Vampires » vampir

What the heck is a vampire, anyway?

holiday — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:26:00 +0000

All this talk about vampires, but what the heck is a vampire anyway? The definition has changed so much over time, that what once was considered a vampire is now called something else. The original European vampires were more like what we would call zombies today. Vampires have been based on demons and ghoulish spirits and reanimated corpses.
If we define a vampire merely as a creature that drinks blood, that would eliminate a lot of the creatures considered to be the ancestors to the modern types. Most of our concepts of vampires are evolved versions of the European legends. The word “vampire” wasn’t used until later, but the creatures they originated from were mostly revenants; reanimated corpses. These “vampires” were blamed, not for drinking blood necessarily, but for everything from plagues to miscarriages.
The vampire corpse would rise from the grave and murder those closest to it; its family and friends. Vampires were not necessarily creating other vampires, just killing people. Those who became vampires were ones who had been improperly buried or who committed suicide. The nachtzeherer of German lore would gnaw on its own hands and limbs in a frenzy of hunger, and crawl out of the grave to feed on livestock and humans. The vampir of Bulgaria could walk about during the day, and the lampir of Bulgarian folklore would spread disease.
There are other creatures considered to be vampires who were not reanimated corpses. A Slovakian lore of the upir tells of a creature with two hearts and two souls who could kill its victims with a glance, and who would suffocate victims. The shtriga of Albanian folklore were witches, living witches who fed on infants at night. A lot of folklore tells of ghoulish spirits with vampire traits of feeding on the living or drinking blood. The chupacabra of South America is a monstrous creature who tears apart its victims, and is often classed as a vampire.
Another common piece of lore is the concept of demons. Sometimes, as with the vetala of India, the demons would possess a corpse of a dead human and feed on others using that body. Sometimes, as with the Alp of Germanic myth, the demon would not need to possess a body in order to feed. These demons simply feed off of humans, kill, and discard them. People don’t become vampire creatures in those legends.
Would a vampire today be defined as a creature who bursts into flame in sunlight? What other criteria do we apply to the vampire? They must have once been human, still have human memories? Or do vampires not contain any piece of the human that once existed in that body? Is vampirism more like a virus that makes a human become more animalistic, stronger, and bloodthirsty?
There are all sorts of other types of creatures or demons, or even living people, defined as “vampires.” They may not feed on blood, but on energy, like psi-vampires. The incubus of lore would feed on a victim by having sex with him or her, or while doing so. Perhaps a vampire does encompass zombies, demons, and reanimated corpses, and perhaps it is a creature that may feed either on flesh, sex, blood, or psychic energy.

Five Vriggin’ Vild Vampire Comics

annimi — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:00:37 +0000

Vampirella, 1969 – So, you’re a hot alien vampire chick from planet Draculon, why not wear a red thong suit that fits like a surgical glove, thigh high boots, and go hunt the evil kind of vampires? Forrest J. Ackerman thought this was a great idea, and then created Vampirella, who started out as a horror host, but went on to become hero of her own story. And on, and on, and on, –her first appearance was in 1969, in Warren Publishing, till 1983. Then she was snapped up by Harris Publishing in 1991, where she lives on today. She also inspired the spin-off manga character Vampi, who thank god, appears to be much more short-lived.

Tomb of Dracula, 1972 – Tomb existed in the Marvel universe from ‘72, to ‘79, and featured probably the most notorious big bad of the known world, –Dracula! The vampire hunting team constantly battles Dracula, who in turn, fights other occasional guest stars, like Jack Russel from Werewolf by Night, Blade, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and even Solomon Kane (who doesn’t really even count as a Marvel character!). Once in a while, Dracula and the vampire hunters team up to fight a common threat, but mostly of the time, he prefers to maintain his supervillain status.

