Basic Info and Stats

  I am about to present myself to you as candidly as I possibly can, without revealing too much of myself in the process. Some of you may know me, but find you do not. Others I have yet to meet, please allow this to be your first impression of the woman behind the website known as Lady Rose Noire. Of course this is not my true name, but it is my true identity...the person I am. This is not to say I have multiple personality disorder or anything of that sort, it's just the part of myself that is (for want of a better term) my eternal soul. I learned of and adopted this name to be used in the vampyre scene, many years ago when I first became involved with the community...and my, that does seem (almost appropriately) like an eternity ago, but anyway...I digress. Rose Noire, as some may know, is French for Black Rose, the symbolism of which seems to fit me rather well in many aspects. First of all, when I reached my heighth of awareness, I discovered my "dark side" and rather than shun it, I chose to embrace it and integrate it into my lifestyle, for I believe it is only through the darkness that we truly find and appreciate the light, through pain we appreciate pleasure, through suffering we appreciate happiness, and through death we learn what it truly means to live. It's the ancient Chinese principle of the yin and yang...there can be no dark without light, no day without night. Perfect balance, in other words.  I saw that as the petals of my "innocence" unfolded (did I ever have any of that, hehe?), the rose that bloomed was not red, but black. Black roses mirror both the darkness and the promise of beauty contained therein.  Furthermore,  the black rose is also a symbol of death in many cultures, which is also fitting, considering I have long had this intense fascination with the undead.

      I'm sort of a gypsy by nature - a wanderer who has traveled quite many places and seen many things.  I often muse that, much like Frankenstein's monster,  the colourful, vibrant spirit of the gypsy within provides the spark of life for my darker, colder vampiric nature to awaken and thrive, which in turn adds depth to the gypsy soul, etc.  Thus, the one feeds and sustains  the other and vice versa.  But then, what do I know?  When all is said and done I remain true to myself.

    At any rate, I'm really not one to dwell on misery and dispair, even though I do appreciate its value...I'm more of a carpe diem (noctem...whatever), live-life-to-the-fullest type of person...honest! Thus, allow me to tell you some other things about myself which are not all doom and gloom. First of all, to my sense of style, which some of you may know is a great passion of mine. I adore beautiful clothes, sexy clothes, chic clothes, classy clothes, dramatic clothes...any clothes which strike my fancy really. I also love rich, vivid fabric...velvets, silks, satins, lace, leather...no cotton or polyester for me, thanks. I will, in fact, sleep in only satin...or nothing, but that is also another story for another time, heh. I live primarily for three things: passion, knowledge, and beauty. I would give up everything to taste the most extreme rush of passion, to know the truth of life and the world, or to feast my eyes on something so beautiful it hurts to behold it. I love human beings for their vitality, their hopes, their dreams, their fears. I loathe human beings for their greed, their spite, their cruelty, and their hatred. I am easily amused, but difficult to please. I believe in being wild, but not stupid. I appreciate contrast but find from experience that though opposites attract, they don't tend to remain together for long. I relish deviations from the norm, but long for the security of routine. I try to experience life to its fullest, but attempt to plan ahead first. I contend that there is a fine line between pleasure and pain and that through pain we also learn to savor our happiness. I encourage overeducation...knowledge is power, always. I dislike organized religions of any kind as well as religious hypocrites. I believe that no religion holds all truths and no religion is completely wrong either, so I take what makes sense from each and leave the rest. But I will not judge or refute anyone's personal faith...you can't sell religion, after all. I will try almost anything first, if I am to judge it. I like to remain a mystery but wish someone would fully understand why. I encourage hedonism and support the arts in anyway I can. I do not love without trust or faithfulness, but I sometimes believe marriage in the tradtional sense is overrated or at least outdated. I keep my feet on the ground but my head in the clouds. I want many things, but would settle for less if I only had what I really needed. I'm an optimist at heart but a pessimist by nature....meaning, I wish the glass could be half full, but I know it is half empty. I feel I don't belong in this era, but find myself fascinated and enraptured by technology. I enjoy the company of others, but need to spend time alone. I am built for comfort, but will always survive the storm. Champagne or a good Cabernet is my preference, but water is the staff of life. Cows are my friends...especially on my dinner plate. Same goes for cats...not that I eat those though, mind you (eew...hairball!). Darkness is my solace and comfort, sunlight my aspiration. I want control, but not responsability. I do not force myself to experience things, since experiences seem to come to me often enough of their own accord. I suffer from a dreadful ennuie, but don't know what to do with myself.  And did I mention I'm slightly long-winded? *L*

