The incessant questioning I hear regarding vampires amongst you acted as a catalyst in the writing of this document. However it is safe to assume I have other reasons as well. Mainly it can be said that certain myths and misconceptions pose more a threat to vampires than the reality ever could. Secondly such a thing as the "reality of vampires", which I know some of you might consider to be an oxymoron, should be subject to a gradual introduction to the public if it ever hopes to be accepted. Near five years online (and thousands of readers later) I have spent educating about vampires and I must say I am pleased with the overall response, even considering going to the next level and writing a book.
This here which you are reading now is the sixth version of the document containing information about vampires from myths to psychology and even genetics. I ask that you do not believe or disbelieve the information of this document without proof to either side and merely receive it as theory till otherwise. Most of you I would safely assume have no proof whatsoever though a few I'd imagine have all they need to believe every word of it. All the same, allow 6% of the enclosed information to be of error. In this document you should find information to answer most of your questions, and if you have any that were not answered, see any typos or other errors, or you just care to comment, please write back and do so. Feel free to pass this document on to anyone else, provided it is sent in it's entirety without change. Enjoy reading.
Sincerely, Devilrhyms
The Untruth
"Superstition is the religion of feeble minds."
---Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke knew what he was saying, although I doubt he would have ever thought that his meaning could be ever applied to vampires. Superstition is the distorted and misconceived account of the truth. For instance, take the stereotype of vampires and the sun. You might picture a tall lanky thin corpse like creature bursting into flames at the mere glint of sunlight, or thanks to Anne Rice's misportrayal, a living marble statue of an eternal beauty groping the walls in fear as shattered sunlight creeps across the floor, and slowly roasts the poor misguided soul. I can assure you, that it is highly unlikely that a vampire would ever burst into flames at the touch of sunlight.
With Christianity, the ever portrayed foe of vampires, the cross and holy water have been said to be powerful weapons against a vampire. It is a rather absurd and irritating to have some religious fanatic show you his crucifix and spray you with stagnant water, don't you think? Garlic, although it may be related somewhat to the onion which has been known to produce teary eyes in humans, is nothing more than a bulb of a plant, and although it may smell a bit strong, it really does not keep any ward. And roses, what makes the people in the villages of Romania, who hang roses, along with garlic, across their doorways and windowsills, think that roses would ever deter a vampire from entering their home? If a vampire is determined to get in your house, he/she might do nothing more than wonder what holiday you're celebrating. Running water, although it may persuade a gorilla to stay away, also has no effect on vampires. A few stories might speak of this fear, but how do you think vampires would ever travel if they could not go over water? Stakes on the other hand, might do some damage. If a major organ of yours is impaired, your body just might go into shock.
Long associated with Satanism, demons and sorcery, vampires have come out with rather unjustified stereotypes. It is assumed often that one cannot dwell in places of holiness because the power of good holds over that of the evil they are made out to be. Vampires are not corpses but rather quite alive as humans and live by the very same rules regarding morality and actions. I thank the few authors of those vampire stories that showed life from a vampire's perspective for helping somewhat. To show that although they are different from humans and require blood, they too have feelings, needs, desires, and the conflicts of morality the same as any human.
The Mythology of Vampires
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The myth of vampires has come a long way since ancient Sumer and Babylon. Yet the two basic beliefs in what a vampire is remain surprisingly the same. The Ekimmu which parallels the renevent belief in that those who die violently, fail to receive a proper burial or who are excommunicated from their church are doomed to wander the earth in search for victims and or vengeance. The Uruku parallel the belief that vampires are demons who seek to drink blood, corrupt and defile mankind and the earth. The following is an introduction into various myths to be found around the world, which isn't surprising at all. Of the Hebrews we have the ever popular legend of the female demon Lilith, one of seven demons borrowed from the Babylonians. Like Lamia, which there will be more on later, she took to drinking the blood of children though her reason was believed to be the angst over being rejected from the Garden of Eden. Some people believe that she was Adam's first wife who was rejected because of her will be to on the top in regards to sexual positions. The Talmudists though believe that she was Eve herself. Lilith is also believed to be the cause of wet dreams in men and is seen as the epitome of seduction. In the Bible, Lilith is only briefly mentioned in Isaiah XXIV, 14.
