When folklore becomes culture, somebody had to build the ballroom

By: The Lace Ledger Staff

In 2026, the concept of a grand ball seems like something borrowed from the pages of a storybook. We imagine gowns sweeping across polished floors beneath the glitter of chandeliers, every guest dressed magnificently for the occasion. An extravagance from another age, preserved in old novels and period films, but absent from modern day life.

And yet, once a year, such a night awaits those fortunate enough to cross the threshold of Endless Night New England.

Several hundred guests arrive having spent months preparing for the occasion. Corsets are laced. Fangs catch the low light. Music spills across a ballroom transformed so completely that, until morning, the outside world feels centuries away.

An initiated Vampyre Priestess and the co-producer of the iconic Endless Night New England Vampire Ball, Alexis Pharae spends much of the year creating the elaborate gatherings that bring this international subculture together. In Salem, she and business partner Benjamin Addam are also proprietors of Vampfangs, the storied and beloved Salem institution that has been fitting fangs since 1993, now serving a broader culture through fashion and events.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Pharae about finding her place within Vampire culture and the role she now plays in shaping its future.