Midterm Report- The Philosopohy of Vampires

Alyssa Vance
10/31/11
Midterm Report-The Philosophy of Vampires
When I was trying to decide what to do for my midterm report topic I came at a loss, then I noticed the due date was Halloween, and I thought what a better topic to cover than one of the holiday’s scariest, yet most beloved of all the monsters, Vampires. Vampires as we know have been a very hot topic in the last couple of years. From Anne Rice to Twilight people just can’t get enough. The big question, however, is why people seem to be so amused with them, and what got it all started. I am going to examine this philosophy of vampires in 4 parts: In the beginning: The Origin of Vampires, The Fear, The Phenom: A comparison between the favorites of today, and my conclusion along with some interesting sources to check up on if desired.
In The Beginning: The Origin of Vampires
The stories of Vampires have been told for not only the past couple of years but for centuries. But are they real, or simply a figment of our imaginations? It is thought to be a legend or a horror movie icon, but that doesn’t exactly explain why several different societies have stories of them. What do they mean to society, are they something to fear or do they secretly hold great admiration and meaning to us? The stories have surfaced in many different areas, but where do they come from? Did the first story of the Vampire first come from Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula? The book was published in 1897 and was filled with sex, fear and bloodlust. Dracula was a repulsive monster, yet he was irresistible to the fairer sex. He may be the most well known vampire account we have, but he is not the first. Sure he started the general guidelines of no garlic, steak through the heart, allergic to sunlight and silver concept, but he was not the first vampire story. In fact, Bram Stoker may have been influenced by a real life monster, Vlad Dracula from 16th century Romania. Dracul means devil in Romania, and he was known to impale people as a form of punishment so they could die slowly and painfully. However, much to tourist’s dismay that visits Transylvania, there is no recorded account of Vlad Dracula having vampire tendencies. Another vicious real life human monster was Elizabeth Bathery, who was said to slaughter virgins and bathe in their blood; supposedly to keep her young and beautiful, but was there an ulterior motive? Or was the reason of wanting to be kept young and beautiful reason enough? Vampires are often documented as creatures beautiful beyond words, and always appearing young. No matter what, stories of vampires have both terrified and mesmerized us.
The Fear
Leading to first intense fear, people were known to dig up late family members and notice instead of a skeleton there was a bloated corpse with blood around the mouth. Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, people were often victims of plague. Back then plague was more medically confounding than it is today, they had no explanation or reasoning behind their loved ones dying away the way they were. After their loved ones would die from this plague, the remaining family members would experience, supposedly, being haunted by the deceased. The family would then exhume the body, and either cut out the heart or drive a stake through it, as per the legend of how to kill the immortal. The only sickness that could remotely explain it was tuberculosis or consumption. It would even appear that a vampire was forming. The infected would have labored breathing, would stop eating and waste away to nothing, and be coughing up blood. The infection literally would suck the life out of the person infected. The real fear was that the dead family members coming back would infect their other family members with the plague that was so unknown to them at the time. It could only be assumed that if the family members were coming back, there was only one explanation, they had to be still alive. Another scary observation once the body was exhumed was not only the bloated corpse but other tale tale signs, such as growing finger nails and hair growth. This is a terrifying thought, unless you are familiar with decomposition of the human body. The apparent growth if the skin and hair could be easily explained by the drawing back of skin as the body is decomposing; the bloating of the corpse can be explained as gas forming in the body as decomposition is taking place; the blood forming around the mouth is simply blood and other bodily fluids being expelled from the body as this is taking place. Sometimes there would even be audible sounds emitting from the deceased and visible movement, another terrifying observation, which fortunately science can explain. The movement of the body could be explained by the emitting of the gases causing the corpse to bloat, and the sounds are a result of that as well. Another fear was that often when the body had been exhumed and the ritual began as they drove a stake through their loved ones heart, the body would admit a shriek almost as if the body had been awakened and was crying out in pain. This being probably the most terrifying observation of all, if it weren’t due to all those troublesome gases again being released from the dead body.
