Hollywood Crush › Interview With a Vampire

by Vaughn Schoonmaker

On tonight's episode of "True Blood," Jessica confessed her dirty little secret to Hoyt: She "cheated" on him by drinking another man's blood. But have you ever wondered how a real vampire feeds? Does he or she chomp down on the necks of poor, helpless mortal victims? As it turns out, there is a lot of thought and cooperation put into the process, and every donor, according to our real vampire commentator Michelle Belanger, is willing to "donate."

For those of you just catching up on our conversations with a REAL vampire, she has established that there are two main categories of vampires: sanguine (blood drinkers) and psychic (energy/life force drinkers). Michelle herself is not a blood drinker, but is friends with many who are.

"We always see vampires biting somebody on the neck," Michelle noted of fictional vampire characters, like those on "True Blood." "The problem with that is there are a host of very significant arteries and veins here. All of those donors would bleed out the moment the vampire pierced the jugular."

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Tags True Blood, Video

by Vaughn Schoonmaker

Wiccans and werepanthers and vampires with amnesia, oh my!

Season Four of "True Blood" is already knee deep with grave issues for our main characters, and we are loving it!

Can you guess who else is loving it? Our real vampire commentator, Michelle Belanger, who says she started watching "True Blood" regularly for a whole different reason: Nan Flanagan’s character.

Vampire public relations have been a common theme in the arc of the series since episode one when we learned that vampires had just "come out of the coffin" in the "True Blood" version of America. Well, considering Michelle is a real vampire living in real America, I was curious about the existence of a real-life version of Nan Flanagan, the spokeswoman for the American Vampire League in the show.

It turns out, Michelle IS the Nan Flanagan of the real vampire society of America, so to speak!

“My work within the vampire community is basically like her work with the vampires in 'True Blood,'" she told us. "I’m the person who goes on CNN 'Headline News' when some teenager goes missing and panicked parents are sure that there’s a vampire cult that abducted her."

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Tags True Blood, Video

The Queen is dead. Long live the King. Tonight's "True Blood" episode, "You Smell Like Dinner," finally shed some light on how Sheriff Bill Compton ascended the throne to become King William Compton (R.I.P. Sophie-Anne), but if you think such vampire intrigue is simply something dreamed up for television, you'd be wrong.

In fact, our real vampire commentator Michelle Belanger told us the hierarchy we see on "True Blood" is fairly true to life.

"I gotta tell ya. Vampires seem to love their politics," Michelle said. "It's one thing I love and hate about the modern vampire community."

But not all areas are as well governed as fictional Bon Temps, Louisiana.

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Tags True Blood, Video

by Vaughn Schoonmaker

Just one episode into "True Blood"'s fourth season, and our suspicions that something scandalous is about to happen between Sookie and strapping Viking vampire Eric Northman are only getting stronger. We're keeping our fingers crossed for a bloody good love triangle involving the bloodsucker, his rival Bill Compton and, of course, half-human, half-faerie Sookie Stackhouse.

In Bon Temps, it seems vampires have a preference for relations with humans—feeding and intimacy have become inextricably linked, with vampire-loving humans earning the nickname "fangbangers" (see: Hoyt and his undying devotion for Jessica). But does this same relationship dynamic apply to the world of real vamps? We asked our "True Blood" commentator Michelle Belanger to explain.

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Tags True Blood, Video

by Vaughn Schoonmaker

Eric Northman's flashy, provocatively named vampire bar, Fangtasia, is the perfect antidote for Bon Temps' teaming population of bloodsuckers bored up with staid Merlotte's. It's a place where "True Blood"'s vamps and humans can delight in a little mutual admiration over a cold (or warm!) beverage, and it got plenty of play on last night's season four premiere, "She's Not There," in which Eric taped a PSA encouraging dubious humans to stop by for dinner (with the promise that they wouldn't be the main course).

The rowdy, ridiculous hangout is the kind of place only a mind like Alan Ball's could dream up... Or is it? We couldn't resist asking our real vampire commentator, Michelle Belanger (@sethanikeem), if a true-life version of Fangtasia actually exists.

"In episode one when they first went to Fangtasia, all I could think about were the vampire nightclubs I’ve been to in New York and Los Angeles and New Orleans," Michelle explained. "These places do exist."

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Tags True Blood, Video