Until Dawn

This is a look into the Vampire subculture of New York City and beyond. Documenting a Fangsmith and impresario named Father Sebastiaan and his followers known as the Sabretooth Clan. Father Sebastiaan has been a main figure in the cultivation of the modern vampire community since the early 1990s. Endless Night Vampire parties described as “Venetian Masque Ball meets a Vampire Court, with the energy of a rock concert and the elegance of a burlesque cabaret” — are held across the world, from Paris to Prague to New Orleans.
The gatherings included an array of decadent, arcane and highly theatrical activities: from “red” pool parties to burlesque performances to magical ceremonies.

At the personal invitation of Sebastiaan, photographer Devin Yalkin was given unrestricted access to document this fascinating and vibrant subculture. “Since we are the largest vampire events in the world, and the longest running, our influence has helped shape and guide the direction of vampire culture,” Sebastiaan says. “We raise the vampiric energy of the world.”

Father Sebastiaan is just the man to help cultivate that aura. A 43-year-old with long hair, the fang maker once styled himself the king and spiritual guru of New York’s vibrant vampire scene in the 1990s. He hosted raucous parties, wrote books and launched product lines — jewelry and the fangs

He called his fang company Sabretooth and treated each new customer as a member of his own vampire clan with ritualized ceremonies.

The vampire parties involve performances by goth bands and leather-clad vampires who might flog one another with kink whips. Going by Father Sebastiaan or another pseudonym, he pranced through as a vampire playboy, dressed in leather pants and a top hat.