Vampire mythology- the 4 Pillars of Vampirism
Vampires
Supernatural Undead
Culture: Romanian, Baltic, Slavic, Eastern European, Greek
The undead on Slavic Folklore
The Central theme of Vampirism include, the transference of
life essence. Aversion to sun light, aversion to silver, sexuality.
A vampire is a creature from folklore that subsists by
feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In
European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones
and caused mischief or deaths in the neighborhoods they inhabited while they
were alive.
Vampire
Succubus
Chupacabra
Vampires have been featured in folklore and fiction of
various cultures for hundreds of years, predominantly in Europe.
Central to vampire myth, however, is the consumption of
human blood or other essence (such as bodily fluids or psychic energy),
followed closely by the possession of sharp teeth or fangs with which to
facilitate this task. In most depictions, vampires are “undead”—that is to say,
having been somehow revived after death—and many are said to rise nightly from
their graves or coffins, often necessarily containing their native soil.
Vampires are typically said to be of pale skin and range in
appearance from grotesque to preternaturally beautiful, depending on the tale.
Another frequently cited physical characteristic is the inability to cast a
reflection or shadow, which often translates into an inability to be
photographed or recorded on film.
A person may become a vampire in a variety of ways, the most
common of which is to be bitten by a vampire. Other methods include sorcery,
committing suicide, contagion, or having a cat jump over a person’s corpse.
The are many tools in the vampire hunters cache of weapons. The
most popular of those include a wooden stake through the heart, fire, decapitation,
and exposure to sunlight. Vampires are often depicted as being repelled by
garlic, running water, or Christian implements such as crucifixes and holy
water. In some stories vampires may enter a home only if they have been
invited, and in others they may be distracted by the scattering of objects such
as seeds or grains that they are compelled to count, thereby enabling potential
victims to escape.
Dracula is arguably the most important work of vampire
fiction. The tale of the Transylvanian count who uses supernatural abilities,
including mind control and shape-shifting, to prey upon innocent victims
inspired countless works thereafter.
The pillars of vampirism
Transference of blood.
Blood a symbol of life force believed in many cultures to contain
a share of divine energy or more commonly the spirit of an individual creature.
the oldest ancient deity who consumed blood was probably
Lilith. She is also described as the first demon, or a female spirit which
exemplified all of the darkest attributes of the world.
Persian folklore also speaks of some spirits who consumed
blood. The most famous of these was Estries. She was a demon - specifically a
shapeshifter.
Usually she was
believed to have appeared as a beautiful woman who looked for men to drink
their blood. , She was also well-known in Jewish legends.
Silver is a precious metal with well documented history with mankind
Silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (and atomic
number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest
electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal.
It is associated with purity, chastity and eloquence
Eastern Europeans believed that silver protected against
demonic entities such as vampires and werewolves.
Aversion to sunlight
one of the more important theme. It places the vampire as
anti nature.
The ultimate creature of the night. Depended on the absent
of the primarly life giver and thus anti life.
Photophobia, or light sensitivity, is an intolerance of
light.
Photophobia often accompanies albinism (lack of eye
pigment), total color deficiency (seeing only in shades of gray), botulism,
rabies, mercury poisoning, conjunctivitis, inflammation of the cornea and
iritis.
People who have an extreme sensitivity to sunlight are born
with a rare disease known as xeroderma pigmentosum (XP).
Sexualization
The act of vampire feeding is sexual in its nature.
Involving the exposed neck and the lips and tongue. So the concept of seduction has always been an
important element of Vampires.
Modern mythology of the vampire has progressed to necrophilia
and necromancy where the undead is not a mystical seducer but a comforting
lover. They are the love interest.
Necrophilia, is sexual attraction towards or a sexual act
involving corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health
Organization (WHO) in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD)
diagnostic manual, as well as by the American Psychiatric Association.
Necrophilia is a very disturbing component of human
behavior. Herodotus suggested that the Greek tyrant Periander defiled his wife.
Using the phrase “Periander baked his bread in cold ovens.”
Acts of necrophilia are depicted on ceramics from the Moche
culture, which reigned in northern Peru from the first to eighth century CE.
Hittite law from the 16th century BC through to the 13th
century BC explicitly permitted sex with the dead.
In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders necrophilia) is marked by distress or impairment in important areas of
functioning.
Sergeant François Bertrand), known as the Vampire of
Montparnasse, was a sergeant in the French Army. He was arrested in 1841 for
necrophilia and jailed.
He stated that his necrophilic impulses began in 1846, and
were accompanied by headaches and heart palpitations. He progressed to exhuming
the corpses of both women and men from graveyards, whereupon he would
eviscerate and dismember them before masturbating. Bertrand would later
describe his experience with the corpse of a 16-year-old girl.
