First off all let me
explain to all of those that say: “I
love vampires!” This post is not about Hollywood
vampires but about the “Real myth” the monsters Vampires. In Hollywood mythology (if we can say that!) Vampires
are beautiful, sexy, attractive and charming some even glow like glitter!
But if you stop and
investigate the Man Animal history you will find that there is a reason why for
millenniums there were called monsters.
In simple definition Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person.
Although Vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures, and may go back to "prehistoric times", the term vampire was not popularized until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe, although local variants were also known by different names, such as Vrykolakas in Greece and Strigoi in Romania.
But the “believe” of
Vampires is not strictly restrict to Europe in fact the myth can be found all
over the world.
Non-European beliefs:
AFRICA
Various regions of
Africa have folkloric tales of beings with Vampiric abilities: in West Africa
the Ashanti people tell of the iron-toothed and tree-dwelling Asanbosam and the
Ewe people of the Adze, which can take the form of a firefly and hunts
children. The Eastern Cape region has the Impundulu, which can take the form of
a large talon bird and can summon thunder and lightning, and the Betsileo people
of Madagascar tell of the Ramanga, an outlaw or living vampire who drinks the
blood and eats the nail clippings of nobles.
THE AMERICAS
The Loogaroo is an
example of how a vampire belief can result from a combination of beliefs, here
a mixture of French and African Voodoo. The term Loogaroo possibly comes from
the French loup-garou (meaning "werewolf") and is common in the
culture of Mauritius. However, the stories of the Loogaroo are widespread
through the Caribbean Islands and Louisiana in the United States. Similar
female monsters are the Soucouyant of Trinidad, and the Tunda and Patasola of
Colombian folklore, while the Mapuche of southern Chile have the bloodsucking
snake known as the Peuchen Aloe vera
hung backwards behind or near a door was thought to ward off vampiric beings in
South American superstition. Aztec mythology described tales of the Cihuateteo,
skeletal-faced spirits of those who died in childbirth who stole children and
entered into sexual liaisons with the living, driving them mad.
During the late 18th
and 19th centuries the belief in vampires was widespread in parts of New
England, particularly in Rhode Island and Eastern Connecticut. There are many
documented cases of families disinterring loved ones and removing their hearts
in the belief that the deceased was a vampire who was responsible for sickness
and death in the family, although the term "vampire" was never
actually used to describe the deceased.
ASIA
Rooted in older
folklore, the modern belief in vampires spread throughout Asia with tales of
ghoulish entities from the mainland, to vampiric beings from the islands of
Southeast Asia.
South Asia also
developed other vampiric legends. The Bhūta or Prét is the soul of a man who
died an untimely death. It wanders around animating dead bodies at night,
attacking the living much like a ghoul. In northern India, there is the
BrahmarākŞhasa, a vampire-like creature with a head encircled by intestines and
a skull from which it drank blood. The figure of the Vetala who appears in
South Asian legend and story may sometimes be rendered as "Vampire".
Although vampires
have appeared in Japanese cinema since the late 1950s, the folklore behind it
is western in origin. However, the Nukekubi is a being whose head and neck
detach from its body to fly about seeking human prey at night.
Legends of female
vampire-like beings who can detach parts of their upper body also occur in the
Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. There are two main vampire-like creatures
in the Philippines: the Tagalog Mandurugo ("blood-sucker") and the
Visayan Manananggal ("self-segmented"). The Mandurugo is a variety of
the Aswang that takes the form of an attractive girl by day, and develops wings
and a long, hollow, thread-like tongue by night. The tongue is used to suck up
blood from a sleeping victim. The Manananggal is described as being an older,
beautiful woman capable of severing its upper torso in order to fly into the
night with huge bat-like wings and prey on unsuspecting, sleeping pregnant
women in their homes. They use an elongated proboscis-like tongue to suck foetuses
from these pregnant women. They also prefer to eat entrails (specifically the
heart and the liver) and the phlegm of sick people.
The Malaysian
Penanggalan may be either a beautiful old or young woman who obtained her
beauty through the active use of black magic or other unnatural means, and is
most commonly described in local folklore to be dark or demonic in nature. She
is able to detach her fanged head which flies around in the night looking for
blood, typically from pregnant women.
And the list goes
on…..
SLAVIC SPIRITUALISM
Although many
cultures possess revenant superstitions comparable to the Eastern European
vampire, the Slavic vampire is the revenant superstition that pervades popular
culture's concept of vampire. The roots of vampire belief in Slavic culture are
based to a large extent in the spiritual beliefs and practices of
pre-Christianized Slavic peoples and their understanding of life after death.
Despite a lack of pre-Christian Slavic writings describing the details of the
"Old Religion", many pagan spiritual beliefs and rituals have been
sustained by Slavic peoples even after their lands were Christianized. Examples
of such beliefs and practices include ancestor worship, household spirits, and
beliefs about the soul after death. The origins of vampire beliefs in Slavic
regions can be traced to the complex structure of Slavic spiritualism.
