Stranger in The Night

Vampyres

By Norische

Vampire \Vam"pire\, n. [F. vampire (cf. It. vampiro, G. & D. vampir), fr. Servian vampir.] [Written also vampyre.]

1. A blood-sucking ghost; a soul of a dead person superstitiously believed to come from the grave and wander about by night sucking the blood of persons asleep, thus causing their death. This superstition is now prevalent in parts of Eastern Europe, and was especially current in Hungary about the year 1730.

The persons who turn vampyres are generally wizard witches, suicides, and persons who have come to a violent end, or have been cursed by their parents or by the church, -- Encyc. Brit

This is a standard definition of what exactly a vampyre is, unfortunately this definition of a vampyre is no more correct than the mutated tales of St. Nicholas into Santa Clause.

Do Vampyres exist?

The answer to that is quite simple, yes. Vampyres are by no means the living dead though, nor do they lurk about dark alleyways waiting for unsuspecting victims to walk by so they may feed in a violent frenzy of lust and blood.

Ok, if Vampyres exist, what are they?

Some individuals follow a Vampyric religion. Yes there is an entire religion based on Vampyric beliefs. Depending on which denomination you follow the basic principles are quite simple. Some believe that Lilith, Lucifer's mate, was the first Vampyre and that their children populated the earth... this would be where Cain's wife came from when he was cast out of Eden. Some believe that Cain himself was the first Vampyre and it was that curse that was placed on him and passed down to his children as the mark of the beast that has produced the Vampyric offspring that exist today. There are several other theories out there but honestly the two I have mentioned are the only two that I am familiar enough with to feel comfortable to speak about.

Some individuals have a paraphilia for blood, or a blood fetish.

Hence they follow the lifestyle of a Vampyre as a means of satisfying that craving or need.

Some individuals find the fantasy and lifestyle of the Vampyre so alluring that they become a Vampyre simply because they find it fascinating and mysterious. I refer to these individuals as fashionable Goths, or wannabes, they choose to be Vampyric because it is the cool thing to be.

Some individuals are born with a craving hidden deep within them, a craving so strong that they loose all sense of humanity and become quite animalistic in nature. Satisfy the craving and the hunger goes away, allowing the individual to regain their control and maintain their humanity.

What types of Vampyres are there?

A vampyre is quite simply an individual that has the ability to feed from the life force of another. There are actually several types of vampyre; the three I will mention are the Sanguinarian, Pranic, and Psi.

Sanguinarian Vampyres are individuals that consume blood, as a means of tapping into the life force of another.

Pranic Vampyres are individuals that can absorb the life energy of another. Every living creature is surrounded by an aura of energy, some individual have a natural ability to drain that energy from another, to literally feed off another individual's aura.

Psi or Psy Vampyres are individuals that literally feed off of another individual's emotions. Most of these individuals are either Empathic or Telepathic and have the ability to use the emotional energy of another to feed their cravings.

So is someone born a Vampyre or what?

Some are born Vampyric yes, however for most individuals the craving does not awaken until puberty. For some reason the hormonal changes an individual goes through at that time triggers the awakening. The Awakening is a transitional phase during which a latent Vampyre gradually becomes both physically and mentally aware of what they are.

So if a Vampyre bites you, will you turn into one?

If a Vampyre bites you, there are many health issues to consider but you will not turn into a Vamp, any more than if an African American bites will you turn into an African American.

Will sunlight kill a Vampyre?

This myth actually was based on a partial truth. Vampyres have very acute senses, and they are hyper sensitive to light, or more specifically to glare. Sunlight will not kill a Vampyre anymore than garlic will. Most individuals that are Vampyric have extremely acute night vision, and find bright lights to be almost blinding; hence the reason that most Vampyres prefer the nighttime to daytime.

Vampyres also have acute hearing as well as an acute sense of smell.

Oddly enough it is not unusual for a Vampyre to be able to smell the rain in the air, hours even days before it rains. Some say that a dog can smell when you are afraid of them; well this is similar to the senses of a Vampyre, they can literally smell the fear oozing from your pores. A Vampyre's hearing is so acute that he or she may be able to hear the hum of a florescent light bulb from several feet away, and he or she may be able to hear at a frequency that is not normally auditable to most individuals.

It is these physically oddities that normally keep a Vampyre from doing a whole lot of Mall Hopping, or Socializing. Since they become literally bombarded with all the sounds, smells and lights they can very easily be overwhelmed. If the individual goes into sensory overload the first thing that will happen is they will get a terrible migraine; they may also feel as if they are loosing control and hence they will strive to regain that control by any means available to them.

Also something that I will note is that many Vampyre have emotional problems to some degree. They experience mild to moderate depression, due to the isolation and emotional turmoil they go through. They also tend to have eating disorders, as well as problems with addictions. When you live your life knowing you are different from everyone else, and that you have no real support to lean on, sometimes you have problems that no one else can possibly understand. Being a freak amongst the outcast is not an easy path to travel.

