|
The Original Question:
I'm an aspiring author. I'm fascinated by vampires and plan on writing a
book about them. However, after looking over your Q&A section, a lot of
what I "know" are from movies (ie: can not go out into sunlight,
garlic will harm, etc..) I was wondering if you had time to give me a short
in depth fact on real vampire life so my book won't be a total lie, so to
speak. Info such as when/how often you drink blood, do you need it to survive?,
the type of life you live (occupation). I would really appreciate any info
you can provide to help me out.
The Original Answer:
Decide it might be cool to do a real life "Interview with the Vampire"
concept? Well, yours is not the first such request, although it is one of
the more polite...In any event, as I have stated on my page, specifics on
myself are few and far in-between as I wish to preserve my confidentiality...I
am a private person (although one may not believe that with a Real Vampire
toting website!) and, as a general rule, my kind are very private as well.
We don't like the spotlight and we frown on others who try to achieve it.
All this said, I can provide you with some basics and perhaps some general
standards (of which, there are few) that may further aide you, but I regret
I can not give personal details...
So, first, forget what you see in the movies and what you read in books.
We are like neither. (And, if you haven't already, check out my bio for what
kind of mundane things I like and do.) We are real people and we lead real
lives...
Secondly, you ask about the infamous "blood-drinking" *sigh* This
is a truism-although, again, not as extreme as fiction. We require blood to
survive. Why this is I do not know per say, but it does not change the fact
it is necessary. Now, the average vampire will drink about every other day
to every 3-4 days. (Small quantities mind, not at all like whole bodies or
anything) It is a maddenly addictive thing...those with either weak will or
without care will drink as often as every day (although this is highly unrecommended
as the more frequently a vamp drinks, the more he/she loses touch with the
"human" side-who cares about people when they are nothing but dinner,
eh?) It can drive a vampire to the brink of madness and ultimately if it does
not cease, will result in dangerous behavior that gets him either in trouble
with traditional society (police) or will see him eliminated by his kind as
a danger to the community. Vampires can not afford to be lazy, lax, or stupid
in their affairs...it is not acceptable. (now, of course, should you screw
up your bills or something, well, that's your own problem, and no one but
you would care)
However, depending on the strength of the vampire, one could go up to a week
or two without becoming too uncomfortable (although maybe not the happiest
camper). It becomes an all-consuming need; a buzzing deep within one's soul
that will not go away. It clouds everything else and makes one shaky and weak
until it is answered. It is a Beast and it is controlling, but the first rule
a vampire must learn to survive is that one must always remain in control-it
can never control you.
Now, I have heard of a rare few who have gone as long as 4-5 MONTHS without,
but this is extreme and I doubt many could accomplish this. I have further
noted that in these extreme cases, the vampire tends to get depressed, perpetually
tired and sickly, as well as tends to "drain" those around him-bringing
them down as well. This seems to be completely unconscious in nature and perhaps
provides a drizzle of strength to continue.
Is it possible to stop drinking entirely? I doubt it. I have never heard
of such a thing and at that point, I imagine life would be a living hell anyway,
so why bother? To feed charges a vampire-renews them, strengthens them, simply
invigorates them and sets every nerve on fire. This, I think is where the
sexuality and sensuality of the vampire legend comes into play...there's nothing
finer than making love after (or during!) feeding...we are 1,000 times more
alive then and everything is 1,000 times more wonderful and sensitive. (that,
and I understand it's very arousing for a donor during the feeding process)
It is, however, an amazingly personal act and the donor must have great faith
in the vampire as once you start, it's damned hard to stop. Again, willpower
and control are key...it's too easy to just give in and not stop...
As for occupation, how about I give you an idea of several of my personal
vampire friends' jobs and you can go from there...computer tech, salesman,
writer, secretary, actor, artist, web designer...we do anything and everything.
Some of us are famous, some of us are not. Some of us are technical, some
of us are artistic. We can be-and are-anyone and everyone. Well, seems as
if I wrote you a novel myself...check out my Vampire
Guide 101 and Vampire
Guide 201 (myths vs. realities) for some more specific details on what
is and what is not. Let me know when you start writing-I'd like to see what
you conclude to. Please feel free to visit at any time...
Additional Questions
1. How does one become a vampire? Are you born that
way or are you "made" to become one (such as bitten)?
Personally, I was born this way. Everyone I am actually friends with were
also born this way. It comes into bloom at final maturity (ie adulthood) between
the ages of say, 18-23 or so. Generally, someone comes into your life around
that time and kinda acts as your mentor to help you get through it. It's a
difficult and awkward time...there's a lot of soul-searching and self-questioning...the
process tends to take several months of weird changes, feelings, and new emotions
and senses...
Is it possible to "make" a vampire? Yes, I do believe it is (I
have met them in passing) but I do not know the specifics...I have no interest
in doing this, so I have avoided pursuing these questions myself. I know that
it is a difficult, risky, and rarely successful process. I can tell you though,
that "turning" someone is strictly frowned on and those who are
not Born vampires are looked down on. They are also never as strong us born
vamps and tend not to last too long for one reason or another (a lot of the
problem is they tend to think too much of themselves after and want to live
the life of the films...as I said before, this is an unacceptable danger to
us all and it not tolerated)
2. Is your body human? By this I mean, can you reproduce,
do you get sick (flu), orgasms?
