Why do we tell Vampire Stories?

Why do we tell scary stories? Folk and fairy tales are a way to teach us warnings and lessons; don't be mean to that traveling old man, be wary of wolves in the woods, don’t take that deal that seems too good to be true. Are horror films/stories the same thing, or is there more to it? And more specifically does the monster we chose to chase our hero/heroine portray more about us as storytellers than we think? This is a continuation of my last article in which I talked about why we tell ghost stories. In this article I want to address Vampires, the dark seducers. And again, these are largely based on my own perceptions, and thusly they might not address many potential applications these stories could have. But please, I would love to hear from you, what do you think?

So what do non Dracula/Camilla/Strahd (those are a whole other sub-genre of their own) Vampire stories consist of, or what is the general template when writing them? Good girl/boy, lured to the dark side usually giving up on a good boy/girl/job/family/faith & support system in order to be with the seducer. Then triumphing over her desire for power/love and returning to those who never gave up on her. What does this sound like to you? Because to me it sounds like overcoming addiction. Well that was a large generalization, let's break this down and discuss these points in a little more detail now.

So we have our wholesome, pure character, untainted by the big bad world, let's call them “the naive”. Then rolls in the new kid in town, or maybe they aren’t the new kid, maybe they are just now paying attention to our naive little blood bag. Either way the hunter has marked its prey, and it will not relent until it gets it’s sanguine smoothie. This is much like many people (not all) with addiction will describe the beginning of their journey with whatever addiction they suffered from. They were good kids, from good family, in a good neighborhood. But still they found themselves with someone who showed them a darker path. The seduction in real life is still very similar to the “glamouring” from vampires. In many vampire stories they have a sort of magic to them, that they can “glamour” people to do their bidding. It’s always played up as seductively, the person will do their bidding enthusiastically, anything to please the vampire. As if ecstasy can only be achieved through pleasing your vampire master. These, let’s call them “initiators”, on the outside they always appear to be cool, smart, carefree, a little on the wild side. But it’s so different than our naive main character is used to they are drawn towards the initiator. Get a taste of the other side.

Once the naive and the initiator begin their courtship, the naive will receive a lot of resistance from the world they came from. Their friends, family, neighborhood/network are all telling them the initiator is bad news. These are almost direct correlations between real life and the fantasized vampire story. I mean really, when you were reading those sentences you weren’t sure which I was talking about were you, the vampire characters or the real world people? But of course receiving the disdain from those around you only push you more towards the initiator. No one likes being told what they can and can’t do. Thus begins the separation from their old life and their journey into their new life. Much like in vampire tales, you die leaving everything you knew before behind, and are reborn in blood.

Then there is the actual addition portion of it, the blood. What happens when vampires feed? Their senses are heightened, they become stronger, more powerful, everything is clearer to them and there is a feeling of bliss and ecstasy. This is exactly how many people would describe the high of certain drugs. And what happens when you come down? You feel sick, weak, powerless and all you can think about is when are we going to feed again? Drinking blood consumes your life, things you found important before, fall into the shadow that this new life casts. And before you know it, that person you used to be is gone completely, and for a time, you are fine with this. Because you have something better, you have power, you can obtain nirvana at a moments notice, and you love it. But what happens when you run out money, or a vampire can’t hunt? They go through withdraw, both vampires and addicts. Both can die from this, both become desperate. In vampire tales they say this is a “frenzy” the beast inside takes over and they can’t control it. They basically hulk out and go on a killing spree or they die. With addiction this “frenzy” can be described just as the desperation to do anything to get their next hit. This “frenzy” would be the point they hit where all of who they used to be dies and the addiction takes over. This is their lowest point, whether it be resorting to robbery, murder, prostitution, whatever it is. The point they give up on everything they believed in just to get one more “hit”. They are no longer thinking about their life, the lives of others, or the consequences, all they think about is getting the next hit. I discussed this theory with my husband and he disagreed because he felt vampire stories are about the loss of humanity, and I didn’t disagree with him, but I felt this parody was a loss of humanity. That point I’m talking about right here is their loss of humanity. The moment you lose everything you used to be and are nothing more than a slave to your drug of choice. That is your loss of humanity.

So back to my original question, why do we tell vampire stories? In this case I think it is a warning. Be weary of the bed you lie in, while seductive, it can destroy you. But more than that, I think it’s instilling in everyone’s brain that yes, you might be lured down that dark path and seduced by the power, strength, nirvana, or whatever your reason. But no matter what you do, there is a way out. And this is where the last part of my discussion comes in. The redemption. In these stories, just when the main character hits that point, that complete loss of humanity. Someone new/old come in/back into their life and reminds them they can be good again. They can get better, I’m here for you. In real life this could be the past lover/family member/community member. Any of them or maybe even a compilation of them. But they come back into your life when you need them most, even though you turned your back on them, they never gave up on you. And they will help you get out of this. This is usually where, in the vampire tales you have to kill your “maker” or in our case “initiator” and you can go back to being human. After your maker is killed in most vampire lore, you revert back, changed, but no longer a vampire. This is like going through “rehab”, or kicking your addiction however you do it, please don’t kill the person who got you into drugs. In the tales, your allies will fight alongside of you, to kill the “initiator”. In real life they will hold your hair while you are throwing up, and stay with you through withdraw. And continue to stay with you as you go through your recovery.

So in conclusion, I feel like we do tell these stories as warning of the dark seduction. But more than that, much like the ghost stories examination I did, I feel like we tell these stories again to let you know, you are not alone. Even though you have lost your humanity, done these terrible things, and pushed away everyone that loves you. They still love you, all you have to do is reach out and ask for help. Even if you did push everyone too far away and feel like your old connections will never help you, just reach out. Someone will grab your hand. Do you think Mina Harker knew VanHelsing before she started having problems with Dracula? No Van Helsing is a professional, skilled in dealing with Vampires. She reached out and he was there, just as anyone can reach out and find a therapist, or sponsor, or pastor. There’s too many people in this world for anyone to ever be alone.