Grey vampires feed on others’ enthusiasm while denying they are vampires

Evidence

Vampires do not appear in mirrors. In the case of grey vampires — and remember that there are vampires that are not grey; there are other kinds of energy piracy altogether, some more lustrous and ferocious — this means both that they cannot recognise themselves as vampires and that their existence is entirely dependent upon the attention of the Other. Grey vampires do not see themselves as vampires; they sincerely think that it is a duty to deflate enthusiasm and puncture projects. … But make no mistake about it, there is no more Real level to human life than that of energy and its distribution. As Burroughs more than anyone else realised, persons and the social are just masks covering up a terrain populated by energy predators and propagators. — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 2444

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the chapter’s core term, grey vampirism, through the mirror metaphor and Burroughs’ energy terrain.
• QUESTION: The mirror-absence claim deserves a myth-vs-Fisher-originality check; where did Fisher actually get ‘grey vampire’ from?
• CANDY: The image of grey vampires who sincerely believe deflation of enthusiasm is their duty is a pithy, self-contained observation.
• XREF: connects to: Grey vampires pose as neutrality to avoid refutable claims — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 2447; Enthusiasm-puncturing academics breed more grey vampires through belittled students — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 2446

Broader Connections

• Grey vampires pose as neutrality to avoid refutable claims #expands (0.85) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 2447
• Enthusiasm-puncturing academics breed more grey vampires through belittled students #expands (0.80) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 2446