Vampiric Literature In General

[ChreRot]

There's dozens of sites providing e-texts for both classic works but your reading pleasure...


Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla

Bram Stoker's Dracula

[winged_dreams]

I really loved Lost Souls. I still have to read Dracula. I don't really read many other vampire books at least. I do read some vampires stories online but I'm never jumping up with joy at the idea of rushing to the store to buy a book about vampires. A lot of the stories are the same thing over again. I still like writing my vampire story though. XD

I tried reading Interview with a Vampire but it didn't hold my attention or interest. I'm not sure why. I might try reading it again but I have so many other books to read.

[ExistentialDisorder]

Originally Posted by Betrothed2Death

... thoughts?? I tend to love the stuff myself... I just bought this book called the Vampire Watcher's Handbook: A Slayer's Guide and although it was a little less than I had anticipated, there still is some good information in it. I read it like a story book though since it's a bit bogus. XP
There is this one book that I really want to buy, however, called Vampire: An Encyclopedia (I think) and REALLY want it. It's SO thick and is bound to be filled with so much information. I can't wait! I love reading up on the history and origins of vampires back to Vlad the Impaler and Elisabeth Bathory. I'm not so up to thinking that there are real undead members out there but I do believe that there are psychos that think they are vampires and must survive off of blood (but don't we all know that) and also that there are certain people that are, I guess, occultists or something that do have an ability to feed off of others' energy. I think that they're referred to as Psi-Empaths or something, I don't remember.
But I still love the idea of the original Vampire.. trapped between worlds.. existing for eternity.. feeding off human blood.. shunning the light and so on.. So romantic!! *sigh* tee hee. I am, in the process of writing my own Vampire novel. It is quite fun.

~Gaia<3

If it's the Vampire Encyclopedia that I think it is, save your money. That is, if you're looking for accurate information on the vampire legend. That giant encyclopedia deals primarily with vampires in film and fiction, and goes more into the depths of the histories and motives of the actors that portrayed vampire roles than it ever does in discussing the concept of the vampire itself.

For a bit more interesting and informative read on vampires, check out Konstantinos book titled simply, "Vampires". He deals a good bit with the legends and histories of vampires from various parts of the world. There are several other books you could look for in the non-fiction section that give plenty of info on vampires.

The concept has fascinated me since my early teens, so i've spent a lot of time over the years researching the legends from various parts of the world. As for the fiction aspect of it, it's rare to find a well-written vampire story, from most any time period. Even now most vampire fiction uses dracula as the base model and builds some clich'e story around that. I've never really liked the stories that have the vampires turning into bats, mist or wolves, and i really think it's rather silly to suggest a human could hunt and stake them in the daylight, or cut off their heads while they sleep.

My concept of the vampire is that it's not so much a monster but more of a superior being, transformed from what was once human into something much greater. which means, logically speaking, humans would be quite inferior and therefore pose no more threat to a vampire than an ant would to a human.

Frustrated with the utter lack of finding any real good, original works of vampire fiction, i started writing my own, using ideas of what i would like to read myself. i've spent years developing the plot and making sure that in the grand picture, everything makes sense in the end. Though I haven't exactly reinvented the vampire, i've upgraded him, giving him purpose and a real, compelling backstory that incorporates a whole lot of research and history. for the mechanics of the vampire body, i've tried my best to use logic and scientific explanation as to what makes it what it is, to the point that i've written numerous pages of notes to myself about what makes up the chemistry of a vampire's inner workings. And I've done the same for the plot. I have something close to 300 pages of notes just on the plot - typed pages on the pc that is, as i don't write anything by hand. I'm most certain that what I've developed is unique to the vampire genre, as I've taken my time with it and try my best not to do anything that's already been done a hundred times before.

[angel011]

I like your ideas about vampires, ExistentialDisorder. I think that an intelligent human could find a way to be a threat to a vampire, though.

I've never seen vampires as monsters. Yes, they can be dangerous, since they're so strong and they feed on human blood, but they're monsters as much as tigers are monsters. And vampires tend to be much smarter than tigers; socializing with vampires could prove quite interesting.

[ExistentialDisorder]

Originally Posted by angel011

I like your ideas about vampires, ExistentialDisorder. I think that an intelligent human could find a way to be a threat to a vampire, though.

I've never seen vampires as monsters. Yes, they can be dangerous, since they're so strong and they feed on human blood, but they're monsters as much as tigers are monsters. And vampires tend to be much smarter than tigers; socializing with vampires could prove quite interesting.