For much of the time Christianity's perception of the vampire was that of a renevent. A being that feared God and his places of worship. That suffered at the sight of his symbols and trembled at his words. It was believed that the wood of the aspen tree, which served as Christ's cross, could be used to impale a vampire. However there was one type of vampire of interest from this religion. The Children of Judas were red haired vampires that killed their victims by draining them with one bite. The bite marks left the symbols XXX which stood for the amount of silver that Judas sold Jesus for.
The Asanbosam of Ashantiland were the men, women and children vampires who bit the thumbs of sleeping people which was perhaps an attempt at explaining where the bite marks came from. Vampire bats rarely would ever bite a human being however if they do, it is typically on the thumb and usually these particular bats are rabid. Old demonic hags known as the loogaroo were a form of vampires in Grenada who supposedly formed a pact with the devil and were to supply him with large quantities of warm blood nightly. In Brazil a form of vampire called the Lobishomen was known to attack women, and upon the women recovering they became nymphomaniacs.
Of Malaysia and surrounding countries there are the stories of the male Bajang who assume the form of a polecat and mews outside the door of his victim (similar to folklore of the Banshee), and then the far more demonic female counterpart, the Langsuir. The Bajang come in two forms; hereditary Bajang which comes from just being in a certain family who's ancestors have done evil, and acquired Bajang which one stands over the grave of a stillborn child and summons the spirit to come forth. The Bajang are said to be able to be caught and become a familiar spirit of someone who would keep it somewhat like a pet. Imprisoned in a tabong they are fed on milk and can be sent out to do harm to those who have angered it's master. Catching the suspected sorcerer after many Bajang attacks is strikingly similar to a witch hunt with such well known techniques as water dunking and others not so well known such as shaving an iron bowl with a razor. If the person under suspicion, who is placed in an adjoining room, looses hair in the exact same spot as was shaved on the bowl, then he is seen as guilty and would be killed. Occasionally sporting the shape of an owl, the Langsuir also was known for her green robes, black, ankle length hair, and a hole in the back of her neck through which she drinks the blood of children. It was said that by cutting the hair and nails of a Langsuir and placing them in the hole of her neck by a mortal, she would become cured of her condition.
India has a plethora of vampire mythology with such creatures as the grave wandering, flesh eating Rakshasas. Somewhat thought of as the blood drinking version of elves sporting fangs and drenched in blood, they were accepted as a reality by the Hindus who wrote of such a creature in the Vedas. They were also reputed to be extremely wealthy and would give money to mothers who had won their favor. The Vetala is an old hag vampire deformed with long slits for eyes, discolored skin and poison fingernails and will only drink the blood of mad and/or drunk women. There is also the Jigar-Khor who steals, with incantations, and eats liver, the Hanh Saburo which with the help of dogs, chase men into a forest where they drink their blood. A few other Indian vampires are the Hant-Pare which cling to the wounds of a person and sucks their blood in the manner of a leech, the Pisachas are a race of flesh-eaters and Mmbyu (Death), also know as Pacu Pati, who is the chief of all malevolent creatures of the night. Last but not least we come to Kali, a vampire-like goddess with dark flowing hair, an idiot's grin and four arms. Her vampirism is attributed to that battle with Raktaviya, the King of Demons, from who she had to drink blood in order to beat. For every drop of his blood that hit the ground, a thousand new demons would spring up for her to battle. Her followers, called Thugs practiced, thugee and were eventually held responsible for quite a number of ritual murders in her name.
From Greece we have the vrykolakas, the apparently ever popular Lamiae, and also from Homer's "The Odyssey" we have reference that the blood of the living empower the dead to speak. The Lamiae attribute their name to the tragic tale of Lamia, the beautiful queen of Libya with whom Zeus (big surprise) fell in love and fathered children with (after all these myths of Zeus and his habitual mortal fonification, one wonders at the definition of love used). Hera, Zeus's eternally jealous wife (who is supposed to be the goddess of family here), yet again schemes up a method of extracting revenge and takes Lamia's children away. Lamia, unable to do anything, in turn believes then that all mortal women should suffer as she has and takes out her woe by wandering and drinking the blood of children. Though they shared the same habits, Lamia was only a normal women where the Lamiae were women with snake-like bodies.
