True Vampires

[monsno_leedra]

Re: True Vampires

I've always wondered about how much truth there was behind Elizabeth Bathory's tale. It seems like folklore & local ghost-stories like to pick out certain powerful, wealthy women and turn them into monsters - Bathory, Chile's La Quintrala, Russia's Saltykova, New Orleans' Delphine La Laurie... all women who abused, tortured, murdered and/or ate the 'hired help', so to speak. It's a twist on the 'Black Widow', and particularly heinous because these were women who had it all, but still felt it necessary to destroy those they considered beneath them.

And of course, there were real women like Las Vegas's own Sante Kimes, who did actually abuse, torture and murder her housekeepers (along with various other crimes).

Considering that Elizabeth Bathory was not killed but imprisoned and locked away until she died not sure its about picking on supposed powerful women. She lived for quite a few years after the trial and such though I've never seen a suggested date of death for her. Can't provide a link anymore but I recall the Bathory Castle still has a room that only has a small prison type food entry that was used to feed her.

Had a chance to visit the Dracula Castle in Romania when our ship pulled into port there. A few of the guys who went said its nothing like what most would think though it is in a very remote area. Figure lore wise Dracula and the legend is connected to a number of castles so who knows for sure though Dracula is still something of a national hero.

Her story in many ways reminds me of the Monster of Glamis Castle in Scotland. Basically a son of one of the Earl's of Glamis that was so deformed that he was locked away in a hidden room that could only be accessed from the outside of the castle. There is a place where there are four windows visible from the outside yet only three (1, 2, & 4) are visible from the interior of the room. That and the story of the Grey Lady of Glamous castle are well known legends and stories from the area. Can't say I have seen the monster though I did see the 4 windows, well according to one version of the local legend and lore. As to the Grey lady that one I did see in the old chapel.

[codesharp]

Re: True Vampires

This is an interesting question, but we really need to go deeper on this one. Let me take a stab at it from two angles: a scientific one, and a theological one.

Scientific version:
What's a vampire? If a vampire is a person which lives off of drinking blood (preferably human), then they definitely do exist. There are records of tribes which gather a generous portion of their caloric intake from cattle blood, and still there are many others who drink human blood. Check out Hematophagy for some starting information. Now, if you're up for the whole shebang, including immortality and a bad Russian accent, then it's much trickier. I, at least, doubt it.

Theological version:
Well, this is going to be a terrible answer, but it depends on the person you're asking. My religion makes no claim of vampires existing, though there is well enough room for them to exist. Some others may have differing claims. Most stuff we'd consider vampires today started showing up in the 18th century, though there have been similar creatures in folklore since ancient Greece.

[toxicyarnglare]

Re: True Vampires

Theological version:
Well, this is going to be a terrible answer, but it depends on the person you're asking. My religion makes no claim of vampires existing, though there is well enough room for them to exist. Some others may have differing claims. Most stuff we'd consider vampires today started showing up in the 18th century, though there have been similar creatures in folklore since ancient Greece.

Mythical vampires? Nope, that would probably be impossible for them to exist.
However...

They exist in other ways.

[codesharp]

Re: True Vampires

That's a cool video! I'll be bookmarking it for my coffee break.

[Willow]

Re: True Vampires

Random tangent, because I'm ill.

Vampires from my neck of the woods eat the flesh of corpses, not just blood. ...

[Dumuzi]

Re: True Vampires

It hasn't been observed that anyone could rely on blood alone to get nutrients and survive. Therefor, vampires do not exist.

Edit: Well, technically they can exist for some weeks until they die from starvation.

[codesharp]

Re: True Vampires

Random tangent, because I'm ill.

Vampires from my neck of the woods eat the flesh of corpses, not just blood. ...

Оh, this is a good point. I can't say I know a lot about Slavic folklore, so you've just taught me something valuable.

It hasn't been observed that anyone could rely on blood alone to get nutrients and survive. Therefor, vampires do not exist.
...

Uhm, kinda untrue. Most lore doesn't claim that vampires live solely off of blood.

[Dumuzi]

Re: True Vampires

Uhm, kinda untrue. Most lore doesn't claim that vampires live solely off of blood.