Thanks angel.

Gifted humans, perhaps. At least to mine. Every character has to have a weakness, in order to make for a good story. My vampires have plenty of them. Every day average humans just aren't one of them. Even tho I'm a Buffy fan (which I use to loathe her), I've never much liked the concept of vampire hunters like Van Helsing, or buffy. even if they are granted special hunter powers. but the 'buffy vamp' isn't the same kind of vamp. i just thought of them as another demon, to get through the show. Mainly because the concept of a hunter never seemed logical to me. Afterall, if a vampire can read your thoughts as quickly as you can think them, and as clearly as though you were speaking right in his ear, how could you possibly outsmart him? And if he's stupid enough to take shelter from daylight in a vulnerable area, then he deserves to burn. When you're given the strength of 10 men and the swiftness to move with the wind, you should be smart enough to use it to your advantage, especially in a situation like shelter. go where you can't be found or easily reached.

[angel011]

I guess the idea is that, because of their supernatural strength and speed, vampires tend to be arrogant and to believe themselves invulnerable.

If a vampire can read your thoughts, outsmarting him would be quite a challenge, I agree (I don't believe in impossible). But in some versions vampires can't read thoughts, just moods and, because of centuries-long experience, body language. They can cloud minds of humans, but it's not the same as knowing what exactly the humans were thinking.

[winged_dreams]

I have a vampire story that I'm writing. The idea about vampires that I came up with was because of the rest of the story. I needed an excuse for a relationship to form between two characters and for the girl to accidently become a vampire. This was a story that I had rewritten the beginning to a couple of times but I'm happy with it now.

My take on vampires (for this story at least): there could be a scientific explaination for vampires but they don't really care. A vampire must stay with his fledging for about a dozen years or so (short amount of time to a vampire) to help him control his powers. Otherwise the fledging's new found powers will overwhelm him or her and that person will become a renegade and kill a lot of people. Vampires must stay with their fledgings to protect them since the fledglings are weak so vampire hunters could kill easily enough. Their powers grow with time (common enough concept). And very few vampires are made.

I don't know how original is it (probably not) but I like it and it allows me to form a relationship between the two main characters. I had about 30 pages of good plot written and I needed a beginning to get to that point. XD

I like the idea of vampires as being better humans. No wonder humans would hate vampires so much. I would be willing to read your story if you ever decide to share.

[ExistentialDisorder]

Originally Posted by angel011

I guess the idea is that, because of their supernatural strength and speed, vampires tend to be arrogant and to believe themselves invulnerable.

If a vampire can read your thoughts, outsmarting him would be quite a challenge, I agree (I don't believe in impossible). But in some versions vampires can't read thoughts, just moods and, because of centuries-long experience, body language. They can cloud minds of humans, but it's not the same as knowing what exactly the humans were thinking.

In that case then yes, of course they'd be vulnerable to humans. makes sense. I was just referring to my own version of the vampire. it's what i've developed over the years, picking parts from others and using them, then enhancing some aspects while limiting others. as for arrogance, that fits too. i guess even the most powerful creature can be vulnerable to just about anything if it lets arrogance get in the way.

Winged - I like the sound of your story. i don't see anything wrong with using the story plot to help develop characteristics. it can be helpful. that's pretty much what i've done. i wanted to avoid the 'accidental embrace' tho. for mine it almost always has to be a deliberate thing. i've never liked the idea of being bitten once or three times and you're a vampire. but i've also thought that even a deliberate exchange of blood is a bit too easy, so i figure it has to be a cycle, like a dialysis machine. but it's different for everybody. some may take hours while others take days, and occasionally it might kill.

your vampire 'template' sounds similar to mine. based on the ricean style vampire, i'm guessing? i chose hers because they seem the most romantic and human. there is this idea that people relate to and feel the most compassion for characters that seem the most human to them. it's mostly a subconscious thing. but i've also been trying to incorporate the idea of different races or breeds, each with their own set of strengths and weaknesses, but all of them originating from the same source, way back when... the idea is somewhat borrowed from masquarade, but i've used different legends to build the various breeds, and they didn't come from Kane.

I don't mind sharing, if you're interested. I just would like to have more to share. so much of it is in notes right now, and the scenes i've written are more like sketches, in desperate need of fleshing out and detailing. i never write from beginning to end. always jumping around, working on parts that i'm most interested in at the moment. then later i can go back and connect them. it works best for me. trying to write something from start to finish has always seemed too stiff to me.