The Dearg-due vampire of Ireland could only be kept in its grave by placing a cairn of stones over the top. Reminiscent to the Langsuir of Malasia, the boabhan sith (pronounced bovan she) of Scotland were vampires who assumed the form of a group of beautiful girls with long golden hair and green dresses who would surround their enchanted victim dancing with gaiety drawing a bit of blood here and there, and then would close in for the kill. The Dakhanavar is an Armenian vampire that assumes the role of a protector of a valley and drinks the blood of his victims through their feet. There can also be found the Chaing-shih of China, the Civateteo of Central America, and even the vampir of Russia.
On a less physical note, many of you perhaps have woken up to a feeling of strangulation or you couldn't move. Many authors attribute such "attacks" to a form of psychic vampire, who comes to someone in their astral bodies to take energy from their sleeping victims. However it's most interesting that these authors forget to point out to the reader that your body becomes paralyzed when in REM sleep so as to inhibit one from acting out their dreams. Ever feel like you couldn't run fast enough while dreaming? That's why. When someone suddenly opens their eyes and become conscious, they're going to notice that they might still be paralyzed from REM sleep. And like anyone, they're going to panic and try to come up with an explanation why. So the mind, still in a sleep state, will project images for the person to conclude as the cause of their state of paralysis. Such beings believed to be the cause of the paralysis and feeling of suffocation have been named in many cultures.
In Greece you have the terms of Ephialtes and Pnigalion, the former which sits on the victims and the later strangles. In Latin the Inuus. Christianity has possibly derived the names Incubus and Succubus from the Latin term. More commonly you come across terms with variations of mar, or mare. The mora in Poland, the cauchemare of the French and Cajun peoples, the kikimara of Russia and the nightmare of the english. From Denmark comes the Mara, a female vampire which by day assumes the form of a human and were some unfortunate man to fall in love with her, he would feel as though he were being strangulated. Sometimes these night attacks would arouse the victim and numerous names were given to such "friendly" vampires. If you recall Lilith, who is considered a Succubi, she was considered the cause of sexual arousal for sleeping men. The Stigoi or Strigae and Moroii of Rumania and Hungary were those who went out at night looking to fornicate with whoever they stumble across. King Stephen I of Hungary went to far as to make it illegal for a Strigae to be out. The Romanian Nosferat would appear as an attractive person of the opposite sex who would enter the homes of their victims repeatedly. The victims slowly would lose vitality and die of illness and exhaustion. Some stories even depict them as those who have been torn apart in life, and in death the other seeks to be reunited with their love. Another form of sexual vampire is the Liderc, a female vampire resembling the Nosferat.
The myth of the sexual vampire in Europe can possibly thank it's introduction to the Gypsy folklore of the Mule who are alive only at night and midday. The Mule, although dead men, aren't the corpses of their prior bodies. Instead they wander around in new bodies that are exact duplicates. The Mule, although they don't drink blood, would occasionally reappear to their tribe and ask for their wives. The resulting offspring were given reserved names. The Gypsies of Novopazarski Zandzak and Stari Ras called these children Vampijerovic and would name them Lampijerovic. The Orthodox Gypsies of Kosovo-Metohija called them Vampiric (little vampire) and would name the boys Vampir and the girls Vampirera. The Moslem Gypsies believed that anyone could see a vampire by looking through their legs and that a woman should not resist the sexual assault of a vampire. She may scream but everyone else had to sit still and allow it to continue. The children of such attacks were called a Dhampir and believed to have the power to see vampires and destroy them. Others could see vampires by having the Dhampir hand his shirt to them and looking through the sleeve while the Dhampir is hunting the vampire. It's also believed that a twin brother and sister, born on a Saturday, wearing their shirts inside out could see a vampire. There were many ways supposedly of dealing with vampires.
