s community, you would run the streets with the same people on the day to day if you were in a VC hotspot. You’d hang at the same spots and grab drinks and food together multiple times a week. Eventually, you’d talk to people enough to figure out who you have shared ideals and philosophies with. You’d form bonds in person until you feel like you’ve found someone who could be family. You’d end up flying the same name, colors, and symbols if you were invited to do so.

If you were someone who was solitary but you hung out heavily with folks who did all fly the same House banner together, you might eventually be invited into that House. If you accept the invitation, you were sworn in with a very heavy emphasis on chosen family loyalty, defending each other’s honor against rivals, initiation rituals that had the heaviness of being “blooded in for life”. For Vampyres, it wasn’t “blood in, blood out” deep, but the expectation of lifetime familial loyalty and a deep sense of brotherhood were always part of the energy of being Sired in to a House. To be fair, in the early 90s, Gotham did have a bunch of gang to vampyre community crossover, so these influences weren’t an accident nor an appropriation. But that’s a convo for another day.

But as time went on Houses would morph to take influence from all sorts of places like esoteric orders, fraternal orders, or just families who hung out and did social things together all the time. In modern days, the spectrum of how a House operates is all over the place pulling influence from all of the above. The respective leaders of today’s Houses have to choose which direction to take their House and how serious the protocols are that they hold their members to. There’s no universal baseline, nor quality control. Which is why it’s so important to deeply vet any kind of organization before joining it.

Originally, Houses catered to specific areas. You’d be in the same city and vicinity with the people in your House. Sometimes, Houses stemmed from people who actually lived in the same House together. One of the first Vampyre Houses in NYC, House Orion, was Father Vincent’s home with his roommates. But that “live in” dynamic wasn’t the norm for long. Instead, Houses became umbrella labels for cliques that would frequent events together or who lived in the same areas and could run the streets together every now and again.

In modern times, the definition of House has loosened quite a lot.

What a House is today varies.

Sometimes you’ll see Facebook Groups, Discord Servers, and other online outlets call themselves Houses, but it’s generally a lot more difficult to cultivate the true familial bonds a House is supposed to have strictly online. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but I am saying you should scrutinize the shit out of online organizations before you join them.

There are still some decent in person Houses out there today. But unfortunately, contrary to popular belief, there is not a lot of well populated & conveniently organized vampyre hot spots in the United States these days. There’s some! but not a lot.

The few healthy Houses & other VC organizations I know of nowadays are a hybrid of online and in person. Houses like House O’Mallie have members and allies worldwide yet carry a heavy emphasis on trying to get together in person AND put energy into creating togetherness online. Both of my Houses are a hybrid of local and non local people maintaining a hybrid connection experience.

The best Houses today offer a healthy peaceful environment that fosters familial bonds, educational discourse, and feel good to be a part of. They have figured out how to respect the old but tailor it to work for newer generations. They do their best to build you up, not make you feel bad. If an organization ever makes you feel less than that, they may not be the best for you.

How do you join a Vampyre House?

The best Houses are usually the ones that are harder to get into. A lot of Houses won’t let you join if you’re not local. Other Houses are wide open fields of complete crap. There’s not really a standard criteria for each House anymore, as there is no regulating force keeping Houses in check anymore. There honestly never was, but once upon a time in certain areas they definitely tried. Anywho, most quality Houses require time to be spent with its members and a vested interest in joining to be obviously shown before an invitation will be granted.

Many people make the mistake of seeking out Houses (or Courts, Covens, Orders, etc.) simply for the sake of wanting to belong to anything and that usually doesn’t work out well. They’re eager to join the first thing that opens its doors to them and they end up scorned because of it. Experienced House leaders can smell that kind of desperation to belong and are often repelled by it. The good ones will usually politely decline. The nefarious ones will take advantage. The easier thing to join is often the quickest to exploit you. So, this is my warning against making rash decisions to join anything that requires an oath of loyalty. Court, House, or otherwise. I got burned by the first House I joined because of this, unfortunately.

But don’t let me paint this picture as all doom and gloom. Joining a House can be very rewarding if you take your time and find the right one to join. Before you join anything, you definitely want to scope out their House, the actions and demeanor of its members, its philosophies, and see if what they do and believe aligns with what you are about. You want to make sure your energy matches theirs. Joining a House means possibly being sired into a bloodline which can (and should, in my opinion) be taken very seriously. There are some who House hop from group to group but it’s not something I personally agree with doing. You want to try to be careful with who you choose because you’re ultimately giving your House access to you energetically, emotionally, and sometimes even financially which should be reserved for quality people.

The actual process of joining a House

Again, I can only speak for my own House(s), but this is a general timeline of what it looks like to join a House according to my lineages.

1. A “seeker” comes along and shows interest. They have an open conversation at some point about wanting to join the House or I see something in them that makes me open the door to that conversation to see if they’re interested. This interest does not guarantee any further action as I personally am very picky about who I allow in. I may politely decline, I may tell someone that they need to be more involved in my public spaces before I consider entry to my private House. When someone intends to join my House, that means they’ll be sired into my Bloodline and that’s something I personally protect vigilantly. Other Houses may be much more lenient and open about who they allow into their bloodline.
   
   
2. If the seeker is approved to do so, they’ll go through an official “no strings attached” probationary period with the House – It becomes an “at will” apprenticeship to see if you’re a good fit for the House. It lasts a year and a day minimum
   
   
3. If all goes well, the seeker may be sired and granted full entry into the House to begin to go through our training and ranks. My House(s) protocols work a lot like a Coven degree system. Others have similar ranks but they’re more akin to fraternal order degrees (not that there’s much difference there but the attitudes around them and the immersion in magic is different)

It seems simple, but it takes time and effort. Any organization that doesn’t take time and effort probably isn’t worth bothering with. The point is to be challenged and grow. If all you’re doing is being controlled or being handed a title for belonging, you’re not getting anything of substance from belonging to it. Wait to find something worth bothering with before you jump in. You’ll be thankful later down the road for dodging bullets when you’re more selective.

and at the end of the day, staying solitary is a fine and safe choice until the time is right. A member of my House was solitary for 20 years before she felt comfortable with the idea of joining a House. It’s okay to hold off and wait!

If anyone has any questions about this, please feel free to reach out to our contact box contact@thevampyrecoven.com