Then I must have been uninformed. Can you please tell me how you define someone being a vampire so I can share my thoughts on it?

[codesharp]

Re: True Vampires

A vampire is a being which has an urge to drink blood.

[Torey]

Re: True Vampires

Uhm, kinda untrue. Most lore doesn't claim that vampires live solely off of blood.

What "lore", then, is your source for the concept that vampires do not exist "solely" on the blood of the living? From this source/these sources of yours, please explain "what else" vampires survive on besides blood.

[Willow]

Re: True Vampires

Aw my fever made me miss the majority of the vampire thread.

Vampire clans: mentioned frequently in fictional sources from Anne Rice to Vampire Masquerade to numerous current publications, tv & book series, movies, comics, fan-fiction, art, etc...

As for the "secret-keeping" ability of the aforementioned inquirer's associations... *looks around totally open, public forum full of anonymous people who have not signed any contract to secrecy*.... 'nuff said.

On a personal basis, I have met a fair few (dozens, maybe more) individuals who made claims they couldn't back-up but they whole-heartedly subscribed to. People who were well aware of the real world around them, that were fully functional, but just chose (for a multitude of reasons, many of which they aren't prone to sharing unless intoxicated) to perceive it in their own way. They weren't hurting anyone, they weren't demanding everyone accept them as their all-powerful ruler, and they weren't going out and abducting people to sacrifice in their blood orgies (or whatever situation the suspicious might concoct). These beliefs ranged from otherkin, vampires, hybrids, therians, celestials, reborn-deities/infamous people/powerful people, inhumans, deities, daughters/sons/relatives of deities, etc... The list goes on and on and is only limited to the human imagination and experience.

Some of the people I've met believed they were something like... a deity incarnate (I have met so many "Lilith's" it's not even funny). And many of those I have no doubt would be living a better life if they sat down with a psychiatric professional.

But I can't control the masses, I can't tell the what they should do, and I can't live their lives or interpret their experiences for them. As long as they aren't harming people, I have no qualms. The lying to other people about how there are secret clans here and there, particularly to impressionable people, irks me. But I have faith in the learning process and that once people encounter those kinds of situations, they will learn from it.

None of these groups are particularly secretive. There are entire forums for the otherkin community. As well as for those who follow the fanfiction and make it an integral part of their lifestyle.

As far as the psi-vampire, sanguine community, they have their own website(s). That knowledge is not hidden, and the general idea is that they feel the need but it is more of a supplemental need (rather than a -I must feed or I die- need). Some drink blood, some drain energy. Blood-letting is a topic that has its own set of essays, threads, and how-to's in those sites and revolves around consenting adults and safe practices (lancets rather than knives, std testing, etc...). Psi-energy feeding is not so consequential on a biological level, so the 'rules' are a mite fuzzier. It's a lifestyle, some people outgrow it. Others do not and continue to feel that pull. The reasons are up for speculation, but I won't go into the psyche of others and try to dissect it when I truly can't know the ins and outs of their mind and life. Like I said before, as long as they aren't hurting anyone, I don't care.

Though there is some charm associated with the vampire/otherkin community, it's not really my cup of tea. Hopefully what little info I've gleaned over the years helps put a little perspective on this thread.

[Aeran]

Re: True Vampires

Some of the people I've met believed they were something like... a deity incarnate (I have met so many "Lilith's" it's not even funny).

Where do you hang out? I've never met any of these people irl. I always figured they just existed on the internet

[Willow]

Re: True Vampires

Where do you hang out? I've never met any of these people irl. I always figured they just existed on the internet

It's not so much where I hung out as much as (I think) my personality and the person I seem to portray. A lot of people used to open up to me about... everything... constantly... I think my openness to try and understand everyone and their worldviews is a major part of that. When I was younger I hadn't yet learned my own limits and to set up my own boundaries. *shrugs*

But those kinds of people are everywhere, they look, behave, and live normally like anyone else. The only ones that really stand out are the ones who subscribe to the goth subculture, and even that style is a pretty normal thing in my eyes.

[codesharp]

Re: True Vampires

Dude, you really have had some interesting friends.

[Willow]

Re: True Vampires

Dude, you really have had some interesting friends.

Most definitely wouldn't have classified them as 'friends.' =P