Vampires and Incest

Last week I reported on the problem with inbreeding among various royal families, and on the birth defects, illnesses, and deformities such inbreeding can cause. This week I chanced upon a review my online friend Taliesin had written about a book titled THE VAMPIRE, DRACULA AND INCEST: THE VAMPIRE MYTH, STOKER’S DRACULA, AND PSYCHOTHERAPY OF VAMPIRIC SEXUAL ABUSE by Daniel Lapin. It has the words “Dracula,” “incest,” and “vampires” in the title, so it was guaranteed to catch my attention. I haven’t read the book, so it would be unethical of me to comment too much on it, so I’ll leave the review to Taliesin. It does seem, though, like the book is a bunch of hooey, alleging, among other things, that Bram Stoker was a victim of sexual abuse as a child, and that this abuse led him to write DRACULA.

Is it commenting “too much” to call it hooey?

It got me to thinking, though. At what point did the sexualization of vampiric predation actually begin? Was it always present? We know that the vampire of the Dark Ages, a smelly corpse more akin to a zombie than the urbane, suave bloodsuckers of the modern cinema, wasn’t sexy. “Sexy” is not a word one would use to describe it. But “lusty”? There are accounts of the reanimated dead returning to their spouses, demanding their conjugal rights. And vampires were reputed to return to their families first to seek out victims. If a father, deceased and returned as a vampire, crept into a daughter’s bedroom at night, might this predation have taken on a decidedly sexual nature, an aspect that wouldn’t have been commented upon “too much” in such a repressive time and culture? Food for thought.

By TheCheezman

WAYNE MILLER is the owner and creative director of EVIL CHEEZ PRODUCTIONS, specializing in theatrical performances and haunted attractions. He has written, produced, and directed (and occasionally acted in) over two dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and True Crime genres. He obtained a doctorate in Occult Studies from Miskatonic University and is an active paranormal investigator. Is frequently told he resembles Anton Lavey. And Ming the Merciless. Denn die totden reiten schnell!

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