Vampires

I have always been fascinated with vampires.  A lot of people have, it seems.  I will admit that I grew up reading Anne Rice.  I was in love with Lestat in high school.  But I think there is a deeper meaning to our endless obsession with the vampire.

I find it very interesting that almost every culture has some kind of vampire character.  They look pretty different, but they all survive on some sort of essence stolen from another human.  Most of the time it is blood – literally our life force – but it could also be chi or spirit or any number of things that cultures believe humans need to survive.  The fact that most cultures have created a human-ish creature that feeds off other humans is quite interesting because you know what else most cultures seem to have in common?  A moral objection to cannibalism.  Before we started romanticizing the vampire, they were demonic, frightening cannibals.  The fact that they looked somewhat human, yet other, was terrifying.  Unlike dragons or beasts, they could move among us without detection for the most part. Granted they only moved at night, but before modern advances in electronics, nights were pretty freaking terrifying for everyone. 

Vampires association with the night can also be seen as a moral tell through the lens of western culture.  For Christians, and possibly Muslims and Jews but I have not done the research, goodness is associated with light.  This can be a figurative or literal light, but good thing = light, bad things = dark.  Because of our historic fear of the dark, monsters and demons in most cultures are linked to darkness.  They are some of the things that go bump in the night.  But in Western mythology, the vampire’s association with darkness is even more interesting.  Vampires have a human form, in most cases were human at one point, but then, when they become vampires, they are no longer able to be in the light.  They have been denied, in Western understanding, by God himself.  From intolerance to sunlight (the celestial sphere that gives us life) to intolerance to religious places and images, the severity of vampires’ damnation grew over time.  So to recap, vampires are damned cannibals.  At least from the Western perspective.

So how did we come to idolize vampires?  Well, vampires also have a lot of good things going for them.  Yes, they are murders (since they have to feed on us to survive).  Yes, they can’t go out in the daylight (which is when the majority of human productivity and interaction occurs).  But hey, they were immortal (in some cases).  Jus think of all the things you could do if you could live forever.  This immortality also brings great sadness and epic loneliness.  Now who can’t relate to sadness and loneliness.  As we learned to look past the murdering demon bit, we began to see a tragic figure.  A handsome man or beautiful woman forced to wander the earth alone in the darkness forever.  Swoon.  For many, the vampire represented a very appealing Faustian deal.  Eternal life and youth in exchange for living off the lifeforce of your fellows and never being able to get a tan.  It seems rather tempting.  As electricity lit up the nights and the darkness began to disappear, it seemed even more enticing. 

In its current incarnation, the Western vampire has become everything thing we fear, and everything we long for at the same time.  We have defeated the dark, so damnation holds no real fear for us anymore.  We are still a little wary of murder and cannibalism, but we have become desensitized to death over time, and I would argue that many in the modern generation feel somewhat detached from their fellow human beings.  In our secular society, we see the darkness in the vampire as a mirror of our own darkness, but so much cooler.  The vampire has become an antihero – sullen, brooding, beautiful, and irresistible to modern audiences. 

Now the vampire of other cultures hasn’t changed quite so much.  For the most part, other cultures still seem to be stuck on the whole “it’s a cannibal” thing.  And perhaps the Western vampire will make its way back to being a real monster at some point – after becoming so much of a caricature of itself that it no longer commands any respect as a real monster (cough, cough, sparkles in sunlight).  But we can only wait in see.

For myself, I still think it would be pretty cool to be a vampire.  Yes, the killing part would suck.  And there really isn’t a whole lot to do after 2 a.m., but the idea of being able to watch the progression of the world is enticing.  Having all the time in the world to write, travel, and experience life (or unlife) sounds pretty good.  Just think of how much you could accomplish is you made every second count for all eternity? Plus, the outfits!