The Timeless Appeal of Vampire Lore

Vampires are beautiful and young for all eternity. They are incredibly strong and have unbelievable speed. They are mysterious and fascinating and there is something undeniable sexy about the creatures. They appeal to that forbidden, rebel side of most everyone's personality. There's that little bit of fear mixed in that just makes the whole thing all the more exciting! What's not to like? It doesn't hurt that in the movies and TV shows the Vampire characters look like this.....

and this......

and this......

and this (Okay, I'll stop... but SERIOUSLY).

A new generation is now being captivated by the myth of Vampire legend through books, movies, and television programs. I must admit I am caught up in it too. I sip my crystal light from a Twilight water bottle and you'll find many a Vampire novel on my bedroom shelf. It's even starting to seep into parts of my mortal existence (I feel very vampy in my new black nail polish and I'm starting to wish my skin was a few shades paler).

One of the things that interests me most is how long humans have been mystified by Vampire lore. The first appearance of Vampire-like creatures in literature appears more than 6,000 years ago! These creatures were woman who had lost children in childbirth. They were crazy, half dead, and blood thirsty.

There was quite a resurgence of vampire interest during the Victorian era in the 1800's in Europe. Possibly due to the oppressed sexuality of the era, vampires and their myth served as a warning to what could happen if woman were too openly sexual. And at the same time many woman were fascinated (if also terrified) of the mystical beings. Bram Stoker's Dracula was written in 1897 and is still in print today. Some Vampire experts (yes people spend their life studying the lore) say that Vampires represent the Freudian "oral stage" of psycho sexual development.

There a part of me that says, something that has held human interest for so long, and throughout so many cultures must be true... but then I remember how humans used to believe the world was flat and that disease was not spread by bacteria, but by a "curse" or "bad spirits". So, I understand that just the sheer length and breadth of belief is not a validation.

The truth is that Vampires meet our social needs. They are evolving. They help us explain the unexplainable, they become a fantastical escape. Providing a terrifying, thrilling, adrenaline rush through a story,... and really stories are not so harmful after all. They help us understand the culture of the time. The crazy mother Vampire-like creatures explain the high level of infant mortality at the time and that there was a misunderstanding of the psychological impact of losing a child. The Victorian vampires help us understand the extreme sexual oppression. Today's vampires have souls, a conscience and many of them are "vegetarians" who only feed on animal blood or only drink enough to satisfy them but not to kill. Vampires like the Cullen's in The Twilight Saga desperately want to fit in, but of course cannot, making today's Vampires a metaphor for the outcasts (to which many of us can relate).

I rented Interview with a Vampire a few weeks ago (since I've exhausted all current Vampire fiction), you remember that old Tom Cruise/Brad Pitt Vampire flick. Those vampires were out of control, perhaps a reflection on that time as well.

I sat there after the movie ended with that iconic scene of Tom Cruise driving off into the night in the red convertible, wondering if, and slightly wishing, that Vampires might truly exist. I'm grasping at anything Vampire related I can get my hands on and devouring every installment. From the Vampire book and movie sales, it seems I'm not alone. In this time of economic hardship we all need an escape. What better escape than to a story about creatures who are unaffected my trivial things like money or material wealth.

I'm a preppy, thirty something, Midwestern mother of two. Not your typical target audience for these types of books (many of which are found in the "young adult" section at the bookstore) and movies, you wouldn't think......until you peek into the diaper bags at "mom and me" classes to find a crumbled much loved and several time read copy of a Twilight book, or stand in line at the library checkout behind another mom and see stacks of children's picture books amongst an Ann Rice novel or Sookie Stackhouse Series book tucked underneath.

Vampire legend is a total escape, a fantasy, a mini vacation and I love it. Sinking into vampire books is so relaxing and at the same time exhilarating. Mommy hood is exhausting and we moms don't get many breaks. Whether you are a mom or not, you might find this whole Vampire thing intriguing. If there is any part of your life, be it work or school, that you need a break from once in awhile. I sincerely suggest you give it a chance. I've been called a dork, for my current obsession, that's okay even if you think it's weird, we can still be friends.......I won't bite ;)