lifeleeching

Lifeleeching is a term used in folklore, fantasy fiction, and game design to describe the extraction or transfer of life energy, vitality, or life force from one being to another. The concept appears under various names such as lifesteal, life drain, or soul siphoning and is commonly associated with vampires, necromancers, and magical artifacts. Unlike purely physical injury, lifeleeching emphasizes the metaphysical or energetic dimension of vitality.

In traditional myth, lifeleeching may occur through biting, touch, curses, or enchanted objects, sometimes benefiting the leech directly and sometimes stabilizing or extending its life. In modern fantasy and role-playing games, lifesteal is a gameplay mechanic where dealing damage to an opponent restores health to the attacker, occasionally transferring life from multiple targets or consuming a resource like mana.

Lifeleeching functions as a narrative device for themes of exploitation, power imbalance, and mortality. The trope also appears as a social metaphor for individuals described as emotional or energy vampires who drain others' time, attention, or vitality. In analysis, it can be used to explore ethics of power and consent in supernatural or interpersonal contexts.

There is no scientific evidence for real-world life energy drains; lifeleeching remains a fictional or metaphorical construct. Related concepts include vampirism, energy vampirism, lifesteal mechanics, soul drain, and parasitism.