Blood fetish is a versatile thing. Not only does it have alternative names - ‘vampire fetish’, ‘haematolagnia’ and ‘haematophilia’ – it's also a sort of umbrella fetish, under which similar yet different blood-loving groups can gather with like-minded people.

	Others need their beloved writhing in pools of the stuff before they feel that special tingle

For some it takes nothing more than a drip of claret down some stranger’s pert flesh to get them going; others need their beloved writhing in pools of the stuff before they feel that special tingle.

But quantity isn’t the only variable. There are the lickers and drinkers, who, although a minority, are probably a bit cooler than the people on the other side of the ‘ingest or not ingest’ debate. Still other haematophiles have very specific kinks, and can only get off on distinct sub-fetishes, such as self-inflicted wounds or nosebleeds.

There are those whose blood fetish doesn't even require contact. These are the ones who spend an excessive amount of time at blood banks – not for altruism or the lure of sugary tea and Hob Nobs, but because they get a thrill simply seeing a room of people giving blood. And apparently the Hells Angels’ initiation ceremony involves going down on an ‘Angel Mama’ (a woman on call to satisfy Angels’ every sexual whim) while she is menstruating. In front of a crowd, no less.So now you know.