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vampires real or not
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Subject: vampires real or not From: GUEST,RPGfan Date: 25 Oct 03 - 05:57 PM hellow everyone this question has been etched in the back of my mind for almost my whole klife and i have always wondered if the existance of vampires could ever be real please help me in my decision ;) |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: DMcG Date: 25 Oct 03 - 06:11 PM That depends on the definition. Do you mean people who turn into bats occasionally (no - conservation of mass in physics wouldn't allow it, if nothing else), or people who for whatever reason drink blood? (no reason why not, but only when relatively mature: It doesn't suit babies. I'm also not convinced it would cover all the nutritional needs of an adult without supplements, but admit I could be wrong on that.) A BS thread, if ever there was one, methinks. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Clinton Hammond Date: 25 Oct 03 - 06:20 PM Not... Plain and simple... RPGfan? You sure you're posting on the right MB?? :-) |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Forum Lurker Date: 25 Oct 03 - 06:26 PM People who drink blood-yes, it's possible, but while the nutrient supply is high enough, the caloric intake isn't enough to support a human without killing someone every couple of days, which would be noticed. It would help support an anemic, but it couldn't be the only source of nutrition. The living dead-impractical. The nervous system breaks down too soon after cardiac death to be revived functional, and replacing it would be mind-bogglingly complex. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: GUEST Date: 25 Oct 03 - 06:48 PM Of course they exist, why shouldn't they. Normal rules don't apply and they can't be explained away by science. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Joybell Date: 25 Oct 03 - 07:27 PM How else can you explain the marks on your neck when you wake up in the morning? |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Jeri Date: 25 Oct 03 - 07:49 PM Reynardine. Of course they aren't real. Vampirism would be like an incurable communicable disease. One vampire could infect many people who would, in turn, infect many more people. If vampires had been real ever since the first tales of them were told, the entire population of the earth would be vampires now and the world would have run out of suitable bitees a long time ago, so the vampires would be pretty hungry. Werewolves, however, are a completely different story. Some of my best friends are werewolves. Unfortunately, you can have thousands of the polite ones. One anti-social werewolf goes around eating people, and people think they're ALL like that. Stereotypes bite! |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Joybell Date: 25 Oct 03 - 08:00 PM I have lots of friends who become seals when the fancy takes them too. They only bite fish. They may take away their own offspring if you mate with them. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: greg stephens Date: 25 Oct 03 - 08:22 PM Yes, Mr RPG I think you might be in the wrong place. people here know stuff like who wrote Blowing in the Wind and how to make D chords, and international politics in Iraq and farting. We know the best part of sod all about vampires. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Little Hawk Date: 25 Oct 03 - 08:29 PM Interesting question to ponder... There have been cases of people who thought they were vampires, and acted accordingly, but I'm not sure that's what you have in mind, RPGfan. I had a friend in the 70's who was interested in occult stuff like that, and he was convinced he had had a nocturnal encounter with one, but that's just his particular story, so it doesn't necessarily prove anything. I am inclined to think he encountered a malign spiritual entity of some sort...not an animal or a human being. He was not a stupid or gullible person, but he was certainly interested in spooky stuff, and investigated it. He wasn't sleeping at the time, but was dressed and fully awake, and he had a standoff around midnight with something that he first heard up on the roof. It then tried to get through the 2nd story window to his room. It was a large, dark figure that snarled. He struck at it very hard with a heavy cane and drove it off (it went back up on the roof), and spent the rest of the night sweating bullets with all the lights turned on. What it was, I cannot say, but I know Eric and it was something palpable. Eric was also very interested in werewolves, and claimed to have a sort of kinship with them. I can relate to that. I think both werewolves and vampires are powerful symbols or archetypes of something hidden in the nature of human beings, as follows: Vampire: symbol of that negative force in some people which tends to fasten onto others and drain them. This can be seen happening in many kinds of relationships, and it's very damaging. The perpetrators are not usually very aware of what they're doing, because they rationalize it. The vampire is endlessly hungry, and has no remorse about draining the life force of other individuals to sustain itself. It is correctly labelled as "the undead", because it seemingly lacks the ability to provide its own sustenance and identiry, but must draw from others what it ought to provide for itself. The vampire personality often hides its intentions behind declarations of love, projected guilt, etc...and is frequently seen in romantic relationships or family relationships. It's an energy thief. Werewolf: the werewolf has 2 sides...positive and negative. On the positive side it is the uninhibited expression of tremendous natural passion, vitality, animal groundedness, instinct, survival ability, and sheer lust for life. It's the pre-civilized human, completely unchained. On the negative side, it's an out-of-control killing machine with a very strong territorial drive. The werewolf is totally unacceptable to society, because he's totally free of society...like a wild animal. He makes a great movie antihero...like Wolverine in the X-men. People secretly long for the werewolf's freedom to be himself, regardless of consequences. The vampire is more sophisiticated, and is more a product of society turned in upon itself, in my opinion. The werewolf is a raw force of nature. The vampire is an evil, twisted form of the human mind...or the demonic. As for the demonic, it would find either mode, vampire or werewolf, convenient to its purposes, which are wholly opposed to life. If there are any occult vampires, GUEST, let's hope you don't encounter one. There are plenty enough of the more common everyday energy vampires I have described to deal with in ordinary life. One more thought: what exists on one level of reality may not exist on another...at least not in palpable form. Vampires and werewolves could both be spirit beings, but not physical beings like you and me. Anything you can think of exists out there...in the unseen realms of thought from which you drew the conscious image. Whether it's important or not is up to you. As you think, so you are. - LH |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull Date: 25 Oct 03 - 08:33 PM Wahts an RPG Fan? |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Amos Date: 25 Oct 03 - 08:42 PM John: Role-Playing Game fan. RPGFan: They're one of an infinite number of possible mental/.spiritual dramatizations, But in terms of "real" in an organic or physical sense, absolutely not, sorry. As a dramatization, well, anyone is capable of fooling themselves into believing anything, and delusion is an infinite potentiality. But that doesn't make it real, just persuasive! A |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Little Hawk Date: 25 Oct 03 - 08:50 PM RPG means Role-Playing-Game. The Grandaddy of such games, I think, is "Dungeons & Dragons". There have been a great many computerized Role-Playing games since the 80's. "Tomb Raider" is one example. "Kings Quest" and "Liesure Suit Larry" are others. Even the popular "shooter" games are a primitive, very stupid version of role-playing...reduced mostly to the act of murder, endlessly repeated. Pretty dismal, destructive stuff. A superior role-playing game can involve everything from mystery, to romance, to history, to puzzle-solving, to character-building. - LH |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Little Hawk Date: 25 Oct 03 - 08:53 PM You could say the same thing about the western concept of romantic love, Amos! :-) Very persuasive. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull Date: 25 Oct 03 - 09:13 PM oh, thanks.john |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Rapparee Date: 25 Oct 03 - 09:50 PM 'Tain't a purty picher, but there ARE diseases that could have given rise to the vampire (vampyre, wampyre, etc.) legends. Here's one place. Here's a more authoritative one. In any case, the vampire of legend, of Dracula, doesn't and can't exist. But humans HAVE use blood -- horse, sheep, cow, pig, human, and other varieties, for food. Drisheens, black pudding, blutwurst, and the purported practice of the Mongol Hordes drinking the blood of their horses are all examples. Shucks, you ingest your own blood every day. Dracula-type vampires certainly wouldn't be popular if they did exist, always sticking their friends for the drinks and all. And geez, what sort of guy wouldn't like a big ol' stake dinner? (I think I'll quit right now before it gets out of hand and I find that my research has been in vein.) |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Little Hawk Date: 25 Oct 03 - 10:06 PM You SUCK, Rapaire!!! :-) |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Jeri Date: 25 Oct 03 - 10:31 PM There's no fiber in blood. I'd think that vampires would get pretty constipated. And WILL you two stop needling each other?! You need to get out and circulate a bit more! |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Brían Date: 25 Oct 03 - 10:48 PM I myself don't believe in vampires, but I freely admit on finishing 'Salems Lot at about 2 a.m. on a summer's night, some nocturnal flying object hit my screen window. Of course I shut and locked the windows, got out my crucifix, St. Christopher medal, holy water, holy oil, bible, whatever and pulled the covers over my head until dawn.... Brían |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 25 Oct 03 - 11:21 PM They are REAL!!!
More than one critter on the MC has sucked the life-blood out of Max.
Sincerely,
If he wasn't so willing they wouldn't be so eagar....if it wasn't so tastey they wouldn't return. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Lonesome EJ Date: 26 Oct 03 - 01:57 AM LH, I liked your psychological explanation of the vampire and werewolf archetypes. Very insightful. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: GUEST,mack/misophist Date: 26 Oct 03 - 01:41 AM Blood pudding, blood sausage; tasty stuff. Does that make me a vampire? |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Little Hawk Date: 26 Oct 03 - 01:17 PM Thanks, L.E.J. They make great subjects for songs too. I've got 2 werewolf songs and 3 vampire songs I've written over the years. Then there's Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" and Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Reynardine" and "The Vampire". - LH |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: GUEST,reggie miles Date: 26 Oct 03 - 04:47 PM I began performing a song that my friend Robert OneMan Johnson wrote long ago. He introduced it once as a song about vampires called "Night Riders", a minor keyed, spooky double entendre that I've enjoyed playing, especially during this time of year. Since living in the Seattle area I've learned of a particularly eerie statistic. Seattle is known to have the second largest population of vampires of any city in the U.S. This curious news seemed to beg even more questions. Just how does one determine the number of vampires in any given area? Count the empty coffins at night? (There's got to be a better way to make a living.) Is there a box on the census form? If you've been a vampire, or lived with a vampire for the past year, check here. Do you have to have an "Interview With a Vampire" to decide if in fact he or she is genuine, or does it require a blood test? I began using the above stat as well as the many additional questions that came to mind to introduce the song my friend OneMan wrote. Like, if Seattle has the second largest population of vampires, then, which city has the most vampires? Well, about the middle of April, I get these stabbing pains in my wallet. Which leads me to believe that Washington DC has the largest population of blood sucking vampires. Even though so many live here, I never thought I'd actually meet a vampire. It was a chilling experience. (Cue: spooky organ music, dim lights, thunder clapping, and lightning flashes) While walking in a shaded area of a local outdoor market, one bright and sunny day, something strange happened to me. I happened to notice, walking in the opposite direction, a young woman. I'll admit that outwardly this may not seem strange at all, a young woman in a market. It's what happened afterward that haunts me still. This was not someone I was familiar with, or knew by name, but rather just a chance encounter of one stranger with another in a crowded market place. At least, she might have been like so many others I've past by in the same market for the last twenty years had our eyes not met. I now find that I have very little memory of what actually took place that day. Nor can I adequately explain exactly what transpired. But, I will tell you what I do remember to the best of my recollection. I don't enjoy the heat of the sun beating down. Shaded areas have always been a refuge for the discomfort that I've felt from the sun drenched days that only occasionally interrupt the cooler cloudy weather that is the norm in this part of the country. That's the one thing I've enjoyed about this area, its gray rainy days. That's what I was doing that day, hiding from the sun. It was too hot out there. While some are willing to bask in it, I've always been more than happy to avoid it whenever possible. Of course, I'm not alone in this aversion to solar exposure. The walkway was crowded with many others. Not all were there for the same reason as I. The tables of produce, flowers, fish and crafts that lined either side of the walkway were lure enough for most. Those things held little interest to me. I'd seen them all many times before. As I walked on to my destination I came near to one of the many exits that led across the street, out