I…Vampire, 1981 – I… Vampire was part of the horror comic anthology House of Mystery, which is one of those comic books that just won’t die! It was recently revitalized in May ‘08, and is still being published today. I… Vampire appeared in 24 issues, from ‘81 to ‘83, and revolved around the depressed, flamboyantly depicted blood-aholic vampire Lord Andrew Bennett, just under 400 years old. Bennett turned his lover, Mary Seward into a vampire, and Mary created a group of vampires, then they all ran off to take over the world. Bennett refuses to kill for blood and instead drinks it from bottles. He’s also suicidal; charming guy, no? The story follows him through bouts of depression, suicide attempts, and battles with his ex, now supervillain.

Cassidy in Preacher, 1995 – Cassidy is the best friend, sometimes foe, of Jesse Custer, the hero and the Preacher. Jesse has the power of the ‘Word of God’, a command that forces other to obey, as a results of being possessed by an angel/demon named Genesis. Cassidy gets involved in a love triangle with Tulip; Tulip in love with the oblivious Custer, Cassidy in love with Tulip. Cassidy has various substance abuse issues, though he doesn’t kill for blood, –he doesn’t even have to have human blood, and instead, prefers booze. I wouldn’t recommend the comic to anyone unless you’re in the mood for some seriously depressing stuff.

30 Days of Night, 2002 – Wanna hear something funny? Before 30 Days of Night was a movie, it was a comic book miniseries, that was actually inspired by a failed attempt at a 30 Days of Night movie. Apparently, your comic book has to succeed before your movie can; Hollywood is truly a bloodthirsty little city, no? The original series was only three issues long, however, there are a ton of sequels, and returns to the original series. Dark Days is the sequel in which Stella strikes a deal with some vampires from L.A. in order to bring her husband back, –the sheriff who saved the town by infecting himself with the vampire “disease.”

Origins of Vampires

veritas — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:11:37 +0000

Vampires are beings of folklore and mythology that basically exist by feeding off the lifeforce of humans and/or animals.Usually, they are “undead” or ressurrected corpses, who live off the blood of other beings. Most popular legends refer to the blood-drinking Undead in Eastern Europe, but many other various cultures and regions have similar creatures. Some are non-human, or animal, bats, dogs, spiders, et cetera. Vampires are an extremely popular inspiration for various fictional works discussed later.

Vampirism itself is the act of drinking a human or animal’s blood. It is a form of cannibalism, however less often occurring, and is popularly regarded throughout modern fiction and legend, as a way to gain supernatural powers. Historically speaking, it was also a way to intimidate an enemy, for the opposing force to claim that they ate flesh or drank blood, and can reflect a culture’s spiritual beliefs.

The word vampire is widely distributed throughout various cultures and languages. The English word vampire, could have been derived from many possible languages, the most forestanding, the German “Vampir” and French “Vampyre”. The German word, vampir, is derived of its many similar variations in most Slavic languages.

The first recorded use of the word is believed to have been used in Old Russian, Upir, in a Book of Psalms, transcribed by a priest, in 1047 AD, who stated that his name was “Upir Iikhyi”, which means “Foul Vampire”. This was debated later, as it was the translated version of the name of a famous Swedish rune carver.

In Babylonian demonology, there were vampiric beings called Lilu, and further back, in Sumerian legend, were Akhkharu, who would prowl the night killing newborns and pregnant women. The Jewish adapted Lilith from one of the demons, called Lilitu. There are vampiric beings in India, found in Sanskrit folklore, called vetalas; ghouls who inhabit corpses. The Indian religion Hinduism has various mythological legends of blood-drinking gods and goddesses, and also humans, considering reincarnation is a part of Hinduism, and one leading a sinful, or unclean life may be reincarnated as reanimated corpse attacking the living at night. The Egyptian goddess Sekhmet became enslaved to her bloodlust after killing humans, and was only sated by drinking alcohol tinted to look like blood. The strix, appearing in Roman stories, was a nocturnal bird who fed on human flesh and blood.

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What the heck is a vampire, anyway?

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Origins of Vampires

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