Who Was the First Vampire? Discover Truth From Legend: Part 1
What Is a Vampire?
Vampires have become a huge topic of discussion in modern times. Between documentaries and novels, to movies and TV shows, vampires are a growing fascination spreading throughout the world. So technically speaking, what is a vampire? Below is a definition taken from Oxford Dictionaries.
Vampire: A corpse supposed, in European folklore, to leave its grave at night to drink the blood of the living by biting their necks with long pointed canine teeth. A person who preys ruthlessly on others.
("Definition of vampire in English ." Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, 2013. Web. 28 Nov. 2013. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/vampire.)
Nowadays there are so many twists to the vampire myth. Such as in the infamous novels and movies of the Twilight series. Vampires sparkling in the sunlight instead of burning is definitely an interesting new concept compared to the original legend. All vampire stories are different, however the most common characteristics of a vampire according to mythology include the following items:
- They are creatures of the night, harmed by exposure to sunlight. Too much exposure to sunlight leads to death, normally by bursting into flames.
- Their top canines consist of two long fangs.
- They drink blood in order to survive.
- They are repelled by crosses and garlic.
- They have no reflection.
- They sleep in a coffin.
- Other than sunlight they can only be killed by a stake in the heart.
- They are the undead and immortal only to be killed by the two methods mentioned above.
- They can turn into bats.
- ***Many myths claim that if a person is bitten by a vampire they will become one.
- ***Many myths claim that by killing the original vampire, all vampires will become human again.
The last two statements have stars because they are very popular, but I've still heard enough variations that I'm not certain if I would classify them as original vampire legend characteristics.
Vampires In Modern Day Culture
Popular Vampire Novels
| Poular Vampire Movies
| Popular Vampire TV Series
|
---|---|---|
Queen of the Damned (by Anne Rice)
| Queen of the Damned starring Aaliyah
| |
Interview With a Vampire (by Anne Rice)
| Interview With a Vampire starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt
| |
The Vampire Diaries
| The Vampire Diaries
| |
Twilight Series
| Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, starring Edward Pattinson, Kristin Stewart, and Taylor Lautner
| |
Sookie Stackhouse Series
| True Blood Series
| |
Cirque Du Freak Series
| The Vampire's Assistant
| |
Salem's Lot (by Stephen King)
| Salem's Lot
| |
Dracula (by Bram Stokers)
| Bram Stoker's Dracula, Dracula 2000
| |
Nosferatu
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The Lost Boys
| ||
Vampire Kisses Series
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Marked Series
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer Series
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Angel Series
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Fright Night
| ||
Van Helsing
| ||
Daybreakers
| ||
Blade
| ||
Underworld
| ||
30 Days of Night
| ||
Real Vampires?
So we have discussed the legends of vampires but is there any truth to it? Are there real vampires out there? Actually, there are real vampires alive in the world today, and they're all around us. However, they don't burst into the flames in the sun, and they aren't walking undead corpses with superhuman powers, and they don't live forever. They are just ordinary people, who eat, drink, sleep, bleed, just like any other human being. Many vampires do dress in Gothic attire, but not all. Some even have dental work so that they permanently have pointed fang-like front canines. So time to separate truth from myth, what are real modern day vampires?
There are many types of vampires, but here are the main two:
- Sangunarian vampires
- Psi vampires.
Believe it or not, Sangunarian vampires drink real blood. Sometimes they drink animal blood, other times they drink human blood! Don't be afraid though, Sangunarian vampires do not roam the Earth attacking people and sucking them dry. This is but a myth, and vampires want it known that they do not harm anyone against their will. They drink from consenting donors only. Here is some information on Sanguinarian vampires taken from a vampire organization website.
Sangunarian vampires: Also known as "sang" vampires. These are people who need to feed off the blood of others. Permission and health tests are essential for this practice to be carried out. The donor will often have to be screened for HIV and other blood born virus first before an act of bloodletting is commenced. Bloodletting is more often than not done through a small shallow cut by a sharp blade which releases a tiny amount of blood which the vampire will feed upon.
