Posts Tagged ‘vampirism’

Real Vampires

Real Vampires

While vampires have always been a favorite subject for popular culture, they have recently gained further popularity with the recent Twilight phenomenon and the popularity of such television shows as True Blood. There was a time, however, when human society’s fear of vampires was a very real fear and not just a fictitious one. Every culture that has ever existed has had vampire myths and legends in both their folklore and even their religion. From the Judeo-Christian stories of Lilith and her blood drinking daughters the Lilu, to tribes in Madagascar that tell tales of a blood sucking creature called Ramanga, it seems that for some reason the legend of the vampire is a universal aspect of human nature.

Energy Eaters: The Different Face of Vampirism

Energy Eaters: The Different Face of Vampirism

The most common modern mental picture associated with vampires is a breathtakingly beautiful but innately scary man or woman with pale skin, pointy canine fangs, and hypnotic eyes. This physical form is then coupled with an insatiable desire to suck the blood of mortal humans in order to live on indefinitely in their perfect bodies. The recent surge in vampire popularity has led the rise in a small sect of people who wish to get their own energy boost from drinking the blood of a willing (and physically fit, clean, healthy) donor. A medical condition that reduces red cell production in the body or limits the amount of iron or hemoglobin in a person’s system can actually be a logical, scientific reason behind this desire to absorb the blood of another. However, there are other types of modern vampires who do not uphold the tradition of drinking blood of a human. Most real vampires in their small, secret covens actually do not drink blood in order to get the required energy they need from others. Another way to look at it is that an actual vampire is not an undead blood sucker but simply a mortal human that has energy issues and needs to feed on the energy of others just to be normal.

5 Historical “Vampires”

5 Historical “Vampires”

With the advent of such excellent literary contributions as the Twilight series and The Vampire Diaries in recent popular culture seems to have come a worldwide obsession with the nosferatu. The positive following resulting from the new breed of vampires marketed to pining tweeners necessitates a look at the historical basis for these fictional creatures. The idea of the vampire has been around in folklore and legend for hundreds of years, continuously gathering a deranged cult-like following (although they have previously been armed with stakes and crucifixes instead of t-shirts and fan-fiction). It is interesting that, although the following historical figures are incredibly fascinating in their own rights, vampire hunters and dedicated paranormal advocates feel the need to nonetheless add to each person’s considerable resume the additional burden of being a vampire. Yet, any time a person seems to cheat death, acts sadistically psychopathic, or is just plain crazy, they are also bestowed the honor of vampire.