… but I wouldn’t want to be one!
Is it that I feel this way (liking vamps, but not wanting to be one) because I’m female?
But nonetheless, there is something to be said for the power exuded by these seductively fascinating creatures.
And considering that most vampires are usually depicted as having been human before their transformation, and some (though not all) ultimately retain their souls (Blood Ties, vampire Henry Fitzroy is an example of such) – then the danger associated with them adds to the seductive quality. It translates basically to the fact that, if he so chooses, a vampire could as easily kill you, as much as just take some of your blood.
Unlike other creatures, who most times, would undergo some intense physical transformation – for example, the man turning into beast, that the quintessential Werewolf (often times depicted as the arch enemy of the vampire) – most vampires’ physical transformations are usually more subtle (the vampires of Buffy and The Lost Boys are among the few exceptions).
To quote film critic Maitland McDonagh (on a recent Space: the Imagination Station special – Pretty Bloody: The women of Horror, © 2009): “Vampires have always been the mainstay of women in horror… explicitly tied with ideas of seduction and of giving into impulses that are perhaps socially unacceptable… Vampires are very sexualized. …not the brutal sexuality of say Werewolves, who are the embodiment of the beast within…. Vampires are seducers....”
Furthermore, there is no escaping the implied (or explicit) sexual connotations associated with most vampires, especially those of the fanged variety (here Edward Cullen and the other Twilight vamps do not apply).
Vampires’ fangs: the long, pointed, sharp teeth of its mouth (usually incisor, some times canines, other times both), are meant to penetrate. To penetrate the (preferably human) flesh from which it must get blood to the sustain itself. And the parts of the body usually preferred by vamps, where the veins run deep and strong, are also some of the parts of the body where one would find (some of the most sensitive) erogenous zones: the neck, wrist, inner thigh and to a lesser extent breasts.
And this is especially brought to more evidence, if the vampire takes blood whilst engaging in said act. (There are however some exceptions, i.e. vamps which are physically sexually impotent. For example: Anne Rice’s vampires have no use of their sexual organs after being turned. Nevertheless, the fang penetration connotation still applies.)
To conclude, as much as I wouldn’t want to be a vampire, the thought of being on the receiving end of a vampire’s attention can have its appeal.
In fact, even yours truly has penned a poem or two with emphasis on the sensual/seductive/dangerous/erotic appeal of the vampire. As in My Life, My Love, My Blood , (recently featured on Roxanne Rhoads’ Fang-tastic books blog).
But what say you dear reader: What is it about the vampire (or the genre that appeals to you)? And in the context of the statement, would you like being the vampire or its vassal?
I invite you to leave your comments below.
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