In 2013, a British theorist named Mark Fisher published an essay that basically set the internet on fire. He called it "Exiting the Vampire Castle." People are still arguing about it today because the problems he described didn't just go away; they got worse. They mutated. If you've ever felt like your online community—whether it's political, social, or even just a hobby group—has turned into a circular firing squad where everyone is terrified of saying the wrong thing, you’ve probably stepped inside the Castle.
It's a weird place.
Fisher wasn't some right-wing pundit complaining about "woke culture." He was a die-hard Marxist and a brilliant cultural critic who saw something rotting inside the movements he loved. He saw a culture of "priestly" condemnation. He saw people using morality as a weapon to destroy others rather than a tool to build something better.
What is the Vampire Castle exactly?
The Vampire Castle is Fisher’s metaphor for a specific kind of environment. It’s a space where guilt is the primary currency and "calling out" is the primary activity. According to Fisher, the Castle is fueled by the energy of its victims. It feeds on the desire to be "more radical" or "more pure" than the person sitting next to you.
He argued that this behavior actually helps the people in power. Why? Because if we are busy tearing each other apart over micro-nuances of language or past mistakes, we aren't actually challenging the systems that make life miserable for everyone.
Think about the last time you saw a massive "discourse" thread on X (formerly Twitter). Usually, it starts with someone making a slightly clumsy point. Within an hour, they aren't just wrong; they’re "dangerous" or "harmful." That’s the Castle’s drawbridge lowering.
The logic of the priest
Fisher identifies a "priestly" class within these movements. These aren't people with actual religious authority, obviously. They are the self-appointed gatekeepers. Their power comes from their ability to identify "sin" in others. In the context of exiting the vampire castle, the priest's job is to ensure that no one ever feels safe or comfortable.
If you’re comfortable, you’re complacent. If you’re not suffering, you aren't committed.
It’s a miserable way to live. Fisher noticed that this environment was making people—especially young activists—deeply depressed and paranoid. You start self-censoring. You stop asking questions because you’re afraid the question itself will be used as evidence of your "problematic" nature.
Why exiting the vampire castle is so hard
Leaving is scary. If you leave, or if you criticize the Castle, the vampires turn on you. You become the next meal. Fisher himself faced immense backlash for writing the essay. People accused him of being a class reductionist or of trying to silence marginalized voices.
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But his point was actually the opposite. He believed that by focusing on individual moral failures, we ignore the structural issues that affect marginalized people the most.
We’ve swapped solidarity for surveillance.
Solidarity is hard. It requires talking to people you don't like. It requires finding common ground with people who might have "bad takes" but share your material interests. The Vampire Castle hates common ground. It thrives on distinction. It wants you to be a unique, fragile island of purity in a sea of "trash" people.
The role of social media algorithms
Honestly, the technology we use is built for the Castle. Every "like" on a scathing quote-tweet is a dopamine hit. The algorithms prioritize high-arousal emotions, and nothing is higher-arousal than moral outrage.
When Fisher wrote this in 2013, we were still in the early days of this. Now? It’s the default setting of the internet. We are constantly incentivized to be the person who finds the "problem" first. It’s a race to the bottom of a very dark well.
The Castle isn't just a place; it's a behavior pattern. It's a way of relating to other human beings as if they are dossiers of errors rather than complex, changing people.
Class and the Castle
One of Fisher’s most controversial points was about class. He argued that the Vampire Castle is often a middle-class project. It’s a way for people with social capital to maintain their status by using "correct" language that working-class people might not have the time or resources to keep up with.
It becomes a new kind of etiquette. A way to signal: "I am one of the good ones because I know the current terminology."
If you don’t know the terminology, you’re out. This creates a massive barrier to entry for the very people these movements claim to represent. It’s exclusionary under the guise of being inclusive.
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How to actually start exiting the vampire castle
So, how do we get out? It's not about becoming a "centrist" or giving up on your values. It’s about changing how you hold those values.
First, we have to stop the "identitarian" hunt. This doesn't mean ignoring identity—it means stopping the practice of using identity as a way to shut down conversation or to claim an inherent moral superiority that can never be questioned.
Second, we need to bring back the concept of "comradeship."
A comrade isn't necessarily your friend. You don't have to like their personality. You don't have to agree with every single thing they've ever tweeted. But you are on the same side of a larger struggle. In a comrade relationship, you give people the benefit of the doubt. You assume they are acting in good faith until they prove otherwise. In the Castle, you assume bad faith until they prove they’re "pure"—and even then, you’re suspicious.
Rejecting the "Call-Out" as the only tool
Call-outs have their place. If someone is being a literal predator or an unrepentant bigot, yeah, call them out. But the Castle uses the call-out for everything.
- Missed a meeting? Call-out.
- Used a word that was okay six months ago but is now "contested"? Call-out.
- Disagreed with a prominent figure in your circle? Call-out.
Exiting the vampire castle means reclaiming the private conversation. It means picking up the phone or meeting for coffee to say, "Hey, that thing you said earlier rubbed me the wrong way, here’s why." It’s less performative. It doesn't get you "clout." But it actually solves problems.
The cost of staying inside
The human cost is too high. Fisher’s own life ended tragically, and while it’s simplistic to blame one essay or its aftermath, the "Vampire Castle" atmosphere definitely contributed to his sense of isolation.
When we treat each other like disposable content, we lose our humanity. We become tired. Burnout in social movements is often less about the "work" and more about the toxic internal culture. People can handle fighting an enemy. They can't handle fighting their friends.
We need to build "Acid Communism"—a term Fisher was working on before he passed. It was about joy, collective abundance, and the idea that the world could be fundamentally different and better. The Castle is a place of scarcity and misery. We have to choose joy, even when it feels "unserious."
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Practical Steps for Your Digital Life
If you feel like you're stuck in the Castle, here’s what you do.
Stop checking the "trending" topics to see who is being cancelled today. It’s noise. It’s junk food for the ego.
Start reading longer books again. Fisher was a fan of deep theory and complex art. These things take time to digest. They don't fit into a 280-character zinger.
Look for organizations that actually do things in the physical world. Food banks, unions, tenants' rights groups. These places usually have much less "Castle" energy because they have a concrete goal. When you’re trying to stop an eviction, you don't have time to argue about whether someone used the exactly correct adjective in a Facebook post. You just need to stop the eviction.
Moving Forward
Exiting the vampire castle isn't a one-time event. It’s a practice. It’s a decision you make every morning when you open your laptop or your phone. You have to decide: Am I going to be a priest today, or am I going to be a comrade?
Am I going to feed the vampires, or am I going to help build something that can actually withstand them?
The Castle only has power because we give it our attention. We provide the blood. When we stop, the walls start to crumble. It’s time to walk out the front door and find the others who are already waiting outside in the sun.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Audit your "outrage" intake. Unfollow or mute accounts that spend 90% of their time "calling out" others within your own community. Notice how your anxiety levels change after a week.
- Practice "Generous Reading." The next time you see a post that makes you angry, try to find the most charitable interpretation of what the person meant before you react.
- Move the "discourse" offline. If you have a disagreement with someone in your circle, refuse to hash it out in public comments. Ask for a 10-minute Zoom call or a coffee meet-up. Most "Castle" behavior evaporates when you’re looking at a human face.
- Focus on Material Outcomes. Ask yourself: "Does this argument help anyone pay their rent or get healthcare?" If the answer is no, it’s probably just Castle drama.