Blood Lust

Vampires aren’t real, right? From the classic novel Dracula to more modern novels by Anne Rice or even Twilight, vampires have been a part of cultures and folklore from all around the world. What if vampires are real? If someone tells you they’re a vampire, do you believe them?

There are true crime cases like that of Richard Trenton Chase. Chase never described himself as such, yet his crimes are reminiscent of the vampire archetype. Then there are self-proclaimed vampires that belong to a vampire subculture, which was more prominent in the early 2000’s.

This week we’re joined by Dr. Katherine Ramsland as we discuss Richard Trenton Chase (The Vampire of Sacramento), deinstitutionalization, the vampire subculture, and her career.

Dr. Katherine Ramsland teaches forensic psychology at DeSales University in Pennsylvania, where she is the Assistant Provost. She has appeared as an expert in criminal psychology on more than 200 crime documentaries and magazine shows, is an executive producer of Murder House Flip, and has consulted for CSI, Bones, and The Alienist. The author of more than 1,500 articles and 69 books, including The Forensic Science of CSI, The Forensic Psychology of Criminal Minds, How to Catch a Killer, The Psychology of Death Investigations, and Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, The BTK Killer, she was co-executive producer for the Wolf Entertainment/A&E four-part documentary based on the years she spent talking with Rader. Ramslandconsults on death investigations, pens a blog for Psychology Today, and is currently writing a fiction series based on a female forensic psychologist who manages a private investigation agency. The first one,I Scream Man, was published in September 2022.