…Or under the bed
It’s Halloween and I was thinking about writing a post on vampires but then I thought, “Why not all monsters?,” and then I thought, “That would be a really long blog post,” so then I said to myself, “Why don’t you do a series of blog posts on different monsters and start with vampires?” and then I thought, “You’re right, Amanda. That’s exactly what I’ll do.”
So back to vampires. I’m not sure what my earliest experience with them would have been (In stories. I’ve not yet had the experience of a vampire in real life. One can only hope though.) When I was about ten, I dressed up as one for Halloween–fangs, blood, a cape. And I can also remember reading a story in elementary school called Bunnicula, about a vampire bunny, which is really a wonderful thing. (Side note: I just published a short story about a vampire cat, called “Blood and Kibble”, in my September newsletter. I include a free short story in the newsletter every month.)
But, maybe now that I’m thinking about it, my first real experience with vampires was watching Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, which also has Dracula in the movie. My Dad must have put this on for my me and my sister at some point while we were little and it became one of those things we watched on repeat. I haven’t seen the movie in some time, but I remember Dracula being smooth, slick and able to compel people to do what he wants. He is eternally calm and collected. He can appear to be human, but is not. He exists in another realm than the living, though he can join them in theirs if he wishes. He is above certain human frailties.
In many vampire stories, vampires have the ability to compel humans to do what they wish, which may be their most dangerous (and most attractive) quality. Yes, they can bite you and drink your blood, but they do have to get close enough to you to do that. They can often compel you with just their presence. In my vampire thriller, Bored To Death, vampires don’t have the ability to directly compel people, but they do have a certain way with humans. Kind of an indirect ability to compel. Also, vampires are almost always seductive, which is related to, though not necessarily a part of, their power to compel. They are powerful, beautiful monsters, which is probably why we like them so much.
And that’s the thing, are we really scared of vampires? Though they fit the category of monster, I think we are much more likely to admire them than to fear them. It’s all that sexiness and power.
And then of course, there’s the blood. While most of us wouldn’t find anything pleasurable or attractive in drinking blood, I think we find the depiction of drinking blood attractive. The bite on the neck, the vampire’s desire for it, the victim’s willingness–many times the victims are shown to be somewhat willing or at least to be willing under the spell of the vampire’s compulsion/seduction, right? There’s often not a lot of struggle between vampire and victim (although sometimes there is, especially in the case of a vampire feeding frenzy).
Vampires also like to leave a neat corpse (with the exception of the feeding frenzy mentioned above) and I think that sits well with us. Just two fang marks. Maybe dripping with a little blood, but very little gore. I like to think that vampires share some qualities with cats, and cleanliness is one of those qualities.
Recommended Vampire Reads:
Amanda Linehan is the author of North, about a young woman on the run from her past, the law and an old adversary out to get her. Her newest release is Bored To Death: A Vampire Thriller, about a 300-year-old vampire trying to restore the balance between life and death. She has published five novels.
ooooo, so happy to open this in the midst of Samhain preparations!!!!