Vampire's

About vampire's

Of all creatures on this planet few attract the interest and fascination of the vampire, with more books and films devoted to it than to any other creature. This fascination has propelled the vampire into a unique position in contemporary society with it now being revered by many instead of feared and hated as it was in less developed times.

So why is there such fascination with this evil blood-sucking creature? Many today might say that it is the immortality and power the vampire seems to posses that fascinates them: the ability to see the great changes of civilisation over time and to be able to influence, even to direct the future. Yet these qualities are also present in other mythical creatures or people, such as sorcerers like Merlin, who lived for several centuries, or Faust who sold his soul to the devil for riches, knowledge and youthful looks. Others have suggested that the fascination has more to do with the vampire's bestial and hungry look, its ability to turn into a bat and the fact that it tends to hunt and stalk it victims before killing. Through these acts and images, we perceive a lifestyle that is seen by society to be evil and unnatural, thus to enter into such acts would be a rebellion against human society. Again through this characteristic can be seen in other creatures such as the mythical werewolf, and so this seems to be an unlikely source for the fascination.

It seems more likely that the answer lies in the nickname attributed to modern vampires, that of blood-sucker, for this is their one unique characteristic. That they acquire their power from human blood fascinates us. Most would agree that this is a sexually motivated act for several reasons. Firstly, when we think about the act of taking blood we imagine the picture of the young innocent woman being bitten by the vampire on the neck, an image given to us by numerous Dracula films. This can be seen to symbolise much, such as the wish to remove or destroy innocence, the sensuality involved in the penetration of a woman's neck and the desire to take without consent.

Furthermore the blood has been seen to symbolise much more, as discussed in a Freudian argument which compares blood with semen and suggests that similar guilt or elation can be brought about by the discharge of either.

Yet the fascination with blood can be traced back to more ancient ideas for example: Ulysses in "The Odyssey" used blood to converse with the dead, by pouring it onto the lifeless body. Once consumed the host was again given the power of speech. This illustrates the primitive idea that blood was a life liquid which could transmit life to the dead. The Aborigines believed that blood was the strength of life which feeds and nourishes the soul. The connection between blood and the soul is even stronger in other primitive races, where the belief is that the soul is contained within the blood and that the divine spirit is the blood of God. This idea led to the use of blood in religious ceremonies. The Aztec people had many rituals, including the releasing and drinking of blood as well as human sacrifice which was seen as an honour. Other rituals were seen to include an elemental concept of the transfer of 'soul stuff' by close contact with the flesh and blood. This connection between blood life and the soul can be seen in the Bible at the last supper, where Jesus offered his blood to the apostles saying "this is my blood which shall be given up for you". Even here the sacrifice of blood and life are connected resulting in the freeing of the soul.

This idea of a connection between blood and the soul can be seen in the modern day vampire tale by Anne Rice which portrays the drinking of blood as sexual ecstasy, coming from the sharing of body and soul, making it the ultimate pleasure, greater than that of any sexual act.

Our morbid fascination with the vampire may be due to these and many other factors but the ultimate reason for our fascination with this mythical creature must be their similarity to us in both their looks, biology and actions.

VAMPIRE HISTORY TIMELINE

1047
First appearance of the word "upir" in a document referring to a Russian prince as "Upir Lichy", or wicked vampire.
1196
William of Newburgh's "Chronicles". It records several stories of vampire like revenants in England.
1428
Vlad Dracula, or Vlad the Impaler, is born.
1477
Vlad the Impaler is assassinated.
1484
The Malleus Maleficarium, known as the witch hunter's bible, is written by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. The topic of how to hunt and destroy a vampire is discussed.
1560
Erzsebet (Elizabeth) Bathory is born.
1610
Elizabeth Bathory is tried and convicted of killing several hundred girls. Her sentence is life imprisonment.
1614
Elizabeth Bathory dies.
1679
A German vampire text, "De Masticatione Mortuorum", is written by Phillip Rohr.
1727-1732
Arnold Paole unleashes his vampiric terror on the town of Meduegna.
1734
The word "vampyre" enters the English language. 1748 - The first modern vampyre poem, "Der Vampir", is published.
1813
A vampire appears in Lord Byron's The Giaour.
1819
John Polidori's "The Vampyre," is the first vampire story in English is published.
1847
Bram Stoker is born.
1872
In Italy, Vincenzo Verzeni is convicted of murdering two people and drinking their blood.
1897
"Dracula" by Bram Stoker is published in England.
1924
Fritz Haarmann the "Vampire of Hanover" is arrested, tried and convicted of killing more than 20 people in a vampiric crime spree.
1931
Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, is released.
193
The movie "Vampyr," directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, is released.
1936
"Dracula's Daughter" is released.
1943
"Son of Dracula", stars Lon Chaney, Jr., as Dracula.
1962
The Count Dracula Society is founded in the United States by Donald Reed.
1964
"The Munsters" and "The Addams Family"; television shows with vampiric characters.
1965
Jeanne Youngson founds The Count Dracula Fan Club.
1970
Sean Manchester founds The Vampire Research Society."In Search of Dracula" by Raymond T. McNally and Radu Florescu is published.--Stephan Kaplan founds The Vampire Research Centre.
1976
The first of the Vampire Chronicles, "Interview With the Vampire", by Anne Rice is published.
1979
Frank Langella stars in the remake of Dracula.
1980
Richard Chase, the so-called Dracula Killer of Sacramento, California, commits suicide in prison.
1985
"The Vampire Lestat" by Anne Rice is published and reaches the best seller list.
1988
"The Queen of the Damned" is published by Anne Rice.
1991
Vampire: The Masquerade," the vampire role-playing game is released by White Wolf.
1992
"Bram Stoker's Dracula" directed by Francis Ford Coppola opens. --Andrei Chikatilo of Russia, is sentenced to death after killing and vampirizing 55 people.-"The Tale of the Body Thief" by Anne Rice is published.
1994
The film version of Anne Rice's "Interview with the Vampire" opens with Tom Cruise as the Vampire Lestat and Brad Pitt as Louis.
1998
Blade is released into theaters. Pandora by Anne Rice is published. The Vampire Armand by Anne Rice is published.
1999
Vittorio the Vampire by Anne Rice is published.