Guest host Richard Syrett welcomed author Sean Wilde for a discussion on the concept of living vampirism, energy feeding, and his own experiences within the modern vampire community. Wilde identifies as a living vampire, which he distinguished from the immortal, blood-drinking vampires of folklore. He described living vampirism as a permanent need to exchange vital energy with other people in order to function well. When he goes too long without feeding, Wilde said he becomes tired, mentally foggy and experiences a hunger that ordinary food does not satisfy. He believes he was unconsciously feeding as a teenager before recognizing what he was, with his awakening beginning around age 17 after reading Rosemary Ellen Guiley's Vampires Among Us. He said it took several more years of meeting others with similar experiences before he fully understood and accepted his identity.
Wilde described several forms of energetic feeding, ranging from absorbing ambient energy given off by crowds to more direct exchanges with individuals. He indicated places such as concerts, nightclubs and New Orleans' Bourbon Street provide abundant ambient energy that can be taken without harming or directly targeting anyone. More intimate direct feeding, however, enters what he calls a person's subtle or energetic body, and Wilde strongly believes it requires consent. He acknowledged that vampires differ on the ethics of feeding but places himself between those who regard people merely as sources of energy and those who believe feeding is inherently wrong. He revealed people can protect themselves from unwanted feeding by leaving a vampire's line of sight or, for those who practice energy work, creating a "slippery shield" that prevents energetic connections from taking hold.
Wilde stressed that vampirism is not a costume or gothic lifestyle, although some members of the community embrace that imagery. He does not normally wear fangs or contacts and said living vampires can look and dress like anyone else. He distinguished his practice from sanguinarian vampires who consume blood, saying he does not drink blood and believes such practitioners are actually seeking the energy contained within it. Wilde said prolonged deprivation of energy would eventually affect his mental and physical well-being. At the same time, his normal life provides ample opportunities to feed through his wife, who he said allows him to feed on her, and the crowds near his businesses in New Orleans' French Quarter.
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Open Lines followed in the latter half of the program. Billy in Glendale, California, shared what he considers a personal Mandela Effect involving the 1996 soundtrack to The Crow: City of Angels. He remembers hearing Above the Law and Kid Frost's "City of Angels" on the radio before the soundtrack was released, only to discover that the album contained what seemed to be a different remix. When he revisited the song in 2024, however, he found that the version he remembered as the earlier radio mix was now presented as the album version. Although he acknowledged that his memory could be faulty, Billy remained unconvinced and jokingly favored CERN and an altered timeline as the explanation.
Aaron in Tempe, Arizona, offered an update on his experiment with Joshua P. Warren's Wishing Machine, which he had used while wishing for a prosperous and suitable new job. He subsequently landed six interviews and, although none immediately produced the job he wanted, one introduced him to the possibility of becoming a security guard and obtaining an Arizona guard card. Aaron viewed the unusual string of opportunities and his discovery of a potentially better-paying career path as evidence that the wishing machine had worked, while also agreeing with Richard's suggestion that it may simply have provided the motivation he needed to take action himself.
Eric in South Carolina described a Mandela Effect surrounding President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination. Despite being born years after the event, he remembers repeatedly seeing recreations and depictions of Kennedy riding in a four-seat limousine with four occupants. He was surprised to learn that the presidential limousine actually had three rows and carried six people, including Texas Governor John Connally and his wife in the middle row. Richard noted that the four-person limousine is a commonly cited Mandela Effect, although in his own memory the six occupants have always been clearly visible in the Zapruder film.