    Now, your next question may be as to how exactly I became involved with this lifestyle. I can only tell you that the darkness is as much a part of me as I am a part of it. It has always been there for me, the one costant, sure, true thing in my life when everything else drowned in a sea of uncertainty. My heritage stems from a long line of highway men, gypsies, clairvoyents, psychics and occultists, so when I reached a certain age in my youth, this seemed like the natural route of life for me to follow. As I look back in memory there were previous indications and occurances directing me along this path also, but it all really began when I reached the age of 11 and watched the television series of "Dracula" and "The Ketchup Vampires". I was addicted to and fascinated by the lore of the vampire genre and from then on things kept escalating, until I was faced with an interesting, life-altering situation at the age of 14. From then on, I knew there would never, ever be a possibility of turning back.

Perhaps you may be wondering as to how credible I am as a source for the information found at VAU©. Allow me to answer this very simply and concisely. Basically, I am as much if not more interested in vampiric/vampyric happenings/info as the most ardent visitors to this site. Therefore, I am as eager to learn and find out about news, history, fiction, real life, etc relating to the community as anyone else and will display anything I learn of at VAU©. I have studied a great deal of the folkloric and historic aspects of the vampire. I have also read a massive amount of vampiric fiction as well as non-fiction, Additionally, I have formerly hosted as well as played in roleplay sessions in live-action, tabletop, computer, etc style so I know quite a bit about that area also. But I'd have to say my greatest realm of experience with the vampire genre lies in real life. I've had extensive dealings with both the vampire and vampyre communities as well as the gothic, pagan and various other communities and I've been at this for a lifetime and will continue to do so forever more, since it is an integral part of myself. I believe in the integrity of the vampiric/vampyric communities...I can't stand poseurs or those who use the vampiric/vampyric community as an "excuse" to commit heinous crimes and deeds. I also do not hold greed in preference to my own sense of honour. For that reason, I will never put an outrageous claim or any sort of fantastic lies up just to generate visitors to VAU©. Everything you read at VAU is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge. Now, that is not to say I know all the answers, because I really don't! I am merely one of the more informed sources on the topic of vampires out there on the internet. This can be reflected in the simple fact that VAU© has received so many visitors in an increasing flow over the years, and many of the visitors from way back when still visit to this day. As an additional asset to my credibility, I have grown up in a pagan family so I know a vast amount about magick and witchcraft, and I have also studied many other religions of the world to broaden my horizons in general.

    Of course, this is merely an overview of my life, so there's a Hell of a lot more to this story, naturally....but I don't want to spoil all the surprises. If you're that curious let me get to know you first...I promise I won't bite (much)...and perhaps in due time you shall hear the rest of the tale. For now you, mon ami, have had a taste...So, I hope your appetite is whetted and you'll return later for dessert....

 

Photos of me, Rose Noire

Photos of my roleplaying group, friends and various aspects of my lifestyle

Photos of travel and vampiric sightseeing

Photos of Halloween costumes, haunted houses created, etc

 

For the week of 3/28/99 - 4/3/99. See? I always knew I was royalty...	For the week of 8/30/99 - 9/5/99. Just call me the Blood Countess
For the Month of July, 2000.	For the week of 6/29/03 - 7/6/03.