Do Vampyres really live forever?

Again another myth; Vampyres do not live forever. They may not age at the same rate as most individuals but they are not what most people would call immortals, at least not in the physical sense.

There are those that retain the memories of many lifetimes, but there are individuals that have experienced past life regressions and have been able to regain memories for centuries past. The question is how much of past memories are true and how much is merely a vivid imagination or suggestive thoughts placed inside someone's mind by another individual, by books or by movies.

Is the only way to kill a Vampyre to cut of their head off or drive a stake through their heart?

We are back to the idea that Vampyres are those things we watch on TV. Vampyres frequently have a heightened immune system so illnesses do not appear to affect them to the same degree that they affect others. They also heal at a much faster rate; hence if they are injured they will heal when others would not fare so well.

Why do all Vampyres were black?

Media again here folks, not all Vampyres wear black any more than all virgins wear white. There are several Gothic styles that concentrate on black as a primary color but the choice of clothing is based on an individual tastes not on trends, fads or fashion statements.

Do Vampyres really have fangs and red eyes?

Actually many Vamps do have elongated canines, but this is not factual with all Vampyre. Also the red eyes thing is another media addition. If you find someone that does have red eyes, hand them a bottle of Visine, or else tell them they need to take their contacts out and have them changed.

Do Vampyres really hunt people and kill them?

Only in the movies, most modern day Vamps have a donor. Sanguinarian Vamps in today's society normally have someone that they know is free of disease and drugs that they feed from. Although Vampyres tend to be immune to many illnesses and have a more advanced immune system they are not stupid by any means, most will not risk their own health when it is unnecessary.

Do they hunt? In a manner of speaking yes they do. Even thought most Vampyre do not go out and chase unsuspecting campers and mutilate their body leaving the remains for the wolves, they do enjoy the hunt. The difference is that the hunt is what is important, not the kill. Modern Vamps are no different than any single individual out there looking for someone to have a good time with, they search for a person that is compatible and then they get to know the individual and hopefully if things work out they have a willing donor.

Do they kill? In today's society there is no reason to kill, even to harm; there are too many individuals that are willing to be a donor that you honestly don't even have to hunt for them anymore. Now as to feeding, there is one fallacy that I wish to address; the normal feeding of a Sanguinarian Vampyre consists of between two tablespoons and a quarter cup of blood. Any more than that and the Vamp may get ill, the idea that one can drain all the blood from an individual is ludicrous, even with the physical differences between Vampyre and non-Vampyre, the size of ones stomach remains the same.

To kill someone for a quarter cup of blood is not only ignorant but it is wasteful as well.

Many Vampyre do not bite to feed either, many prefer sterile cuttings. This is where a Vampyre will use a scalpel, knife or razor blade and make a precision cut about one inch in length, then use that as a means of getting blood, most prefer the chest or inner thigh as a source for this type of feeding. Biting is almost reserved for playing, fighting or sexual encounters; it isn't the most efficient way to feed any longer.

What is with the whole Vampyre – Vampire thing?

Vampire is what you see on TV, in the movies or read about in books.

Vampyre (pronounced vam-peer) is the ancient term used for generations, its origin has been debated for a very long time and to be quite honest I don't know which theory to believe so I will let you investigate them on your own.

Was Count Dracula real?

He was as real as King Author, Merlin and Joan of Arc. Now how much of the legend is factual is questionable. I have never met Blade, or either so who knows. Some believe that he was the original vamp and that he was cursed by the church for his barbaric ways but then again since I was not there I can only go by the horror stories told to little children to get them to behave.

If Vampyres are relatively harmless to most people, why do they hide?

They hide who they are for the same reason that someone that is gay, or pagan or has AIDS will. Even with all of our modern thinking and liberal ways, today's society is still based on ancient fears. The media and the vampire hunters do not help calm the fears of the general populous either. They hide who they are because they do not wish to be disturbed, hunted, or killed... and yes there are still those that hunt out and kill individuals they consider to be Vampyric. Just as the witch hunters in Salem, there are modern day vampire hunters, which feel it is their god ordained duty to kill Vampyres, and the ungodliness they represent.

Fear is a controlling force within today's society, people write laws out of fear, kill out of fear, and live in constant fear.

Learning to accept others as they are, we learn to accept ourselves.

You have a choice, live your life in fear or learn to revel in the differences of each other. Strive to be unique and to appreciate what makes others an individual instead of one of the mindless herd.

As with everything this is my opinion, take what you will and leave the rest. If you wish to contact me, my email address is Norisch1@mchsi.com. If you wish to see more of my work you may find a complete listing of all my writings at... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Norisches_Quill/?yguid=99788111 in the files section.

Norische