By Liana Jacob
THIS WOMAN spent years researching how to become a REAL-LIFE VAMPIRE before finally getting PERMANENT FANGS FITTED and now says she can SMELL BLOOD from a distance and LOVES THE TASTE – but don’t worry, SHE ‘WON’T BITE’.
In 2010, mum of one, Julia Kumpulainen (24) from Kotka, Finland, became fascinated with the vampire lifestyle as she felt she had mutual personality traits as movie vampires.
She discovered a company that made temporary costume fangs which she would use daily for the next five years, despite having jaw pain and struggling to eat with them.
However, in January 2019, she found a cosmetic dentist who made specialised fangs for her teeth that became a permanent feature which costed her over £430 (€500). She has since received various reactions from strangers with some even asking her to bite them with her fangs.
Despite the social perception of vampires, she wants to change the views that all vampires suck blood from people. She can detect the smell of blood and likes the taste, but would never cut herself to drink it, but if she has a blood-exposing would, she would drink it.
Julia, who is a mum to Elli (4), says that her daughter loves her fangs and some people even mistake her for a real vampire and run away in fear.
“I was always the weird kid, and when I first ever heard about vampires, I knew I wanted to be one, or at least look like one,” Julia said.
“I started developing vampiric habits as a teenager, following ‘how to seem like a vampire’ articles religiously.
“I heard about Scarecrow vampire fangs that can be moulded to stick to your own teeth, and you could take them off and snap back on; too bad I couldn’t eat in those.
“I started to get really keen on my fangs, even though they were Halloween fake ones and they caused pain in my jaws after I used them daily for a while.
“Then I found a dentist who makes different kind of teeth out of curiosity, I think. He made my fangs in about an hour and a half.
“I was really excited about the result and I got what I wanted, permanent fangs. I’m going to get these filed a bit sharper later.
“People around the world ask me on Instagram if I could bite them and if I’m at a bar, I get people asking if they could take pictures or if I could bite them. I won’t.
“I share a lot of characteristics with movie vampires really; I don’t like the sun as I get burnt easily. Just like a Twilight vampire, I’m so pale I could sparkle.
“I’ve only had problems with talking to older people and sometimes that I get too deep in this whole vampire thing.
“I don’t know how or why, but I can smell blood/metal from a small distance which is a nuisance because yes, I think blood has a good flavour to it but no, I’m still not going all sanguine about it.
“Most of the times I’ve smelled blood somewhere is that there has been a fight somewhere near and I find puddles of blood somewhere.
“It’s a weird thing really; I get some sort of a rush when I taste or smell blood. If I get a paper wound or something, yes, I taste the blood, but I don’t cut myself to drink my own blood – it’s already in me so why bother?”
Julia admits when it comes to dating, her vampire look can scare away men, but she says she doesn’t mind as they aren’t ‘the one’.
“I’ve been laughed at a lot; ‘You’re getting what? Grow up.’ I’m not sure but I think some people in my hometown think I’m an actual vampire, they tend to walk fast away from me,” she said.
“Mostly I get a ‘Wow. Can you show me them? Are they real?’ – sometimes I get harsh comments like ‘I wonder what oral sex would be with those’.
“They scare away those who are not serious about me; if they were, my fangs wouldn’t be a problem. My other half won’t let me bite him as often as he used to. He’s scared I’ll bite too hard I think.
“In a dreamworld being a vampire means never having to see the sun, living forever and enjoying your undead life to the fullest when it’s dark.
“But because the world works how humans want it to, everything happens during the daytime. So, in other words I’m a day-walker.
“The main message I want to spread is to inspire others to be themselves. Just go and be you, whether it’s a vampire or a unicorn.”