From the erotic tales of the Lamia in Roman and Greek Literature to the decrepit depictions of the Raksashas by the Hindus Vedas, one can see a certain evolution of the role of the vampire that parallels humanity's concept of the forbidden and the evil. It is recognizable that the beliefs of an individual and culture would greatly determine just how a creature such as the vampire would be perceived. People of a polytheistic religion, with many gods and goddesses all assigned certain responsibilities, would most likely be able to recognize the various degrees of good and bad and the importance of all in life. Those of a monotheistic belief would most certainly have set definitions of what is good and what is evil in a black and white outlook.
With the Mesopotamians, Greeks, Romans and the Hindus one can see the wide spread definition of vampire. In fact each portrayed several types of vampire all of a varying degree of evil. The Ekimmu were merely humans who died deaths which broke certain taboos in the Mesopotamian culture such as violent deaths, and became tortured, wandering souls. The next step up on the degree of evil would be the Raksasha's and the Lamiae who were notably no longer human but still of a physical nature and who each preyed upon the helpless. Mmbyu and the Uruku were vampires of a demonic nature who would torment their victims through possessions. It should be pointed out here that demonic possessions were often attempts to explain the cause of psychosis and insanity and that Exorcisms were then believed to be the cure. The Uruku's were common enough to have their own exorcism incantation. Vampires have also attained the status of gods and goddesses. The Goddess Kali of India, Chicomecohuatl the maize goddess and Totec the moon god of the Aztecs all had their own worshippers and ceremonies of vampirism. The evil and the forbidden was glorified. With the onset of Christianity in the world the role of evil greatly changed. There was only one true God, one true way and one true strength. Evil was weak and all held much fear for such an awe inspiring truth. Anything and everything against the truth was sought out and destroyed. Vampires of seduction, possession and of death were all considered the minions of the Devil along with alchemists, witches, sorcerers and atheists. The devil, not the vampire is more of an interest during this period of time. It's the belief in the Devil who is subject to a certain evolution in role before the belief in the vampire can change.
With Dante's "Inferno" (1300 A.D.) one can see just how pathetic and miserable the Devil is. Thrown from heaven, he is stuck in the icy cold of the Cocytx at the lowest point of hell eternally eating the three most loathed people of that time. The most loved angel of God to the most tormented for his treason, the vampires up to this point were considered the damned unable to find peace. In Christopher Marlow's "Dr. Faustus" (1604 A.D.) the Devil is no longer a pathetic icon of evil, but has gained the standing of a stern and blunt, yet still demonic, businessman who has learned the art of contractual agreement. Instead of having a leading role he instead sends Memphistopheles to submit to the whims of Dr. Faustus showing his impersonal attitude of the whole affair. John Milton's "Paradise Lost" (1677 A.D.) suddenly throws an odd twist to the idea of the Devil. He is suddenly reminiscent to an unsatisfied youth, becoming the archrebel more than anything. In "Paradise Lost" evil incarnate becomes the subject with who people take sympathize in and relate to. He takes on the role of an Anti Hero for the first time.
After the epitome of evil gained such a status, the vampire in the western world could regain some of their lost standing. Vampires no longer were subject to the idea that they were mindless corpses seeking to harm and rape. Instead they were becoming more human and more alluring. "Der Vampir" by Heinrich August Ossenfelder was an early poem about the male vampire seducing women, published in 1748. Goethe's "The Bride of Corinth", published in1797, told of a man who had lost his soon to be bride to death and was visited by her at night. Burger's tale "Lenore" made a female vampire the subject of romantic fantasies. However vampires weren't much the notable characters of fiction until after Lord Byron, Mary Shelley and John Polidori came up with a contest of who could write the best horror story in 1816.
While Mary Shelley herself later came to writing the gothic novel "Frankenstein" based upon german folklore, Lord Byron and John Polidori both decided on the theme of the vampire."Vampyre" was the result. Lord Byron is accredited to having thought up the basic plot where John Polidori was the actual author of the novella. It is believed that Polidori's vampire, Lord Ruthven, was modelled after Bryon who was a notable womanizer of his time. The vampire's name for the novella was derived from another character fashioned after Byron in a novel written by Lady Caroline Lamb, who Byron had abandoned. Published in April of 1819, "Vampyre" was to set the theme for many future novels. Most notably Thomas Preskett Prest's "Varney the Vampire" which is also known as "The Feast of Blood" published in 1847, Sheridan Le Fanu's "Camilla" in 1872 and last but not least, Bram Stoker's "Dracula" published in 1897.