The visitations may not be able to be explained as well. Perhaps it is a dream, or a ghost, or just a hallucination resulting from intense grief at the loss of a beloved family member; and although it may be clear that those deaths resulting from consumption and the exhumed corpse exhibiting signs of life can be explained by science, there is still more stemming from the stories that baffles scientists and religious figures alike. For instance, the fact that several different cultures both in main stream society and non mainstreamers have accounts, very similar in comparison, of a vampire figure; these stories are being passed around from culture to culture that speak different languages and have different customs, yet they all have accounts and fears of the very same monster. Maybe all the stories stemmed from the same need to explain sickness, or psychosis. Or maybe it all comes from Bram Stoker’s adaptation of the real life monster Count Dracula, being translated in several different languages around the world. However, no matter what the reason, we still question today out of phenom or history whether this vampire truly exists and is actually walking among us. This is a thought that both terrifies and excites us tremendously.
The Phenom: A comparison between the favorites of today
Bram Stoker’s account of the vampire has not only induced fear on a mass scale, but also inspired other authors to create their own form of the popular monster. Vampires have caused widespread fear true, however it has also intrigued generation after generation, and also ensued a mass following in the process. My assumption behind the philosophy behind this is perhaps stemming from Stoker’s account that not only was Dracula a repulsive and terrifying monster, but that he also had some very powerfully attractive and mystical qualities as well. Dracula was filled with not just death and bloodlust, but a very different kind of lust as well. The lust of the unknown, of the dangerous and the forbidden, that fills the pages of the infamous tale of Dracula, is what gets us so infatuated with vampires. From 1897- present vampires and the sultry atmosphere they create has occupied every corner almost of our minds. Not only has the possibility of these creatures being among us gotten everyone all hot and bothered in real life, but in books and movies and TV as well. Therefore, I have created a pop-culture comparion of vampire media to explain the way of thinking of these long standing horror celebrities.
True Blood
Inviting all the traditional vampire lore in as well as creating her own spin on things, Charlaine Harris has created a deliciously sexy world. In her account the vampire is the same one we know and love; the silver allergic-dangerous-provacative-coffin sleeping-sex and blood hungry creatures of the night, howver there are a few key differences between her vampire and the version from Dracula. First, garlic is only a mild irritant, it wont keep them away from you. Second they are allergic to silver, but wearing a silver chain around your neck isn’t always the best form of protection either, these vamps will take it where they can get it and there are several more juicy ateries than that in the neck. Third, they can be seen in mirrors and pictures, Holy water is just water to them, crucifixes do them no harm (unless it’s a silver one or wooden and used in the form of a stake), and they can walk in a church no problem. Many of them just as in famous tales of the vampire will take on a human lover and feed of them. For the main character of Charlaine Harris’s series, the Sookie Stackhouse novels, the appeal of vampires comes from the fact that Sookie is a telepath, and since vampires are dead and emit no brain waves, she cannot hear their thoughts, and after a lifetime of noise a little peace and quiet is much desired. Isabella Swan’s appeal in the Twilight Saga, and the vampires in it, however, are vastly different.
Twilight
Stephanie Meyer took a very different spin on the vampire when she wrote the famous series, instead of focusing on the demon within she appealed to the good side of the monster. Her vampires can go out during the daytime but not in sunlight, not because of an allergy but because their granite skin sparkles in the sun like a thousand tiny diamonds and people would still know they are different. Unlike Harris’s vamps who are “out of the coffin” so to speak, Meyer’s are not quite as open and still very secretive. They mainstream and try to fit into society, because they don’t want to live as monsters. They drink only of animal blood and one bite could turn you into one of them, unless their bloodlust turns fatal. They don’t have fangs visible but their teeth are like the sharpest knives and can cut through anything like hot butter. Isabella or Bella, falls in love with the loaner of the coven to the point where she cannot live without him and eventually marries into and becomes of them. My question is this; despite being very different versions of the same monster is this…. Which would be most terrifying? The vampire we know the most? Or the unknown that can come out in the daytime and hunt whenever they so choose, and can come into the home of a mortal without and invitation?
As I leave you with this question, I also leave you with a few interesting sources if you wish to learn more and where I got the information for this essay.
Sources
Charlaine Harris, Dead Until Dark, ISBN 978-0-441-01699-0, available at most books stores and online(Book Series)
The Twilight Saga, by Stephanie Meyer, available at most books stores and online(Book Series)
National Geographic’s: Is It Real? Vampires, As seen on National geographic(DvD) available For DVD rental at Linebaugh Public Library