[winged_dreams]

Originally Posted by ExistentialDisorder

your vampire 'template' sounds similar to mine. based on the ricean style vampire, i'm guessing? i chose hers because they seem the most romantic and human. there is this idea that people relate to and feel the most compassion for characters that seem the most human to them. it's mostly a subconscious thing. but i've also been trying to incorporate the idea of different races or breeds, each with their own set of strengths and weaknesses, but all of them originating from the same source, way back when... the idea is somewhat borrowed from masquarade, but i've used different legends to build the various breeds, and they didn't come from Kane.

I don't mind sharing, if you're interested. I just would like to have more to share. so much of it is in notes right now, and the scenes i've written are more like sketches, in desperate need of fleshing out and detailing. i never write from beginning to end. always jumping around, working on parts that i'm most interested in at the moment. then later i can go back and connect them. it works best for me. trying to write something from start to finish has always seemed too stiff to me.

Actually I never read an Anne Rice vampire novel so I'm not trying to base it off of her vampires. I've read one book of hers and it was the Mayfair Witches. I assumed you were talking to me. I don't mind reading notes. XD Good luck getting it all into one story.

[ExistentialDisorder]

Cool, Winged. I didn't know you hadn't read anne rice. you should try reading the first 3 books in her vampire series. after that they all start becoming rehashed crap, with a few interesting bits here and there. but the first 3 were the best. actually memnoch the devil was pretty good, and a good bit of merrick was interesting. she started combining her witches and her vampires around that point.

anyway, so as not to fill the thread with stuff other people here might not want to read about, maybe you should pm me and we could share notes. i've been thinking about finding a sort of critique group that would be interested in reading my stuff and giving feedback on it. but that sort of thing can get tricky if you don't really know whose reading it.

have you posted any of your vampire story on your website?

[angel011]

ExistentialDisorder, have you read any of Hamilton's books? Her concept of vampires might be interesting to you.

[PinstripesAndPithHelmets]

I seem to be in the minority here, as I prefer vampire stories to be presented from the human side of the conflict. I don't find vampirism romantic in the least, which is probably why I was never able to reconcile myself with an Anne Rice vision of the vampire mythos. I detest the idea that a vampire should be nearly invulnerable to ordinary humans. I mean, we, collectively as a race, have enough nuclear firepower to scourge all life - and un-life, as it were - from the face of this planet. I'm sure that someone, somewhere, would be able to concoct a whacky scheme or build a weapon that would be capable of taking down a vampire.

I also take issue with the idea of massive, intricate, vampiric social networks. I know nitpicking realism about a vampire novel is silly, as most of you are probably thinking "Hey asshole, vampires are fiction. Open your mind.", but if each vampire needs to feed on a human following a regular pattern, and there were really hundreds of them congregating in any given metropolitan area, the murder rates in these hypothetical cities would be ASTRONOMICAL. There would be no possible way to hide that sort of carnage. It would be bordering on a state of emergency, especially in modern times with communication being nearly instantaneous. Again, I have to believe that humanity would be able to detect and, eventually, extirpate the menace to itself.

As for the vampire fiction I enjoy, Dracula would have to top my list. Richard Metheson's novel "I Am Legend" was also, in my opinion, a fabulous read. It dealt terrifically well with the issue of a scientific explanation for vampirism. Another, rather offbeat, look at vampires comes in H.P. Lovecraft's short story "The Shunned House". It has a wonderfully strange take on the vampire mythos, and can be read rather quickly. I highly reccomend all three to anyone interested in vampire themed fiction, with a special emphasis being placed on Dracula. I belive that Bram Stoker's novel should be read by all who enjoy vampire stories, as it is, after all, the grand daddy of all modern vampire tales. Regarding film, I would say that watching Nosferatu is a must, and should then be closely followed by Shadow Of The Vampire.

[angel011]

I also take issue with the idea of massive, intricate, vampiric social networks. I know nitpicking realism about a vampire novel is silly, as most of you are probably thinking "Hey asshole, vampires are fiction. Open your mind.", but if each vampire needs to feed on a human following a regular pattern, and there were really hundreds of them congregating in any given metropolitan area, the murder rates in these hypothetical cities would be ASTRONOMICAL. There would be no possible way to hide that sort of carnage. It would be bordering on a state of emergency, especially in modern times with communication being nearly instantaneous. Again, I have to believe that humanity would be able to detect and, eventually, extirpate the menace to itself.

