Vampire Freaks: The Gothic MySpace

On the surface, Vampire Freaks is a gothic version of MySpace. The majority of users are either in their teens or thirties, a perfect hunting ground for internet predators. The security measures are no different than MySpace either. The administrators rely heavily on users to report anyone who doesn't respect the rules and make sweeps of the cults whenever they can.

But dig a little deeper and what do you find? The user groups are called cults and are mostly filled with black-wearing, heavily made up teens. They run groups dedicated to a vast number of bands, most of which the older folks would consider it torture to have to listen to. Get past them and you will find a few surprises.

The Christian groups were the first surprise. I had no idea there was such a thing as Gothic Christians. They not only have black-wearing teens proclaiming their love for Jesus, but they even have some churches which exist solely as internet groups. Amazing.

I started playing with keywords after this, wanting to see what other surprises would pop up. There are a large number of groups tucked away that are dedicated to various mental illnesses. I became interested in mental illnesses myself only after being diagnosed as bipolar. These groups, again run mostly by and for teens, are a treasure trove of coping strategies posted by mental health patients.

One of the most serious mental health problems dealt with on Vampire Freaks is cutting. Cutting is an illness I am recovering from. The patient finds release for emotional pain through physical pain. People who do not receive any treatment, or who do not find the level of help they need in time, sometimes accidentally kill themselves when they cut too deep or too close to a vein. It is a rarely publicized fact that this illness affects the elderly as well as the teens.

These cults are run by people who either still cut or people who have recovered and wish to help others. They follow some very strict rules.