Oh, I get all the joys of being in flesh...we are living bodies and as such,
we are subject to all the normal afflictions...although, as a general rule,
(pending that we are well-fed) we are hardier than humans and have greater
tolerance and resistance and will heal faster. (if we are especially Hungry
or have been deprived for whatever reason, the reverse is true)
3. Are you immortal? Or can you be killed/die like
a regular human? (Car crash, plane crash, old age, heart attack)
When the plane goes crashing into the ground at 1,000mph, you can guarantee
we ain't walking away from it...like I said, we are in living bodies are are
therefore mortal. Now, given life treats us fair enough and we're well fed,
and all, we can live longer (and better) than normal.Do I mean by centuries?
No, not quite. But, you certainly could have a vampire be in their 80's who's
as fit as a 40 year old...unfortunatly, we tend to have a lot of erroneous
stresses in our lives and so we have no guarantees in life
(esp. if someone decides they have something against you)
4. Can you sense another vampire?
Oh yeah...without a doubt. We can also judge their strength and can even communicate
brief quasi-thoughts (ie: If someone wants to start something with you, you
will get a distinct "I'm calling you out" feeling. It's not words
or anything, but the gist is there) Now, if you are a very powerful vampire
(like a Born Vamp) and you run across a piddly little made vamp, you can prevent
them from knowing you are there is you are preemptive about it...otherwise,
they'll just be agape in your strength...
5. Is there any truth to the stuff you see in movies?
(long teeth, crosses, garlic, holy water, stake through the heart, can read
peoples minds)
Some natural vamps have distending fangs-but not all...and never a made vamp-and
it's not something that you can just flash at will, they come into play only
during feeding and are not actually controllable...they are just a tool like
any other. We also tend to have strong, quick-growing nails (that ALWAYS need
trimming) Holy water, crosses, insert-the-religious-item here will not work.
One of my good friends is a devout Catholic and wears a cross everyday (did
I mention she's a Natural vamp?) We do not ever turn into dust or powder-no
matter how you kill us...a wooden stake may or may not-it depends on how you
much manage to injure us-bad enough and a lack of medical care, sure, we'll
die...but it's not because it was a wooden stake-it was because you ruptured
our heart too severely to repair...mind reading and other psychic abilities
vary from vampire to vampire just as they do from human to human...as a general
rule, we are more attuned than normals but it fluctuates per vamp...
6. As far as drinking blood, it is like you see
in the movies? (biting neck)
Sure, it is possible to bite, but often times not the neck (too visible) The
inner thigh has a major artery and the area around the heart is always blood-filled...you
can cut a small wound with a sterile knife or you can even get it to go these
days. (hell, you can get it delivered to your door) Generally there are places
to go in every city and you do what you want. We can also drink animal (such
a pig which can be acquired at any butcher shop over the counter) although
it tastes like crap and isn't as effective.
7. What separates a vampire from a human? Is it
just the desire/need to drink blood?
There is of course that-and that is a VERY big thing...the mandatory and involuntary
need to drink blood on a regular basis...there is also our generally heightened
senses, our quicker regenerative powers, our increased strength, and our general
increase mental prowess, but for a lot of things in life, we are very similar...a
lot of us are boring and live really "normal" lives.
8. Are vampires located all over the world or are
there certain areas they live in (specific countries, states, cities, countryside)?
I'm not asking for a specific state, city name, etc.. Just if they are a populated
race like humans.
We are everywhere...we are of every race....we are of every background and
religion...chances are, we are in every city in the world...there are more
of us in some places than others (New Orleans, New York...big cities especially)
but you can even find us Poedunk, Idaho...
9. Are there vampires of all ages?
Almost...we don't come into our nature as I said until we are adults, so as
a general rule, there are no vampire children...
10. Is there anything that is harmful to a vampire?
(I do not wish to know specifics, a simple yes or no will do. I sure do not
want to give away any weakness.)
There is no specific weakness that vampires share like is portrayed in the
fiction...some of us are sensitive to sunlight and will get nasty burns, but
we will never burst into flames or anything....
C) 2000 Memory_and_Dream All Rights Reserved
The questions are from actual emails I have received. The answer is the actual
reply sent from me. I accept all questions on behalf of my visitors and reserve
the right to publish them for public viewing. I further reserve the right to
choose whether the question os appropriate, deserving of an answer, and the
right to edit or modify it for editorial clarity and grammatical correctness.
If you choose to write me with your questions, please know that while I will
try to answer you to the best of my knowledge, I make no promises of solving
your problems and that this is for entertainment purposes only.
If you have questions or comments on this
article, email the author below.
This article is presented as part of an ongoing
effort to present other views outside of, as well as within, the online
vampire community. As such, the views and attitudes contained in this
article are entirely those of the author(s), and may not necessarily
be shared by SphynxCatVP. The webmaster is not under obligation to update
or otherwise keep current the contents of this article. Most
importantly, only you can decide for yourself whether this article or
any of the author(s) other views are useful or applicable to you - use
your own reasoning and judgment.
|