That is why an intelligent writer would create a vampire who doesn't need so much blood that draining a human to death would be necessary. So a vampire takes some blood and makes the human forget the entire thing, or finds a willing donor. No murders.

[succubus,queenofvampires]

Originally Posted by ExistentialDisorder

The concept has fascinated me since my early teens, so i've spent a lot of time over the years researching the legends from various parts of the world. As for the fiction aspect of it, it's rare to find a well-written vampire story, from most any time period. Even now most vampire fiction uses dracula as the base model and builds some clich'e story around that. I've never really liked the stories that have the vampires turning into bats, mist or wolves, and i really think it's rather silly to suggest a human could hunt and stake them in the daylight, or cut off their heads while they sleep.

My concept of the vampire is that it's not so much a monster but more of a superior being, transformed from what was once human into something much greater. which means, logically speaking, humans would be quite inferior and therefore pose no more threat to a vampire than an ant would to a human.

Frustrated with the utter lack of finding any real good, original works of vampire fiction, i started writing my own, using ideas of what i would like to read myself. i've spent years developing the plot and making sure that in the grand picture, everything makes sense in the end. Though I haven't exactly reinvented the vampire, i've upgraded him, giving him purpose and a real, compelling backstory that incorporates a whole lot of research and history. for the mechanics of the vampire body, i've tried my best to use logic and scientific explanation as to what makes it what it is, to the point that i've written numerous pages of notes to myself about what makes up the chemistry of a vampire's inner workings. And I've done the same for the plot. I have something close to 300 pages of notes just on the plot - typed pages on the pc that is, as i don't write anything by hand. I'm most certain that what I've developed is unique to the vampire genre, as I've taken my time with it and try my best not to do anything that's already been done a hundred times before.

I really like your ideas, ED. I would definitely buy your book if it got published!

[ExistentialDisorder]

Originally Posted by PinstripesAndPithHelmets

I seem to be in the minority here, as I prefer vampire stories to be presented from the human side of the conflict. I don't find vampirism romantic in the least, which is probably why I was never able to reconcile myself with an Anne Rice vision of the vampire mythos. I detest the idea that a vampire should be nearly invulnerable to ordinary humans. I mean, we, collectively as a race, have enough nuclear firepower to scourge all life - and un-life, as it were - from the face of this planet. I'm sure that someone, somewhere, would be able to concoct a whacky scheme or build a weapon that would be capable of taking down a vampire.

I also take issue with the idea of massive, intricate, vampiric social networks. I know nitpicking realism about a vampire novel is silly, as most of you are probably thinking "Hey asshole, vampires are fiction. Open your mind.", but if each vampire needs to feed on a human following a regular pattern, and there were really hundreds of them congregating in any given metropolitan area, the murder rates in these hypothetical cities would be ASTRONOMICAL. There would be no possible way to hide that sort of carnage. It would be bordering on a state of emergency, especially in modern times with communication being nearly instantaneous. Again, I have to believe that humanity would be able to detect and, eventually, extirpate the menace to itself.

As for the vampire fiction I enjoy, Dracula would have to top my list. Richard Metheson's novel "I Am Legend" was also, in my opinion, a fabulous read. It dealt terrifically well with the issue of a scientific explanation for vampirism. Another, rather offbeat, look at vampires comes in H.P. Lovecraft's short story "The Shunned House". It has a wonderfully strange take on the vampire mythos, and can be read rather quickly. I highly reccomend all three to anyone interested in vampire themed fiction, with a special emphasis being placed on Dracula. I belive that Bram Stoker's novel should be read by all who enjoy vampire stories, as it is, after all, the grand daddy of all modern vampire tales. Regarding film, I would say that watching Nosferatu is a must, and should then be closely followed by Shadow Of The Vampire.

I like your argument. well, argument for lack of a better term. Nitpicking it isn't so silly. I do it myself because I try to make my writing as believable to the reader as possible. Yes it's fiction, but the more realistic details you incorporate, the more "it could happen" thoughts will grow in the reader's mind, connecting them more to the story.

The dracula version of the vampire has its interesting aspects, but he's more of a demon than a human, and usually serves as the nemesis to the human hero. I guess I'm just drawn more to the anti-hero. The one that's neither wholy good nor evil, that finds conflict in himself and others. Why should the human always win? that's rather boring, especially since it's been done to death. When you think in terms of a food chain, what makes humans any better than vampires? Humans feed on cattle and other livestock. Vampires feed on humans. by basic definition, humans are vampires too. they prey on that which is weaker than or inferior to them in order to sustain themselves.