into the bright and oppressive heat of the day. I glanced in the direction of sun soaked street, squinting as I did, thankful for the cool shade that surrounded me and when I looked back there she was. My eyes slowly moved from her feet upward. She was tall, like basketball player tall, so it took a while to take it all in. She was dressed completely in black. A long black flowing cape covered her entire body. Her hair was jet black too. Long and straight, it draped about her face like Morticia Adams'. Her pale complexion was starkly contrasted by her gothic makeup accents, deep red lipstick and heavier than average eye shadow. As our eyes met they seemed to lock into a gaze that I can only describe as hypnotic. I remember murmuring, almost trance like, a one syllable greeting like, hey. Even as the breath was leaving my lungs and the word parting my lips, I recall wondering if I somehow knew her or she me, and I tried briefly to remember from where, but that was the very last thing I remember. I mean, I've passed thousands of people but have rarely said boo to total strangers. However, we did converse while we stood there, for what seemed like an hour. Was it telepathy or a hypnotic vampire trance? I don't know, but to this day I cannot remember anything else that was said. As I think back now, my inability to remember could have been due to some kind of telepathic manipulation on her part. There is that part of the legend that speaks of the supposed hypnotic ability of the vampire's gaze. All I know for sure is that I now have some idea of what a deer must feel like trapped frozen in the headlights of an oncoming car at night and I've never felt that way before or since. Perhaps it was being in public surrounded by potential witnesses that saved me from being preyed upon right there. Perhaps she was only toying with me as a cat often toys with a mouse before eating it. Or maybe she was sizing me up for later, a midnight, or after dinner snack, or dessert. The next thing that I clearly do recall is her smiling a broad smile. When she did, that's when I saw them, her vampire fangs! They were nothing like the average canines we all possess. These were frighteningly long and sharply pointed. The sight of them sent an instant surge of adrenalin rushing through my system. It must have been enough to break her link or whatever sway she held over my senses. I caught myself fully aware, awake, and conscious staring up at her teeth and I knew what I had to do. Immediately and almost automatically I withdrew myself in the direction of the intense sunlight. Having watched more than my share of vampire movies as a lad, I knew this was my only recourse since holy water, crucifixes, and garlic, though available at the market, wasn't readily at hand. My plan worked. She didn't follow, and I breathed a sigh of relief, my heart pounding in my chest. I added an abbreviated version of the story of my encounter to my introduction of OneMan's song "Night Riders". I don't think anyone believes it. I guess I don't blame them. If it hadn't happened to me I wouldn't believe it either. Truth is stranger than fiction. Be careful out there. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: GUEST,Marissa Date: 26 Oct 03 - 04:55 PM Excellent story, Reggie. You are a lucky man, in more ways than one. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Cluin Date: 26 Oct 03 - 05:22 PM Yes, they are real. And they are us. We were all infected long ago. That's why we're sucking this planet dry. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Little Hawk Date: 26 Oct 03 - 05:30 PM The common, pulp-fiction notion that vampires inevitably infect all those they bite with vampirism is, of course, incorrect. It would lead rapidly to an untenable situation and it just doesn't make sense. They only infect certain rare people for certain specific reasons, and those are usually dependent upon the deliberate choice of the vampire, as well as the innate characteristics of the victim. A vampire may, for example, want a consort or partner...and search around for the right person. Then certain deliberate procedures must be followed. Read some of the better vampire fiction for insights into this. For a great, light-hearted vampire comedy, check out the movie "Love At First Bite", where the vampire, Dracula, is definitely the most honorable and likeable character in the whole movie. - LH |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Peg Date: 26 Oct 03 - 06:27 PM There's more than one book out there on the subject of psychic vampirism...a psychic vampire is someone who, consciously or not, can drain people's energy aaway. Sometimes this is subtle, sometimes very significantly affecting to health. Most of us have been around people who make us tired or sick. But we may not knwo they are the cause; we go as far as saying "He/she is so draining to be around" but we don't get it. Interestingly these "vampires" often exhibit signs comparable to the vampiric characteristics of legend and lore. They often hate bright sunlight, preferring to be out at night, have digestive problems, drink or do drugs, etc. The most common and seemingly most effective way to drain away someone's psychic energy is through sexual contact. Hence the guy who is not necessarily all that attractive but who always has women under his spell; and these women may get very depressed or even suicidal when the relationship ends; they literally go through "withdrawal". Of course, it may be said a sexual vampire also tends to prey on those who are somewhat emotionally unstable or otherwise susceptible to being drained.It is said the "mesmerists" of old did this, and clearly people like Svengali, Aleister Crowley, etc. may have been psychic vampires. This is a very real phenomenon. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Bill D Date: 26 Oct 03 - 06:54 PM real?..well, there's this loan company I dealt with once.... |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: GUEST,Grab Date: 26 Oct 03 - 08:38 PM As an RPG fan, if you have to ask about vampires, presumably you'll also be wondering about dragons, basilisks, harpies, golems, orcs, trolls and shambling moulds? Not to mention the dreaded Jabberwock? (After all, Lewis Carroll couldn't have invented it, the idea must have come from somewhere, right, so maybe it really did exist and it's some kind of racial genetic memory?) I think you need to get a grip on reality. Or maybe you just need to grow up a bit - I suspect your age is somewhere between 11 and 15? LH, have you read Stephen King's "Danse Macabre"? He goes into some depth on the various symbols in horror fiction/films, breaking them all down into a "Tarot" of a half-dozen concepts. It's an interesting read. Graham. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Little Hawk Date: 26 Oct 03 - 08:41 PM Good summation there, Peg, and right on about the sexual vampirism. