The “other” Side to Human Beings: Bringing out Your Inner Vampire
The “Other” Side to Human Beings: Bringing Out Your Inner Vampire
Society has always held a fixation with what it cannot understand, with which that does not comply with the laws we have developed to explain the way we believe the world works. The idea of beings greater than us, beings that escape understanding, the supernatural hold a special place of interest in our hearts and minds. The feelings of fear, awe and envy course throughout every one of us when we hear mention of these monsters, aliens, angels or any other classification known to us, simply because we do not understand them. However, one being in particular has held sway over us as human beings for the longest time, simply because we are able to relate to them the most. The vampire, immortal and powerful, quick and extremely attractive, maintains a semblance to the normal human that is almost uncanny, yet so far out of our own reach. In texts such as Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and especially so in Catherine Hardwicke’s film adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series, we see that these beings are elevated to the status of superhuman, of being able to do everything we wish we could. Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock’s Vampires, Vampires Everywhere explains this phenomenon, outlining the reason behind this fixation. We can see that a vampire is the ideal that human beings aspire to, a manifestation of our willful hopes and dreams, the epitome of what we wish our lives could be like.
Unlike zombies and mummies that are aesthetically displeasing, aliens that are often portrayed as either asexual or simply incapable of intimacy, trolls and dwarfs that are simply unappealing, the vampire is almost always portrayed as a sexual object. However, the portrayal is never one that is weak or unable to control their sexuality. Rather they impose their sexuality on others, never afraid of rejection, sure of themselves and their ability to get what they want. Weinstock’s article outlines five reasons behind this ability to impose their will on whatever, and whoever, they want. First and foremost is the fact that vampire narratives are always about sex. Weinstock argues that every story involving vampires will at some point turn to sex (Weinstock). We can see this in Stoker’s Dracula, whereupon the Count has not one, but three brides, grouped together as “the Sisters”. Furthermore, Stoker states that “two were dark, and had high aquiline noses, like the Count” (Stoker 28) extending this sexuality to not only include normal definition but incest as well. However, the vampire’s sexual prowess is not limited to only the males of the species, but the women as well. When David Harker, the Count’s guest, steps out of his room at night, and decides to walk around the castle, he is waylaid by three beautiful women. Harker exhibits an extreme attraction to these women with their “brilliant white teeth that shone like pearls against the