VAMPIRE MYTHOLOGY COMMON
SPECIES
Since the beginning
of time, there have always existed mortals whom have had an obsession with
blood drinking for whatever reasons. Some portray themselves as real vampires,
some use blood drinking as an excitement or as a sexual enhancement. Some may
even be from a particular disease which often causes insanity. This disease is
often referred to as "Renfield's Syndrome" which is also as you guessed,
a character from Dracula who is a Zoophagous, meaning a "life-eater."
Mortal blood
drinking is quite a big occurrence now. There has become quite a big community
for this sort of thing. Most blood drinkers advertise for blood donors while
some purchase the blood from blood banks. Blood bank purchasing is only allowed
in some states in USA however and as an added benefit, the blood is thoroughly
tested to ensure safety from any sort of known impurities. |
| Aaron Homer (l.) and Amanda Williamson have been arrested in Arizona for stabbing a homeless man, whose blood they wanted to drink, police said. |
The transient, who had been living with the couple, was stabbed after he refused to let them suck his blood and mocked their "religion," police said.
Aaron Homer, 24, and Amanda Williamson, 21, allegedly stabbed Robert Maley, 25, last week in their apartment.
Maley, who was also arrested over a probation violation, told police Homer and Williamson were into "vampire stuff and paganism," and he had allowed them to drink his blood in the past.
On the night of the attack, police were called to the couple's home and found a trail of blood leaving the apartment.
Homer initially claimed his girlfriend had been attacked by an unidentified man, but later admitted he'd stabbed Maley, who was found several blocks away, because he refuse to let them drink more blood!
IMMORTAL VAMPIRES OR
HOMO VAMPYRUS
Immortal Blood Drinkers
is a rather large classification because not all receive the dark course the
same. There are roughly around thirty-six different recorded types well
documented. I will be listing the four most common however which is also more
than the rest all added together.
SUBSPECIES:
HOMO WAMPYRUS CHIROPTERA
These vampires are
the rarest of the vampires because they are the "bat" vampires. They
are largely found Africa, New Zealand and South America. Most of the population
are concentrated in China and India.
These vampires
appear to be very human other than a slightly pointy pair of ears and sometimes
with a lantern jaw. They socially mix well with humans but hate to be around
crowds. These are the most sensitive to sunlight, they experience blisters and
pain after some time in the sun. They are the only vampires capable of the
shape shifting feature and can even change into vampire bats. They are able to
do this by certain factors such as racial origin, length of time as a vampire
and even the right food.
HOMO WAMPYRUS DRACO
This is the most
well-known of the types. Made famous by Bram Stroker, They are everywhere with
the majority in places like North America, Britain and Western Europe.
They are extremely
human in appearance except for their retractable canine teeth in their upper
jaws that are hardly noticeable. They have medium to poor tolerance to sunlight
and will perish in a couple of hours of direct sunlight. They are very social
with humans and often take jobs as night watchmen and club bouncers.
They often gain
there blood through willing donors who think that they are mortal blood
drinkers. Some do pleasure in taking blood by force due to the fear factor and
the release of adrenaline.
HOMO WAMPYRUS
NOSFERATU
They are often
referred to as the "deformed" vampires. They were given their name
after the 1922 movie "Nosferatu." They are less common then the
Wampyrus Draco but are surprisingly numerous.
Their change into a
vampire is not an easy one. The individuals' immune system has fought the virus
and the virus is forced to mutate in order to survive. The end result is a
twisted and disfigured vampire.
Usually it is a high domed head that is bald
with a visible network of livid veins; the face is long, thin, drawn, has deep
creases; has sunken eyes; the ears are large and pointy or membranous; nose is
upwards and revealing the nostrils; the hands have long tapered fingers often
with an extra joint with sharp, discoloured nails; stands with a hunch because
to straighten their back causes extreme pain to their twisted spines and can
cause a slipped disc or worse. All of these abnormalities are the reason why
they are so anti-social with both humans and vampires a like.
They obtain blood
through stealth from sleeping humans, small children or even from farm animals.
They are everywhere with large concentrations in Africa, South Africa, The
Caribbean and Japan.
It has been speculated that the Puerto Rican Chupacabras,
Goat Suckers, are excessively deformed Nosferatu vampires.
They are moderately
sensitive to sunlight and can tolerate it for hours at a time on a dull day.
They can perform certain shape changes but they vary from case to case.
HOMO WAMPYRUS SAURIA
They are often known
as the "reptile" and/or "lizard" vampire. They get these
names because they possess teeth that are all sharply pointed and resemble
those of large lizards.
They are the most
social of the four main types and are able to withstand extended periods of
sunlight or indefinitely with the aid of sunglasses and sunscreen. With the
exception of their teeth they are very human in appearance. They tend to be
very outgoing and are often business men who have amassed a great deal of
wealth through their long lifetime. However they are extremely susceptible to
depression and most commonly the victims of suicide.
They are rare in
Europe but are common in North America, Central America, South America and
Australia with a great concentration in China, Japan and certain parts of the
former USSR.
Due to their extreme
social abilities, you might think that they are the most considerate feeders,
wrong. They are the most brutal of all. They will often rip large pieces of
flesh from the victim, usually from the thigh, upper arm or throat. They will
devour the flesh and drink the blood from the gaping wound until the victim
perishes. This rarely happens now. They take more often to buying blood or
obtaining it from willing donors whom are cut with razors rather than teeth.