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Nerd Date: 26 Oct 03 - 09:42 PM The porphyria explanation of vampires has always been pretty weak. It does not explain the main features of vampirism (i.e. drinks human blood) but only the peripheral ones (does not like sunlight). However, there is another non-supernatural explanation to explain many of the characteristics ascribed to vampires. Essentially, in communities that believed in some form of life-draining ghost, it was common to blame certain outbreaks of diseases like TB on them. One common procudre was to dig up and stake the dead person believed to be the cause of this misery, in the belief that it would lay their spirit. Some of the physiological changes that can occur to a human body a couple of weeks after death include shrinkage of the gums (leading to the appearance of long teeth), ruddiness of the cheeks, bright redness of the lips, and re-liquification of the blood. Most people have never been in contact with a body this long after death, so they do not know this. In addition, gases often build up inside the chest and abdomen. Because of these changes, when a body is staked it can literally cause blood to spurt out, the mouth to open and a loud groan to escape. Thus, people who opened graves and staked bodies, who thought blood would be coagulated and groans would be impossible from a corpse, would believe that those bodies had indeed been vampires. Various firsthand accounts suggest that this may be the source of some of the beliefs about vampires. Note that it cannot explain the initial belief in dead people who drain the life from the living. This is a very old ghost belief. But it may have given final form to many of the central ideas about vampirism: that life is drained by drinking blood (bright red lips and long teeth) and that the body itself is re-animated (groaning, bleeding). For more details, see Paul Barber's book, Vampires, Burial and Death. A word on Reynardine. It was never, in its English form, a vampire story. Bert Lloyd tried to popularize a sort of werewolf interpretation, and most English revivalists bought that. It was Buffy Ste. Marie who called it a Vampire Story, and a few Brits (like Isla St. Clair) have now fallen for that. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Rapparee Date: 26 Oct 03 - 10:34 PM Actually, I've never really bitten into the porphyria idea very much. I've always felt that the human race came up with the idea of vampires, as well as that of incubi, succubi, werewolves, ghouls, and such from its collective cussedness. I've read that werewolves trace back to the berserkers, and knowing first hand about "battle madness" can believe it possible. Often in human history we of a victor eating the heart or liver of his enemy, bathing in a slain enemies blood (or drinking it), collecting heads, testicles or foreskins, and in general acting in such a manner that Miss Penelope wouldn't approve of in the slightest. It shouldn't surprise us that various cultures thought up the concept of the vampire and all of his relatives and friends. And if you want to add Vlad Tepes to the equation -- he wasn't a nice person, but he was a piker compared to many others, some of them all too recent. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Nerd Date: 27 Oct 03 - 01:56 AM By the way, Reggie, in black folklore "night riders" were not exactly vampires, but white folks, particularly KKK members. The KKK used their white sheets partly to scare blacks into thinking they were ghosts, but most blacks knew exactly what they were. See Glady's-Marie Fry's book Night Riders in Black Folk History. One of the rumors about night riders was that they preyed upon blacks to use their bodies in medical experiments and as cadavers in medical schools, sort of like Burke and Hare and Doctor Knox rolled into one! These particular night riders were also often known as "night doctors" or "Klan doctors." This belief might be behind your friend's vampire interpretation. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Little Hawk Date: 27 Oct 03 - 10:03 AM Now look, Nerd, Buffy redid that song as a vampire song because vampires are very cool, and it made a better song that way. If you don't like it, tough! It isn't a question of falling for the idea, it's a matter of liking it. - LH |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Beverley Barton Date: 27 Oct 03 - 10:09 AM I've read some nutty threads, but you lot are currently top of the list! |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: GUEST,reggie miles Date: 27 Oct 03 - 10:30 AM Well Nerd, I guess your interpretation of the term has relevance in that particular instance. You could even bend the words in this song to that interpretation if you wished. I tend to believe my friend who wrote it when he says the song is a double entendre. The ideas expressed are speaking in reality about sex and are only thinly cloaked as a vampire song. Night Rider copyright 1979 Robert 'One-Man' Johnson I travel by the stars the moonlight lights my way I travel by the stars the moonlight lights my way I am a night rider I can't stand the light of day When you ride by night you don't see where you been When you ride by night you don't see where you been So there's no regret when the passion passes on again chorus: I come sneakin', creepin' slippin, slidin' silently on my way Gonna grip you, grab you, gonna stun you, gonna stab you 'Til the sun lights up the day I'm a night rider you're never gonna see my face Make no mistake...it was me, I spent the evening at your place You'll never see me when I go sneakin' by You'll never see me when I go sneakin' by But you'll feel my touch know my mournful cry chorus: |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: *daylia* Date: 27 Oct 03 - 11:14 AM Well here's another nutty story for this nutty thread... WHen I was about 21 I went to a Hallowe'en party in an old farmhouse. Lots of people drinking and indulging themselves with various other mind-bending substances. A young not-so-talented guitar-playing friend of mine was having the time of his life belting out old Jimi Hendrix tunes at the top of his lungs. He just wouldn't quit, even after he'd been threatened by a couple big growly (but obviously not deaf) bikers and clearing the room a couple times. I'd stuck around, trying to talk him into moving the "concert" outdoors or taking an intermission or something, but he just wouldn't listen to reason. So I finally gave up and left him to his own devices. WHen I tried to find him again in the crowd a while later, he seemed to have just disappeared or something. NExt day I ran into him downtown. I never saw someone change appearance so drastically overnight! He was white as a sheet. His eyes were glazed, seemed twice as big as usual, just bulging out of his head. He grabbed my arm, pulled me aside and whispered "I got bitten by a vampire at that party last night". Then he pulled his hair back and showed me a pair of deep swollen bloody holes in his neck, right under his ear. I was just :-O Didn't know what to think. He was admitted to hospital the next day, spent a couple months on the psyche ward. He's been battling "schizophrenia" ever since (or at least that's how the doctor's diagnosed his condition. "Schizophrenia" is kind of a catch-all diagnosis psychiatrists use when they can't pinpoint a better one). I still don't know what happened that night. I can't imagine that those not-so-deaf bikers would have taken the time to carve out those neat little holes in his neck, instead of just knocking him out biker-style. I'd known Gord for a few years by then, he seemed pretty "normal", not the type to inflict that kind of damage on himself anyway. And over the next couple months a few other people DID reluctantly came forward with the same story of vampires at that party. But the whole subject was avoided, like a taboo, only spoken of in whispers. Now I'm not much into fantasies and fairy tales, but it does seem to me that a drunken party would be a GREAT place for vampires to hang out and feed at. They'd even get a bonus buzz with their (bloody) dinners! I've had direct experience with "psychic vampires" -- the kind of people that suck your electrical energy and leave you feeling exhausted, like you've had the wind knocked out of you, after spending time with them. But the blood-sucking Dracula type? Well, other than that VERY strange incident on Hallowe'en night with Gord, hmmmm .... So there's my story. Sucks, eh? ;-) daylia |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Little Hawk Date: 27 Oct 03 - 11:15 AM Vampires rule They will always be cool And them who don't dig it Are just po' fools! (rap lyrics) |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: GUEST, Nosferatu Date: 27 Oct 03 - 11:36 AM We are cool, Little Hawwk, because we are dead!