Vampires are perhaps amongst the most alluring of magical-mystical creatures. It is actually quite difficult to say exactly what they are – beyond their depiction in films, books and similar works of fantasy.
The recent rising in popularity of these blood feasting creatures probably started with the Buffy The Vampire Slayer series and the Anne Rice books. The blatant sexuality of those blessed (cursed) with the ‘hunger’ cannot be understated. There is something quite romantic about the popular depiction of the vampire – hypnotic, powerful and (frequently) attractive folk, these creatures have been able to cast a ‘glamour’ over (predominantly teen) population who flock to see Twilight, New Moon. Eclipse, True Blood and do on.
Tracing the film history of the vampire is very interesting.(ref wikipedia)
In the seminal silent movie Nosferatu our vampiric soul was quite horrific. This movie contained many elements of true horror. Creeping shadows, a long nailed and pointy-toothed menace stalking the night.
Bela Lugosi’s interpretation of Dracula brought a sense of aristocratic style to the myth to be developed by Christopher Lee’s defining portrayal in the Hammer Horror movies of the 1960′s and 1970′s.
Dracula is perhaps the most recognisable of all literary creations. Bram Stokers work probably did more to promote the European notion of vampires than any other. Some of his ideas may well have been drawn from the Illustrated News’ cartoon strip featuring Barney the Vampyre. It has been suggested, however that before writing Dracula, Stoker spent seven years researching European folklore and stories of vampires, being most influenced by Emily Gerard’s 1885 essay “Transylvania Superstitions”.
Despite being the most well-known vampire novel, Dracula was not the first. It was preceded and partly inspired by Sheridan Le Fanu’s 1871 “Carmilla”, about a lesbian vampire who preys on a lonely young woman. The image of a vampire portrayed as an aristocratic man, like the character of Dracula, was created by John Polidori in “The Vampyre” (1819), during the summer spent with Frankenstein creator Mary Shelley, her husband, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron in 1816.
The Lyceum Theatre, where Stoker worked between 1878 and 1898, was headed by the actor-manager Henry Irving, who was Stoker’s real-life inspiration for Dracula’s mannerisms and who Stoker hoped would play Dracula in a stage version. Although Irving never did agree to do a stage version, Dracula’s dramatic sweeping gestures and gentlemanly mannerisms drew their living embodiment from Irving.
The Dead Un-Dead was one of Stoker’s original titles for Dracula, and up until a few weeks before publication, the manuscript was titled simply The Un-Dead. Stoker’s Notes for Dracula show that the name of the count was originally “Count Wampyr”, but while doing research, Stoker became intrigued by the name “Dracula”, after reading William Wilkenson’s book Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia with Political Observations Relative to Them (London 1820), which he found in the Whitby Library, and consulted a number of times during visits to Whitby in the 1890s.
The name Dracula was the family name of the descendants of Vlad II of Wallachia, who took the name “Dracul” after being invested in the Order of the Dragon in 1431. In the Romanian language, the word dracul can mean either “the dragon” or, especially in the present day, “the devil”.
Since then we’ve seen superb performances by Jack Palance (who for me brought a passionate anger to the Dracula Character), the comedic interpretations of George Hamilton, Leslie Neilson and the intriguing idea of linking the origin of Dracula to Judas ( yes, he of the twelve disciples) played superbly by Gerard Butler. (Dracula 2000).
The point, is, that the Dracula franchise and the mythology presented in each of the incarnations of this ‘creature of the night’ really clouds the undue when trying to unpick sone kind of ‘natural’ history of the Vampire.
Perhaps we need to consider vampires in terms of three of four different, interconnected concepts.
1) The existence of vampire-like creatures in nature. Those animals that have a kind of parasitic relationship with the animals they feed on.
These animals exist and do give rise to considerations of how blood can be a ‘food’.
2) The idea of the human-vampire who, perhaps cursed or perhaps best described as being un-dead, roams the earth in search of bloody sustenance perhaps, in the process, creating families of fellow vampires.
This myth is widespread across many cultures. Not all vampire-like creatures dissolve in sunlight, not all react to garlic and certainly not all respond negatively to the crucifix. Whilst the specifics of the vampire myth are culturally dependent, the fear of such creatures drinking your blood (draining your life-force) is more or less consistent.
Blood taboos are well represented cross culturally and there is certainly some mileage in considering the assertion that ancient cultures would have engaged in some form of ritual cannibalism. In fact in many ways the magical ideas behind cannibalistic acts would seem logical. By eating the flesh of a stronger, wiser, more spiritual acquaintance you are ‘taking in their’ essence, aspects of their physical being. Ritual cannibalism and it’s survival is understandable in these terms – after all the transubstantiation (the transformation of wine and bread to the blood and body of Christ) is a key part of the Catholicism.
What would be more scary than a supernatural being that is capable of stealing your essence, of taking from you some of the material that makes you you AND even changes you into something else in the process?
3) The vampire fashionista – those who adopt the ‘romantic’ and ‘glamourous’ life style of the vampire. It has to be recognised that the vampire character, popularised in many movies, is both seductive and sensual. The ‘emo’ and ‘goth’ fashions have many elements of ‘romantic vampirism”. A brief search in the internet will lead you to website promoting the ‘vampire lifestyle’ which not only includes fashion, but can also extend to cosmetic alteration (teeth, contact lenses), consensual blood letting and drinking and sleeping in coffins.
4) The ‘real vampire”. Clinical Vampirism has been documented in some cases of extreme personality disorder and schizophrenia. Individuals with this condition display behaviours and have desires that could best be described as vampirism.
Porphyria is a medical condition that gives the sufferer many of the symptoms deemed to be ‘typical’ of vampires; photosensitivity, pale skin, anaemia and associated weight loss. Often called the ‘vampire disease’ this condition may be linked to the mythical idea of vampire behaviours, but does not promote a thirst for blood.
Paraphilia (literally ‘alongside’ ‘love’) is a term that describes a range of behaviours and attitudes related to ‘alternative’ and possibly ‘extreme’ expressions of love and lust. The lust for blood; the desire to eat of the flesh of a loved one, may well represent a form of sexual behaviour driven by personal psychological processes.
Maybe these ‘real vampires’ have contributed to, and driven the vampire myth, and when taken with cultural blood taboos, the notion of ritual cannibalism and the fear of death and dying, have driven the vampire into the shadows of our civilised mind.
The recent upsurge of interest in ‘the vampire’ is perhaps a symbol of some inner desire for emotional and sensual fulfilment. The fact that many of the recent vampire sagas appeal directly to the themes of ‘romance’ and ‘unrequited love’ give some weight to this notion.
The ‘New Age’ movement has spawned another kind of vampire – one that drains personal or psychic energy. The so called ‘psychic vampire’ is something we need protecting from – it is the person or individual in or midst who drains us of enthusiasm, motivation, energy.
In other times we would have been happy to call them ‘bores’ or ‘self-seeking’ or ‘self-focussed’. In the past, perhaps, we would have taken personal responsibility in ridding them and their influence from our lives. Nowadays we need the power of crystals, oils, artefacts and other items sold to us by our spiritual gurus….. But thats another topic entirely.
