The Vampire Archetype
Donald Trump, Pam Bondi, Jeffrey Epstein, Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller
As a depth psychologist with 30 years of experience as a therapist in clinical practice, I see mental illness through the lens of Western medicine and the lens of depth psychology, which is concerned with symbols, archetypes, and the multiplicity of ways the human soul expresses itself.
The archetype of The Vampire is of the emptied soul preying upon those who are vulnerable in some way to being possessed or bewitched. The psychiatric diagnoses may be collectively referred to as psychopathy, or what the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5TR) calls “Cluster B” personality disorders.
In the language of Depth Psychology, the Vampire symbolizes power and destruction, the shadow aspect of the human psyche that thrives in darkness. The Vampire, unable to survive in the light, disappears when the threat of light appears, a symbol of fear of being exposed or uncovered. Exposure is the enemy, and for The Vampire, hiding in darkness and shadow is paramount to survival. Symbolically, the light represents clear seeing, humility, love, and truth, all deadly to vampires. The Vampire’s victims are the innocents, those thirsty for a hero, or who feel orphaned by the world. The Vampire’s mesmerizing charm or beauty, their charismatic force so sexual, so sinister, and so captivating that their victims cannot resist the seduction.
Like Trump and Epstein, the vampire male is not particularly handsome, but is bizarrely alluring, slightly frightening to look at, both thrilling and repulsive. The Vampire is vain and cold with an aura of power. His victims are hypnotized by his charm, and his magnetic power to persuade, and seduce. If he senses his victims becoming doubtful and ready to flee, he quickly reassures them with lies that feel like the brush of a feather, and in the hiss of an outbreath, he issues subtle threats to keep them imprisoned.
The Vampire is a master magician, gaslighting and sweeping his victims into his maddening orbit, causing disorientation and confusion, a dizzying dance where his victims experience overpowering sleepiness. The symbolism of sleepiness in parables and old stories is the surrender of one’s soul, a loss of connection with what is real, as The Vampire’s gaze penetrates and dissolves the ability to resist or discern, like a powerful tranquilizer.
The Vampire’s life source is the blood of those who have collapsed under his sinister spell, and they willingly turn their collars down, offering up the tender flesh protecting their carotid arteries, submitting to the strangely sexual and powerful piercing of the Vampire’s incisors.
Vampires prey upon the innocents or the gullible sycophants who seek a position of favor, exsanguinating them until they are bloodless, helpless, and lifeless. Having been eviscerated and emptied, the vampires’ victims must then steal the blood of others to survive.
Such was the world of Jeffrey Epstein, and such is the executive branch of government today. The vampiric way is to delude, con, seduce and charm, and weaken, raping and piercing the delicate flesh of his victims who are convinced that if they obey, and pledge unfailing allegiance, they will receive all that The Vampire promises.
Temptresses and tyrants who have fallen under the spell of The Vampire have often experienced abuse and trauma at some point in their lives. As wounded souls, they are easy targets for indoctrination and will pledge absolute obedience to The Vampire, forever collapsed and willing even to die protecting him. Mesmerized and asleep, they turn the flesh of their necks to meet the incisors of the demon lover, and until they are dead, powerless, and without any recognition of themselves as they once were.
Having been exsanguinated by The Vampire, indoctrinated by, and emptied of their souls, they fear the consequences of disobedience. Weak and disoriented, they follow him, barely awake, seeking their own victims. For them, there is no turning back and no getting away from the menacing glare and grip of The Vampire.
In the story by Bram Stoker, Dracula’s guest, Jonathan Harker, describes women with fair skin, golden hair, brilliant white teeth that shone like pearls, ruby red lips, and pale sapphire eyes, a description that fits many of the women in Trump’s world and in Jeffrey Epstein’s world. Vampires insist that their victims look and behave like seductresses.
Women possessed by The Vampire find that their power to seduce and to engage in cruel and predatory behavior is intoxicating and stimulating. They, like their vampire captors, find their satisfaction in victimizing others, seducing men and women alike with their full lips, bright white teeth, and breasts oozing from their dresses, their crucifixes carefully arranged in their cleavage in a confusing portrayal of purity and seduction. In her tight T-shirt, heavy makeup, and tight pants slung low on her hips, Kristi Noem portrays a confusing mixture of beauty, sexuality, and evil.
The police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck, killing him, had the smirk of a bully who had enjoyed his conquest, the experience of killing. Stephen Miller, with empty eyes and a soulless expression, fits the vampire archetype. He likes to hunt and eviscerate, demean and weaken, and when we express hatred for him, it further feeds his love for infecting others with hatred, like feeding raw meat to a hungry vulture. Like Vladimir Putin and Adolph Hitler, Stephen Miller hungers for the experience of indoctrination and the death of autonomy, which is the Vampire’s sole source of stimulation.
Donald Trump may have the maturity and the vocabulary of a 5th grader, but he is cunning, charismatic, able to read his crowd and prey upon their weaknesses and neediness. Men who collapse into believing that Donald Trump would be their friend, partner, advocate, representative, or savior are now bereft of conscience and unable to discern reality from lies. Having sworn unfailing allegiance, they are like many others who have fallen prey to the charming and dangerous Vampire, and are now predators themselves. They, too, have become skilled at appearing to be a friend, an ally, speaking the language of their victims to secure loyalty so smoothly that even the most astute and aware of men find themselves irresistibly and hopelessly enchanted.
Vampires wither when surrounded by love fierce enough to subdue evil. Vampires are reduced to dust and dry bones when confronted by those who recognize the face of evil and refuse to break, no matter how tempting or beautiful it may be. If we are to survive the invasion of The Vampire, who has manifested in our culture in Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, and Jeffrey Epstein, we must be awake at all times and refuse to succumb to the deception and seduction. We must be wise and brave enough to interrogate those who profess to be saviors, heroes, and knowers, and the predators who kneel on the necks of the powerless and marginalized until they cannot breathe. We must be united in our willingness to rise, no matter the cost. We have so many brave people among us who have risen in love and determination to rebuild what has been destroyed. I want to support them and join with them.