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA! We walk the Night, we are the Brothers and Sisters of the Night and of all that are abroad during the Night. Your puny attempts to stop us always fail and are laughable in their idiocy. Your garlic only adds a bit of spice to the taste of your blood! Crucifixes are something upon which we hang our cloaks! Your sharpened stakes but tickle and our "screams" are our laughter! We do not fear sunlight, but rarely see it as we are of the Night. We are the Undead, we who walk the Night, licking and sucking in your Life Force and then, when you are dry, we discard you like the husk you are and seek out new Sources. You know us, you have had communication with us. You know us by such names as Inland Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Nerd Date: 27 Oct 03 - 02:22 PM L.H., I don't think what you say about Buffy is true. I think she heard Lloyd's version of the song, thought it was about a vampire, and therefore said it was about a vampire. Certainly the vast majority of people who heard Buffy's version did not know the song in any other substantially different version; it was collected from Oral Tradition in North America, but those versions never went anywhere in the revival; meanwhile, all the British versions that have been recorded are based on Lloyd's, as is Buffy's. So I do think that most people who first heard Buffy claim it was a vampire simply believed her because she said so. They did not select from among other interpretations, because she said "this is about a vampire," and they took her at face value. Perhaps it's a bit strong to say they "fell for it," but it's equally strong to say that they chose to believe that interpretation because they liked it. The fact is, that's what they were told by someone who, probably erroneously, believed it to be so. Reggie, thanks for posting the lyrics. You're right, of course, that my musings above may have been irrelevant. Your friend may have based the song on some pre-existing tradition connecting vampirism and what were traditionally called "night riders," or he may not have. Either way, it's a good and spooky song! |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Little Hawk Date: 27 Oct 03 - 05:52 PM Okay, but why not have it be about a vampire? It certainly makes for an interesting interpretation. Buffy, like Dylan, generally puts a different twist on traditionals and I find that refreshing. My suspicion is that she went for that version precisely because she liked the idea of a song about a vampire. The fact that she later wrote another song about a vampire and recorded it adds strength to that possibility. Nosferatu - Actually, I am not making any "puny attempts to stop" you...although some people may be doing so for all I know. I've got my mind on other problems these days. I have decided to slightly revamp (if you'll excuse the expression) my little rap lyric about vampires... Vampires rule! Dey'll always be cool If people don' dig it Dey's just po' fools! If I had a vampire in my neighborhood I'd say, "Hey, bro! You lookin' REAL good!" You de man of the hour An' you don't grow no flowers You the brothah that bites In the middle of the night You the dude with the fangs Of which I just sang You don't drive no fast car Or keep your teeth in a jar You just turn into a bat And land on my hat You got a solid connection That eludes all detection You got a breath that paralyzes And a wardrobe that surprises That's why Vampires rule! And dey'll always be cool If people don' like it Dey's just po' fools! (Whaddya think? Can I get Eminem or Puff Daddy interested in this one?) - LH |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Rapparee Date: 27 Oct 03 - 06:13 PM Puff adder, maybe. Or Eninen. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Cluin Date: 27 Oct 03 - 06:33 PM I saved my buddy from vampires in Timmins once a few years ago. We'd finished playing in a bar there and struck up a conversation with a dark couple (who we didn't know were a couple at first) and, when we found out they had beer at home, agreed to come over for a visit after closing time. As usual, after declaring an all-nighter, my buddy passed out in a chair and I was left trying to make conversation with these two Necrons. No fun, I can tell you. So I was trying to kick my pal awake when the female turned on me, saying he was staying right there and I could leave if I wanted. I said I'd be damned if I was going home without him and had to explain to his wife and kids how I'd left him with two refugees from a Bruce MacDonald film up north. And, besides, the friends we were staying with there were actually friends of his, primarily. Then followed a psychic battle consisting of stubborn glares and strange throaty noises from her. The guy was just trying to look tough. I wasn't worried about him. One kick in his fat pussgut would've taken him out of the fight for the weekend. But I thought I might have to knock the bitch out. She was all: "He's staying here!" And I was, like: "Bullshit! I'm taking him outta here! We gotta play Kingston next weekend." Finally he came to, and I dragged his groggy ass out of there and poured him into the car. An inhuman screetch followed us out of the driveway and a dark shadow passed over the moon (it was actually my buddy's hat he'd forgotten and they threw it after us). When we got back to our friends' apartment, and I apologized for getting them out of bed at that hour (they were used to it, actually), he spent the next half-hour yakking in the bog. Good on him, I thought and went to bed. He thanks me all the time for the rescue from whatever weird menage those 2 were planning for him that night. He still owes me and I hope I never have to collect. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: smallpiper Date: 27 Oct 03 - 08:38 PM They exist alright I have been a victim of the bastards. They suck your life (life = blood) right out of you and leave you in a perpetual hell! Those sceptics among the population of mudcat be warned some of them even visit here. Don't you, you bastard! But I will get you in the end be sure of that! |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 27 Oct 03 - 09:12 PM GRAND THREAD... once again...confirming they ARE in the MC...and they have sucked off more than Max.