It was in modern times that the vampire took off the role of an irrational character blindly giving into his or her nature and desires. In such films as "Tale of a Vampire" and with Anne Rice's "Vampire Chronicles", the stories change to the point of view of the vampires and their struggle to come to terms with their nature and the consequences of their actions. Such a role was commonly seen in the popular 1960's series "Dark Shadows" with the character of Barnabas Collins (played by Jonathan Frid) who showed the many sides of his personality, envoking pity to the torn character. Donald Glut, a friend of Martin V. Riccardo, author of "Liquid Dreams of Vampires", mentions that many story lines have turned to the idea of a vampire seeking to be cured of his or her condition. This allows the audience to become all the more sympathetic to the vampire; that he or she loathes his or her condition and seeks to become normal again is a source of redemption. While a vampire isn't yet totally accepted for who they are, they are pitied if they express a desire to become "cured".
Such a theme is more noticeably used in the television series, "Forever Knight" based on the movie "Nick Knight", which portrayed a vampire, Nicolas Knight (played by Geraint Wyn Davies), who was a homicide detective working graveyard shift. While serving society by tracking down and catching criminals, he sought for a cure to his being a vampire. One person, his parent vampire Lacroix (played by Nigel Bennet), seemed to represent the negative force in his life, similar to a ID mixed with "fatherly" concern. He spent much of his time taunting and trying to convince Nick to give up on his quest. Another character by the name of Natalie (played by Catherine Disher), who was the morgue doctor, represented the positive force in his life, and like the super ego maintained much of his sense of direction and moral sanity. She spent time helping him deal with his dual life and sought for a cure.
Another common theme of redemption is when one good vampire kills other vampires. In such movies as "The Lost Boys" and "After Dark", there is the youth who finds himself attracted to a girl and unwittingly finds himself pulled into the lifestyle. Both in some form or another come at odds with the rest of the vampires and as expected, kills them and finds their cure. The ever popular japanese animation "Vampire Hunter D" displays a Dhampir, after the Gypsy myth, who is pushed to a solitary life because of his dual existence. Wandering around he seeks out and destroys vampires. With Nancy A. Collins "Midnight Blue" which a compilation of three stories, a vampire by the name of Sonja Blue also wanders around killing vampires. Sonja Blue is a character with three personalities, one of which fights to maintain control, another seeks to give into her desires, and the third the lost personality of the child who existed before the body became vampire at the age of 16. Although not a Dhampir as the character D in "Vampire Hunter D", Sonja Blue is considered odd in that she is a living vampire and that along with her drive to destroy other vampires has pushed her away from the underground community. Her unusual behavior, inability to fully control herself and negative presence in turn drives her away from the human community. With Brian Lumley's "Necroscope III: The Source" we come across a vampire known as the Dweller, aka Harry Jr. who is the son of a necroscope and accidentally was given an egg (which supposedly grows into a sort of symbiont vampire). In an odd twist the Dweller, instead of running from communities, is the leader of his own people who he protects against the other vampires. A vampire that protects is far from the idea that they are creatures that destroy.
Many people throughout history have been associated to vampirism. Gilles de Rais, a national hero who fought side by side with Joan of Arch and at the incredibly young age of 24 was appointed Marshal of France shocked the world with his child rape, dismemberment, murder, sodomy and torture for five years until tried and sent to the gallows. Peter Kurten of Dusseldorf was described as a perfectly normal looking person of neat dress. However aside from this appearance, he suffered from haematodipsia (a sexual thirst for blood) and altogether murdered twenty-nine people by strangling them, raping them and cutting their throats. Countess Elizabeth of Bathory is said to have killed between 300-600 young women and use their blood in many methods to retain her beauty. Her trail in 1611, which she refused to attend, resulted in her punishment of life imprisonment within her castle by order of King Matthias II of Hungary. And lastly we come to Vlad Tepish who in his short career of six years as a ruler, managed to have 40,000 people killed. A saint to his own people, he was given the name Dracul which meant the son of the dragon or devil by his enemies
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