Two Self Proclaimed Vampires Drinking Real Blood
Psychic Vampires
Psychic Vampires do not fit the traditional description. They feed from people, but they do not feed on their blood. Unlike Sangunarian vampires, their diet consists of energy. What do I mean by energy? It is best described that the energy surrounding our bodies is what many people refer to as an aura. Many people with proclaimed psychics abilities believe that they can see a person's aura. It has been described to even hold a shade of color. There is much speculation to this, but it has become such a popular theory that there are even websites that list the different colors an aura can be, and descriptions of the emotions or characteristics of the person possessing that color aura. So when a Psi Vamp feeds off a person, they are drawing in that person's spiritual and emotional energy.
There are several variations of Psi Vampires, such as Soul, Empathic, Astral, Dreamscape, and even Sexual Vampires. They all feed off some kind of human emotional energy. Some claim to feed off a person's energy while they sleep, in their astro body form, invading and manifesting themselves in a person's dream. Some claim they can even control a person's dream while in it. A popular movie was made depicting people projecting their astro bodies from their sleep, and traveling in the spirit world. This movie is called "Insidious." Another interesting ideal, is that sexual vampires, or vampires that feed off energy from sexual intercourse, are often referred to in the vampire world as Inccubi and Succubi. These mythical creatures have been mentioned in legend all over the world throughout our history. But that is another story. Here is an explanation of Psi vampires from the website I mentioned earlier.
Psi vampires: Also known as psychic vampires. These are people who need to feed of the psychic energy of others. Feeding is done through visualisation often through imaging ropes or tethers growing from the vampire to their victim and then they would visualize sucking the energy through these ropes/tethers. This is often done without the permission of the victim and he/she may not even notice what is happening other than he/she might feel a bit extra tired.
Now I do want to add, that when it mentioned a Psi Vampire might feed on a person's energy without permission, it is not necessarily implying against their will. It means that some people may feed of people's energy unknowingly, unaware of their actions. Below is a video with a proclaimed Psi Vampire, describing her lifestyle, and revealing an interesting experiment regarding the transfer of energy from a willing doner to a Psi Vampire.
Psychic Vampires and Scientific Footage of Transferring Energy From Donor To Vampire
Donors
No matter what kind of vampire, they all claim vampirism is not a choice, it is who they are. They say feeding, whichever method, is a necessity. Proclaimed vampires say without feeding they literally go through withdrawals. It is such a huge psychological belief, that without feeding, they feel physically and mentally ill, like an addict without "a fix." It was even said in the above mentioned website regarding types of vampires and their feeding methods,
"To call them different types is to split hairs: Is a person considered a different type of person if s/he eats meat, or is a vegetarian, or eats both or either? What if s/he eats only certain types of vegetables, but not other types (ex., corn, green beans, lettuce, but not eggplant or turnips, or radishes)?"
There is even code name for different types of "donors." They are classified as swans. This is so vampires know which donors allow which methods of feeding.
- Black swans: Encompass families and friends of members who have little to do with vampire activities.
- Crimson swans: Donors who participate in bloodletting.
- Crystal swans: Members who donate only psychic or spiritual energy.
- Amber swans: The jack of all trades, the amber swan donates in every way.
To learn more information, visit this website.
"Real Vampires." Sanguinarius.org for Real Vampires . Sanguinarius:The Vampire Support Page , 6 June 1997. Web. 29 Nov. 2013. <http://sanguinarius.org/articles/enygma_real_vampires.shtml>.
Stay Tuned For Part Two!
So now that we've learned everything there is to know about vampires, discussed fact and fiction, we still have the remaining question, "How did It All Begin?" "Who was the original vampire?" The answer may shock you...Stay tuned for Part 2!
Can You Guess Readers?
Who Is the Original Vampire? (Earliest Documentation, Whether It Be Fact Or Myth)
© 2013 Amber