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Mary in Kentucky Date: 27 Oct 03 - 10:11 PM Nerd, I always thought that the porphyria explanation emphasized drinking blood to alleviate heme synthesis deficiencies. This link gives a little info and history. I haven't investigated the 1999 references which debunk the porphria theory. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: LadyJean Date: 27 Oct 03 - 11:17 PM When I was 10, I brought up the subject of vampires with the family cleaning lady. She was from Lithuania, and had a morbid streak. (I can remember the many conversations she had with mother about our dead relatives.) She gave me the skinny on bloodsuckers. "The full moon, they come out." "You die, so they live, that's how the world is." Realizing that she had scared me half out of my wits, she added that that was in the old days, in the old country. Now, I hadn't been scared of vampires before we had our little chat. But I have been ever since. This having been said, I went to Transylvania College for two years. There is a crypt in the main building, but all the occupants are believed to stay put. One of them, the great naturalist, Constantine Rafinesque, is supposed to have put a curse on the college, but he stayed deceased. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Little Hawk Date: 27 Oct 03 - 11:18 PM Well, we're getting some very interesting testimonials, here. It seems to be leaning toward the conclusion that, yes, there are real physical vampires, although they may not fit the movie definition (whatever that is). I've met individuals who kind of vaguely aspired in that general direction, but I don't believe I've met any who crossed over. Such people are best avoided, to say the least. - LH |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Cluin Date: 28 Oct 03 - 12:28 AM Garg, bog = bathroom. Yakking, I think you can guess what that is... |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Dave Bryant Date: 28 Oct 03 - 06:54 AM One of the theories about the ballad Long Lankin is that he was a leper - it would explain why he lived in isolation in the moss/hay, and was feared. One of the folk remedies for this condition was to drink untainted blood, ie that of the baby or the lady. In fuller versions of the ballad, the false nurse actually holds a vessel to catch the blood in. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: GUEST Date: 28 Oct 03 - 07:27 AM Garg - yakking in the bog = talking to God on the big white telephone |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Nerd Date: 28 Oct 03 - 04:17 PM Mary in KY, you only need to read the site you posted: "Many critiqued Dolphin's theory and noted that there was no evidence that drinking blood would help the symptoms of Porphyria." That's one of the things that makes it weak. The only thing that people suffering from the disease REALLY have in common with vampires is light sensitivity--and in some cases, funny looking teeth. One of things that's always a red flag is when something like Porphyria is first put forward as an explanation for reports of werewolves, then for vampires. This is an indication that it does not closely fit the traditional features of either. When looking for explanations of supernatural phenomena, too many so-called "skeptics" rely on bad descriptions of the phenomena themselves, thus allowing their explanations to look like the phenomena. This is another instance: werewolves and vampires traditionally do not look anything alike, but the same disease is advanced as a method for explaining both! |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Wolfgang Date: 28 Oct 03 - 04:28 PM Nerd, I have read your explanation recently some place else I can't recollect and found it pretty convincing. But I'm sure I have not read Barber's book. Do you happen to know where I might have read a shortened version recently (at my age, recently can be as far as two years back). Wolfgang |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Mary in Kentucky Date: 28 Oct 03 - 06:29 PM Nerd, I think we're saying the same thing... In 1985, David Dolphin presented a paper to the American Association for the Advancement of Science and suggested the Porphyria might explain the reports of vampires. Only later (sic 1999 or so) was it dismissed. I was only responding to your statement that the porphyria theory has always been weak. Until Dolphin's theory was examined and debated and more evidence discovered, we really didn't know how weak it was. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 28 Oct 03 - 06:42 PM So they don't talk abouit "the bog" in the USA? You learn stuff here. Actually it's not the bathroom as such - lots of houses have bogs next door to the bathroom. It's what I believe Americans refewre to as "the john". Bog is also Russian for God. It's always struck me as a strange coincidence. It must make for misunderstandings sometimes. "I am searching for God!" "Up the stairs and first door on the right." |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Nerd Date: 28 Oct 03 - 08:57 PM Uh, sorry Mary. You might not have known about how weak it was until 1999, but it still was weak, and its weakness did not go unrecognized in the scholarly community. In 1988 Paul Barber wrote "I must insist that before he [Dolphin] relates blood-drinking vampires to the disease, he must first show us his evidence that drinking blood alleviates the symptoms of porphyria or was even believed to." Given that Dolphin's paper was presented orally in 1985, a 1988 book declaring it weak is remarkably speedy by Academic standards; Barber must have recognized its weakness immediately. Indeed, when he wrote, Dolphin's paper was not even published yet; he had read the abstract and discussed it with Dolphin. I myself heard about Dolphin's theory in about 1990, and already it was considered weak by people who study experiential accounts of the supernatural. Wolfgang, Barber has been quoted in many articles in newspapers and magazines and on TV, so you may have read or seen something in that manner. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: LadyJean Date: 28 Oct 03 - 11:52 PM A thread drift, I know, but "worshipping the porcelain god" is American slang for vomiting. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Cluin Date: 28 Oct 03 - 11:53 PM I had heard that victims of Lupus were possibly mistaken for suffering from lycanthropy, due to excessive hair growth. I've known a few women with Lupus, but never saw excessive hair growth on them. Just aches, pains, rashes, a sensitivity to sunlight and general lack of energy sometimes. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Cluin Date: 28 Oct 03 - 11:58 PM Ah... to boak or not to boak, that is the *GLUUURKKK*! Eeeeeeewwwwwww! |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Nerd Date: 29 Oct 03 - 12:47 AM Cluin, There is such a disease but it isn't Lupus. In fact, there exists a complex of diseases known as congenital hypertrichosis, several of which cause a person to be entirely covered in dark hair. One of these is typically associated with tooth deformities that can pretty well resemble werewolfism. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Dave Bryant Date: 29 Oct 03 - 06:58 AM Linda and I reckon that many of today's teenagers are vampires. Have you tried to get one to tear themselves away from the telly and go outside in the daytime ? |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Liz the Squeak Date: 29 Oct 03 - 07:12 AM Nosferatu - your comment "You know us, you have had communication with us. You know us by such names as Inland Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service." I won't be at work for few days. Can you pass the message to my manger please? Oh, and your tax return was late again. By about 800 years. LTS |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: catspaw49 Date: 29 Oct 03 - 08:17 AM Little Hawk fails to mention that he was once arrested while in high school for actually being a vampire! It seems he had a crush on a young female teacher and also a bad set of teeth with very prominent canines. This resulted in his being completely misunderstood when he said to the female teacher, "I'll see you next period." After a visit to the dentist, charges were dropped. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Little Hawk Date: 29 Oct 03 - 12:45 PM What the fuck are you on today, Spaw? I remember that teacher well. Her name was Miss Delavan, and she was pretty neat. She taught art. However, the part about my teeth is slanderous, and I did NOT get arrested. - LH |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Cluin Date: 29 Oct 03 - 01:48 PM Yeh, you stick to that story, son. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: GUEST,Vampire Overcomer Date: 29 Oct 03 - 11:03 PM I'm a regular Catter, but because of what I am adding to this discussion, I'd rather not give my name. I've been most interested in what Little Hawk, Peg and others have said about "psychic vampires": my mother is one. It's not all that difficult to avoid these people in social or even work settings, once you recognize what they are doing - but when it is someone in your close family, that can be very, very difficult to overcome. From my earliest childhood memories onwards, I never liked my mother. I never wanted to be around her. She always seemed to have some kind of invisible way of making me do what she wanted - and I never could work out how. She was - and is - a very determined woman who wants her own way and will fight in every which way to achieve her aim. Living with her was a constant, wearying battle of wills, in which she always won: not by argument, but by some kind of invisible force or strength. Needless to say, I left home as soon as I could, but always kept in contact and did all the dutiful offspring things. For a long time, as far as I was concerned, this situation was workable. My father must have provided the main focus for her controlling needs and she draw whatever she had to from him. I only discovered just how much she had been using my father after he died a few years ago, and wham ! suddenly everything she had been doing to him, she was now doing to me (her only child) and my kid (her only grandchild). It was like being sucked into a vortex and we were both wrung dry. All those forgotten battles of wills of my childhood with her came back. I've been battling for the past few years, managing to lengthen the gap between seeing her, so that it is now once/twice a week, but with her phoning at least twice every day and talking for half and hour or more at a time. Nothing is ever enough for her. She will always want more. I avoid her coming to my house as much as possible - I'd much rather go to her or better still drive her out somewhere. I don't like my mother - but that doesn't stop me caring about her, if that makes any sense. She's an elderly woman, alone after a long marriage. I don't want to abandon her. I wonder if she has any idea at all of what she does and why she craves so much. I still don't know what it is exactly that she does, but whatever it is, it's the reason I don't want to spend time with her - and it's the reason why she is so desperate for me to do just that. After over two years of this, I'm fed up of fighting her (and losing). So far, all I've managed to do is not see her so often - but that doesn't solve the underlying reason, or the effect she has when I do see her. All this has been a long background to the extraordinary thing which happened yesterday. Reading your comments here about "psychic vampires" over the past few days set me looking around the internet for ways to counteract them. It's amazing what you find on Google ! I am so angry at what my mother has been doing to people all her life, that the suggestion I found for overcoming her has worked. Basically, it was a statement to say, "returning to sender" whatever it is they are doing and a visualization, which I know I can use again at any time. The visualization is to picture yourself holding a mirror, with the mirror pointing towards the predator, like a kind of shield. The strange thing is that yesterday (the day after I did the visualization) she called and asked me to take her to the doctor: she was suddenly extremely short of breath and totally weak and drained. He sent her for heart and blood tests (!) While she was sitting next to me in the waiting room, she did something she never usually does -whilst talking to me, she kept wanting to reach out to touch my arm. It's as if something in her knows that the "invisible energy" thing that she does isn't working, so she had to try something else to draw from. I really don't know how much or how little of this she does on a conscious level. Now I have the mirror to visualize, I felt totally different in her presence (and I think she must have felt totally different in mine). I wanted to write all this to let people know that there really are ways to counteract this kind of phenomenon. The effect of my mirror visualization on my mother is uncanny. I really don't think her sudden breathlessness and weakness was a coincidence. What happens from now on will be interesting. If she can't draw energy from me, presumably she will have to start trying to draw it from someone else. The best solution, of course, would be to get to the root cause of why she has done this all her life. I'd be interested to hear of any more suggestions of how to deal with this kind of situation. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: LadyJean Date: 29 Oct 03 - 11:30 PM Get a copy of "Stop Walking On Eggshells" about dealing with people with borderline personality disorder. Your mother sounds like a borderline, and they do suck the energy right out of you. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Little Hawk Date: 30 Oct 03 - 01:20 AM Yes, V.O., you're onto something very real there, and the mirror visualization is an excellent defence, specially if you are a good visualizer and can concentrate clearly, and it sounds like you are. Well done. This whole physical/energetic reality of ours was and is built (all the time) by focused thought and intention, so this kind of thing is very powerful. What will she do if she can't draw energy from you? She'll instinctively look elsewhere for it. Whether she finds it elsewhere remains to be seen. There is some useful insight into this kind of thing in a well known book by a psychiatrist named Scott Peck, called "People of the Lie". See if you can find a copy, and continue defending your own boundaries. There are also great spiritual protectors whose aid you can enlist, if you so choose, such as: God, Jesus, your personal guardian angel(s), Saint Michael, Manitou, White Buffalo Woman or whatever other figures of a positive nature that you can relate to or conceive of...if you feel amenable to that sort of thing. We are not alone in our positive efforts, but have mighty friends. Still, you may feel more comfortable just working from your own personal sovereignty, and if so, that's fine. Again I say, well done, and thanks for reminding me of this technique, which I could well afford to use myself here and there when I need to. - LH |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Rapparee Date: 30 Oct 03 - 07:40 AM VO -- LH is right, she's look elsewhere. Teach your children well. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Rapparee Date: 30 Oct 03 - 11:42 AM "She'll look elsewhere," not "she's look elsewhere." Jeez, I gotta start going to sleep earlier. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: *daylia* Date: 30 Oct 03 - 11:56 AM Guest VO, there's lots of physical things you can do to help strengthen your energy field against psychic attacks or drains, from your mother or anyone else. First, make sure you are looking after yourself physically - proper diet, sleep, exercise, breathing/fresh air, using effective ways of dealing with stress. Your electrical field (aura) is produced by your physical body, thoughts and emotions -- so the healthier they are, the stronger your aura. Second, have you ever worked with crystals as "medicine"? I have found great relief from symptoms just like the ones you described by carrying small pieces of iolite, moldavite, tiger's eye, amethyst, carnelian, amber, hematite etc in a pouch or pocket. Iolite and moldavite are especially strengthening. Necklaces, rings, bracelets etc made of same are very pretty and effective too. These stones add their own electrical charge to your energy field, reinforcing it. Kirlean photographs have shown that carrying crystals can quadruple the energy surrounding your body. Third, there are some very effective meditations to help with this. The only problem I've found with using the "mirror" technique you've described is that it can lead to game of "ping-pong" with the sender -- you send the energy back to them, and they return it to you multiplied. This can go on and on forever. Exercises I've found to be very effective, and where to find them on the net are: 1)The Middle Pillar of Light http://www.davedavies.com/splanet/magic3.htm 2)The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (MANY versions of this traditional magickal exercises are on the net) 3) Actualism (very easy, and quickly effective too!) http://www.actualism.org/ 4) HUNA (ancient Hawaiian) techniques of "praying with energy" to reinforce your aura and maintain your boundaries with others. Information at http://www.geocities.com/huna101 I hope you find something valuable in all that! Best wishes, daylia |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: GUEST,Vampire Overcomer Date: 30 Oct 03 - 01:40 PM Little Hawk, Rapaire, Daylia - many thanks ! I'll keep you posted. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: GUEST,Vampire Overcomer Date: 30 Oct 03 - 01:42 PM Oh...thanks to LadyJean, too ! |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: okthen Date: 30 Oct 03 - 02:49 PM For those able to receive ITV2 in the UK and are interested in this thread.Real Vampires.........Exposed 10pm tonight, enjoy (?) |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Rapparee Date: 30 Oct 03 - 04:11 PM So then, Daylia, the carved tiger-eye ring I wear helps my aura! And I thought I wore it because it was my father's wedding ring. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: GUEST,Fearless Vampire Slayer Date: 30 Oct 03 - 04:46 PM I've always found a good punch in the mouth to be an effective all-around deterrent. Works with vampires, bogeymen and grandparents too. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: sloop Date: 30 Oct 03 - 06:53 PM Course they do,if you dont believe me,go to belfast they've been sucking each others blood for generations. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Little Hawk Date: 30 Oct 03 - 07:07 PM Yes, but if you punch your mother or girlfriend or whomever in the mouth because she has been emotionally and psychically draining you, F.V.S., it will only get you in a whole heap of trouble, and no one will believe your explanation for why you had to do it... :-) Did you ever hear of a concept called "subtlety"? No? Don't feel bad, Hollywood hasn't heard of it either. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: GUEST,Fearless Vampire Slayer Date: 30 Oct 03 - 08:03 PM Did you ever hear of a concept called "sarcasm"? Well, guess what? Other people can use it too. ;-) |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: *daylia* Date: 31 Oct 03 - 08:33 AM Ah Rapaire, your father must have had more than just great taste to choose such a ring! From ancient times, people have worn tiger's eye for protection from all kinds of dangers. IT's usually set in gold for this purpose. Roman soldiers wore tiger's eye engraved with symbols for protection during battle. They thought it also promoted courage and strength of conviction. Traditionally, Tiger's eye has been thought to promote wealth and money, bestowing a fine "business sense" on the wearer. It's also said to help the flow of energy through the body and it's energy field, especially beneficial for the weak and sick. So, it seems that Tiger's Eye has been helping your "family aura" for generations! COOL!!! :-) Happy Hallowe'en everyone, daylia |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Dave Bryant Date: 31 Oct 03 - 10:12 AM Mummy - what's a vampire ? Shut up and drink your soup before it clots. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: GUEST,Blind DRunk in Blind River Date: 31 Oct 03 - 11:29 AM WHOOO-EEEE! It's Halloween Night tonight! AWRight! Me and Don are too old for trick or treat but we are gonna tip over outhouses, paint cars with spray bombs, egg peoples windows, throw toilet paper rolls over roofs, run around on snowmboiels, act like idiots, and raise hell! AND then we are gonna get so blasted that we wont quit till the sun rises on Blind River th next day. Vampires be warned! We aint takin no prisoners eh? BDiBR |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: GUEST,eliza c Date: 31 Oct 03 - 12:13 PM I heard a theory that stories of cannibalism in South American tribes were linked to the introduction of maize to their areas- eating maize apparently creates a protein deficiency and protein cravings- and whereas before the introduction they were able to live on mostly fruit and nuts and the odd chicken, they found themselves unable to meet their own needs and turned to other sources of meat. It was also mentioned that the introduction of maize to Eastern Europe occurred around the same time as the beginnings of the Vampire myths. (cue spooky music again!) Love at First Bite- "Children of the Night! Shut up!" x ec |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: keberoxu Date: 27 Oct 23 - 06:56 PM This week I attended a lecture on the subject of the literary, social, and political evidence of the vampire. Much was made of the embattled Serbians in the 18th century who were caught trying to exterminate "vampires" with rituals, and who refused to desist even when it was forbidden. I almost typed forbitten. Anyway. The Serbians were stuck between the Austro-Hungarian empire on one side and the Ottoman empire on the other. The lecturer remarked that vampire extermination rituals by the Serbians expressed their hostility toward the foreigner, the other, and acted out their hostility towards either empire. The lecture then proceeded towards Bram Stoker, Polidori, Anne Rice, and Stephenie Meyers, authors of fiction about vampires, complete with slides with stills from the film versions. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Ebbie Date: 27 Oct 23 - 07:09 PM Might as well ask if dragons are -or ever were- real. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Donuel Date: 28 Oct 23 - 12:12 PM I had to have 4 extra canine teeth removed to make room for other teeth. They weren't any longer than other teeth. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: Ebbie Date: 27 Oct 23 - 07:09 PM Might as well ask if dragons are -or ever were- real. |
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Subject: RE: vampires real or not From: keberoxu Date: 27 Oct 23 - 06:56 PM This week I attended a lecture on the subject of the literary, social, and political evidence of the vampire. Much was made of the embattled Serbians in the 18th century who were caught trying to exterminate "vampires" with rituals, and who refused to desist even when it was forbidden. I almost typed forbitten. Anyway. The Serbians were stuck between the Austro-Hungarian empire on one side and the Ottoman empire on the other. The lecturer remarked that vampire extermination rituals by the Serbians expressed their hostility toward the foreigner, the other, and acted out their hostility towards either empire. The lecture then proceeded towards Bram Stoker, Polidori, Anne Rice, and Stephenie Meyers, authors of fiction about vampires, complete with slides with stills from the film versions. |
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