Creatures of Myth & Legend...or are they real?

Vampires have captured our imagination for decades in books, movies, television, art or other mediums. There are those that claim to be real vampires (lots seem to have web sites these days), but just what is a vampire?

Technically a vampire is any creature that has to feed off another to survive. Usually, this means drinking the blood of the donor...but there have been reports of psychic vampires (that feed off the emotions of the donor) and in the strict sense of the definition, even parasites and cannibals could fit. Thinking about the legends logically, a vampire could be someone with a genetic defect that prevents their producing blood cells and so much replenish their supply by drinking or transfusions of blood from a willing or unwilling donor. Personally, I’ve always thought a vampire wouldn’t necessarily have to kill their donor....at least not if they replenish their blood regularly enough.

To most people though, a vampire is a creature with fangs that drinks the blood of the living. Various legends give vampires different traits, strengths and weaknesses. The success of White Wolf’s Vampire: The Masquerade role playing game has renewed interest in vampire lore during the past few years and many of the items in the game were taken from the old legends. Even if you don’t play the game, the source books created for it contains a wealth of information for vampire lovers.

Some of the most common traits are below:

• Traits of Vampires
• Immortality - they are generally believed to be immortal or at least possesing very long life spans
• Strength - stronger than mortal (average) man
• Speed & Agility - they can move in the blink of an eye
• Flight - most legends say they can fly
• Transformation/Shape Shifting - many legends say they can transform into lessor creatures (bats and rats seem most common) and some say they can also change into myst or smoke
• Psychic Abilities - ranging from mind reading to mind control. Some say they mesmorize their victims which prevents them from fighting back.
• Rapid Healing - they can’t be killed by normal means but usually require beheading or a stake through the heart
• Extraordinary Eyesight - usually including the ability to see in the dark. Sometimes they also have other expanded senses including hearing.
• Animal control - vampires can sometimes control lessor creatures, especially wolves and other nocturnal animals.
• Invisibility - some legends say a vampire can turn invisible or otherwise hide himself in shadows.
   
• Weaknesses of Vampires
• Sunlight - most legends say sunlight destroys vampires making them burst into flame. Some legends say they must sleep in a coffin during the day lined with native earth (soil from their birth place). Others simply say they have to avoid sunlight and can sleep anywhere.
• Running Water - some say they cannot cross running water such as streams and rivers (though oceans don’t always fall into this category)
• Holy Water & Cruxifixes - most legends say these will destroy them...or at least hold them at bay. Some say that the person wielding it must have faith in order to use them - some say the vampire has to have faith as well for it to work on him. Other religous items (such as communion wafers) are also sometimes said to be able to control the vampire.
• Mirrors - they cast no reflection...one of the ways they can be detected
• Garlic - another thing said to ward them off. An old wives tale says to string garlic flowers (corrupted to be cloves of garlic in most movies) around the neck or around the windows and doorways to keep vampires away.
• Invitation - some legends say a vampire cannot enter a private dwelling unless they are invited by someone who resides there. No such problem with public buildings though.
• Stake through the heart - the traditional way of destroying a vampire is to drive a wooden stake through their heart, though this may be just one method of severing the spinal cord (which could be the true cause of death considering beheading is also considered a way to destroy them). Some legends also say that if the stake is ever removed from the corpse, the vampire will rise again.

There is also the variations of whether or not a vampire is a demon or undead. Most legends say the victim dies to rise from the dead as a vampire. But with medical science what it was during the height of vampire superstition, perhaps the victim went into a coma of sorts. Some legends (such as that portrayed in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) say that the victim’s soul is corrupted and a vampire is actually a demon that can now walk the earth.

All of these legends and myths have led to a somewhat morbid fascination for these creatures of the night. Personally, my interest in the idea of vampires started around 12 or so when I first read Bram Stoker’s Dracula and saw some of the Christopher Lee movies. My main fascination is actually the idea of being immortal - I love history and would dearly love to be able to live through history...to watch it unfold over so long a lifetime. Eighty years or so of life just doesn’t seem long enough...I’d live a few hundred myself!

There are varying ideas of whether or not vampires are real...as is true in most myths, I’ve always felt some core part of it is true and man has embellished on the reality over the years. Many folk tales were created to help calm the everyday fears of the common people...the idea of being able to keep evil away with something as simple as a garlic flower, for instance.

What do you think about vampires? What attracts you to them and living in Vampire Haven if you are a resident? Please disuss in the Haven’s message board!