#1 Florist Blut Katzchen spends her free time in a rather unusual way.
Blut Katzchen isn't your average woman. She's what's known as a "black swan"a person who willingly and regularly lets vampires feed on her. No, it's not some scene from a play or movie; Katzchen actually does this willingly. The weirdest part? She loves it.
Katzchen, from Shreveport, Louisiana said: "I have always been entranced with the whole vampire culture since I was very young.
"I found a book on vampires in my sister's collection and became completely entranced with it. It takes a very specific type of mindset to enjoy being a swan - you have to be more submissive and enjoy giving."
#2 Blut Katzchen met 43-year-old Michael Vachmie two years ago at a Vampire Ball in Houston, Texas.
For more than 10 years she has travelled across the US to satisfy the bloodlust of men and women within this little known subculture.
Her latest admirer is 43-year-old Michael Vachmiel from Houston, Texas, who claims her blood gives him the energy he needs to survive. The two get together a few times a year to perform the ritual.
#3 Blut and Michael (who prefers to be called "Raven") have an entirely consensual relationship—even when it comes to drinking Blut's blood.
Michael Vachmie claims that he gets energy from sucking Blut's blood.
"You have to have a very strong connection to the person who is feeding off you," Blut explained.
#4 Specific tools are used to draw the blood.
Unlike the vampires in movies, Katzchen insists that the process is very clean, safe, and consensual.
She said: "I have specific tools that draw the blood and Michael will drink it from my body. The cuts are about an inch long - it doesn't take a very deep cut to draw the blood."
Michael generally uses a scalpel to cut open Blut's skin, making a one inch incision and then drawing the blood out with suction cups. Sometimes, he chooses to suck the blood out directly with his mouth, or he squeezes it out with his fingers. The couple sterilize Blut's skin with rubbing alcohol and tea tree oil before they begin.
#5 Their pleasure is worth the risk.
She said: "We'll sterilise the area with alcohol and he uses mouth wash before drinking, so it's very clean. There are some risks involved, but we do everything we can to keep it as clean as possible.
"I've been doing this for almost thirteen years and I have never had an STD or blood borne illness scare."
#6 All that is a spiritual thing for Blut.
She said: "It's a release like any other release people seek - if you're getting something out of it and the drinker is too - then I don't see a problem with it.
"It's a spiritual thing for me - to be able to give energy to someone even if it's a small bit is an extremely liberation feeling."
After making a cut, Katzchen lays on her stomach and has the blood drawn from her shoulders or back for a few minutes.
She said: "If you drink too much you do get sick - it doesn't take much blood for Michael to get his energy."
#7 Health professionals discourage the practice.
Benjamin Radford claims that blood is toxic when consumed orally.
"When confined to places where blood is supposed to be - such as the heart, vessels, and so on - it is essential for life. But when ingested it's a very different story," he says.
"Of course all toxins have doses, and just as a tiny bit of poison won't necessarily harm you, the more you eat or drink, the greater the danger.
"Because blood is so rich in iron and because the body has difficulty excreting excess iron any animal that consumes blood regularly runs a risk of iron overdose."
