Pop Piercing: Scene and Vampire Mythology Bite Back

There’s no denying that the past few years have seen a major resurgence in vampire lore. From the successes of the Twilight and Underworld films and small screen gems like HBO’s “True Blood”, to lesser well known endeavors like 2011’s Vampire directed by Shunji Awai, and the yet upcoming Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, vampires are everywhere and permeating everything in popular culture.

It’s no surprise then that a piercing that looks like a vampire bite should be almost equally as popular. The vampire’s kiss piercing, as it’s often called, is any surface piercing of the side or front of the neck or collar bone in which both ends of a surface barbell show. This of course mimics the look of a vampire bite, especially when worn with red tips or ball ends that have ruby-colored inset gems.

First picking up speed among the scene and emo cultural groups common to the tween and teen set (particularly girls), the vampire’s kiss piercing has continued to grow and evolve, now coming to include proponents from most walks of life. Also, the grouping of what’s considered this type of piercing has been stretched to include surface piercings at other popular “bite sites,” like the wrist, chest, and hip.