Most people are much more aware of the traits and characteristics that make up the fictional vampire than those that make up a real one. Most of us have been familiar with tale of the Vampire since child hood. Bella Legose,Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee, Vincent Price,...the beloved men of our childhoods who brought to life the mosters we loved to watch. But the birth of the Vampire Lore isn't quite so pretty as the movie versions. Almost every culture in the world has it's own "life sucking creature of the night".
**In China they are called Kuang-shi, they are described as being covered with fine white or green fur and have long sharp nails and glowing eyes. As with the European Vamp the Kuang-shi can also be identified by the lack of decay to the corpse, and can be but to rest by burning the corpse.
**In India there are several species of vampires. One of the most dangerous is the Rakshasha. The Rakashasha is a shape shifter who can take on the form of anyone or anything it wishes. Then there is the Jigar-Khor the liver eater, it can uses spells and incantations to pull the liver from its sleeping victims. It is said that unlike the walking dead variety the Jigar-Khor can be captured and cured thru ritual.
**In Malaysia we find the Penanggalan, a bodiless head dragging it's stomach and innards about who flies thru the night air searching out children and pregnant women to suck their blood. Thorny branches were hung in windows and doors assuming that the trailing innards would get caught in the thorns and then in the morning the creature rendered helpless in the daylight could be killed.
**In Greece it is the Vrykolakas who brings death to the unwary soul. It is believed that the Vrykolakas are born from the body of a dead werewolf, that it digs itself out of the earth and wanders the nearby villages banging on the doors and calling out to the villagers. Anyone who answered, they would be found dead within a day. The Greek custome is to wait for the second knock or call before answering since the Vrykolakas are thought to have no patience they would move on after the first knock. The skin of the Vrykolakas is said to be so tightly streched over the bones that if struck it would sound like a drum. From Greece we also find the legends of Lamia or Empusa. An evil female spirit who seduces young men and then devours them , not unlike a succubus. John Keats who wrote an epic poem about the Lamia, died of a consumptive death, sparking rumors that his dealings with the Lamia may have been more than just literary. Some other blood drinkers from Greece are the Larvae, the Striges, the Mormo and the Maniae.
**The Germans feared a visit from the Nachzehrer (the chewing corpse) and the Blutsauger (the blood sucker). Anyone suspected of returning after death as one of these creatures was often buried face down in their coffin so that if they did try to return to the world of the livng they would be unable to chew and claw their was out of the coffin.
**In Ancient Hebrew there is the tale of Lilith, Adam's first wife. She fell from grace, so it is said, because she refused to be subservient to Adam (good for her!!!) So God made her barren and cast her out of Eden. In revenge she became a demon who drew blood from children and gave birth to all Vampires.
The Word Vampire came from Europe and has a few variations like vampyr, vampir,or some Slavic words like Upir,Opor or Wempti,..thought to mean blood drinker. As most people know the romantized, alluring gentleman we have come to associate with the word Vampire is an image obviously far from its folklore roots. However we have to remember that "Folklore" doesn't make truth either. The one common factor in all these diffrent lores is that the creature, the Vampire must be dead before it can be. Which leads us to the diverse world of the Modern Day Vampire.
It is very difficult to nail down any sort of modern defenition for the Vampires of today. There are those who feed on blood, those who feed on energy or the life force of others, and there are those who feed on both. There is also those to which no admitted Vampire whats to be compared to and that is the "killer". Although somewhat rare there are people who claim to be Vampires who say that they don't just take blood from willing donors/partners but that they actually hunt down and take if not kill their intended victim. However these individules are usually viewed as roleplayers, liars, or plain old homicidal sociopaths.
Today's Vampires themselves seem to get into scraps about who is or isn't a real Vampire. What makes a Vampire? Some people who dress in dark clothes of the Gothic style or even some pretty far out S&M gear, who delve into blood games or blood fetishes claim to be real vampires. There are those seemingly normal "Joe's" who feel a distint hunger or craving to consume blood. There are still others who draw or feed from the energy of others even some who say they can draw the energy from any living thing. And yet with all this diversity comes conflict, blood drinkers saying Psy-vamps aren't real vampires ect. Some seem to consider it a lifestyle while others believe you must be born to it. Still others believe you must be turned by an already existing Vampire. One thing is for sure the Vampire subculture that has sprung up isn't going anywhere for awhile. And many are banning together for support. The media seems to only want to portray Vampires as either the S&M Gothic Club goer or the Psycho killer like Rod Ferrall. Hopefully all who choose to call themselves Vampire can get past the petty argueing about who is or isn't, and what the requirements are to "prove" you are truely a Vampire(a' la' you can only be a real Witch if you were initiated by a coven high priest debate, LOL). There does seem to be something deep in our heart and soul that calls the Vampire in us out, maybe that is all it takes to claim the title Vampire.
** Another interesting if not scary emergence on the Vampire scene is by so called Vampire Hunters. I don't know much about those who claim this title other than they seem to be Buffy lovers (shit even I like that show, what's the biggie?) or Blade lovers (yep liked that one too) Whatever it is, so far it seems to be mostly a game/roleplay thing right now. Though I do know of one person who really claims to have killed a Vampire. He gives his story along with facts that he has to go to court ect., but having heard him out it sounds like if ANYTHING did happen (which I sort of doubt) then it was simply an attack on him by a mugger,..ok a mugger in Gothic clothes but hey. Any group outside of accepted society is going to have its adversaries so I guess the "Vampire Hunters" are ours.
For a simple (ok, very simple for people who are curious and don't care to read all my babble)referance these are some of the traits you may find in the modern day Vampire. Keep in mind this isn't a complete or nessesarily accurate list nor do I claim to advocate or deny any of the traits, they are simply things I have heard or have experience myself and can appear in combination, singularly or not at all. As I said before if you want to claim the title of Vampire then claim it. Only you know what and who you are and no list or group should make you feel differently about it. That said here ya go. :)
BACK TO VAMPYRES
BACK TO MAIN PAGE