There's an old comic book that got its start around the early 90's called Rune, about a vampire that came from another planet. I don't remember all the details, but he'd lived for so long and drained his world of all its life. course, i don't think he was the only one responsible. but from what I remember his planet exploded and he was sent like a meteor to earth. A bit far-fetched, but that's one example of a vampire surviving something as great, if not moreso, than a nuclear explosion.

I don't specifically know of any books that use a massive vampire social network per say, though I'm sure they're out there. I've just never read any. I think Lumley's Necroscope series had something to do with a large network like that, but i could be wrong. i started reading the first book years ago and lost interest. I think there was a rather significant vampire population in the Blade trilogy, that had their own sort of society, or at least it seemed to be. But even then, in similar films, since the vampire is typically considered 'evil', (which really isn't much more than a point of view), there's conflict in the vampire society too, usually one trying to dominate the rest to gain even more power.

Most of the books I've read deal with small circles of vampires, usually existing in one large area, or spread out through various large metropolitan areas around the world. Of course if there are hundreds or thousands of them preying on one city, even a city as large as say New York or Los Angeles, evidence would be pretty obvious fairly quickly, and would bring a threat to their population. Most vampires i've read about are territorial tho, and even the romanticised, more human vampires tend to stay clear of one another's hunting grounds, out of both respect for each other (especially if they're somehow related), and to avoid conflict and discovery. Even Rice's vampires never numbered very high. Especially after the queen went on her rampage, i think there were less than two dozen left alive in the entire world. hardly noticeable to any government agencies.

winged_dreams noted how her vampires tend to stay with their masters for a while in order to learn self-control durring the hunt and prevent a lot of killing. That's one of the reasons why I mentioned her ideas are similar to mine. And as Angel pointed out, a vampire doesn't have to kill every victim. He or she could drain one person to the point of death, and leave a trail of bodies all the way back to his crypt, or he could take a few small drinks from a dozen people and no one would ever be the wiser. each 'donor' just feeling a bit light-headed or dazed for a little while. maybe they didn't sleep well, or drank too much at that party the night before.

Plus think about it in volume. Have you ever drank 8 pints of water, or anything else for that matter, in less than 5 minutes? I don't think it'd be very comfortable. Actually, think in terms of 8 pints of milk instead of water, since milk would be a similar consistency to blood. Or juice.

But let's suppose you do have a handful of vamps all living and feeding on a population like new york. how many thousands of people go missing every year from all over the country? How many of them are ever found? There's about 10 million people living in Los Angeles, 18 million in New York. And that's just two cities. Quite a buffet for 3 or 4, or even a dozen, vampires to share without much risk of being discovered, don't you think?
I wanted to incorporate my own ideas about the history of religion and the world and tell it through the vantage point of one character that's witnessed all of it through the passing of time. All the world, in its various stages of life and death. since i was already inclined to the vampire, i figured what better character to use to tell that story?

[PinstripesAndPithHelmets]

All very well said ED. I must admit, I haven't read much modern fiction on the subject. I tried to read an Anne Rice novel and it just wasn't my cup of tea. It's all a matter of opinion really. That's the beauty of fiction, I suppose. If someone doesn't like what they find in a genre, they can simply wait a bit until something new comes along or a new perspective is brought to an old theme.

I guess you could say that I'm a "humanist", if such a thing were to really exist. I usually root for the humans in any given storyline; The terrans in Starcraft, the marines in Aliens, Harker and Co. in Dracula, etc. I think that the idea of using human tenacity and clever trickery to defeat a terrifying and physically superior enemy appeals to me. But that's only my opinion. I even idolized the guy from Doom. When the game first came out I was eight or nine and became totally mesmerized by the idea that a human could go to hell with a shotgun and a chainsaw and totally wreck shop. Without saying a word, no less. Just don't ask me why there were medical supplies and munitions scattered throughout the bowels of the underworld, because I simply can't say. I'll just end up repeating the mantra "Hey, it's only fiction!"

In the end, I just hope that no one took offense to my views. I doubt it, since I was only expressing my likes and dislikes on a certain branch of fiction, but even so I don't wish to engage in an arguement with anyone. My hat is off to anyone who writes vampire fiction, or any other kind, for that matter, and I wish them the best of luck. Maybe someone could write a novel about a reticent space marine who stumbles upon a nest of evil (or not-so-evil, depending on your perspective) vampires. My money's on the guy with the BFG, but hey, in fiction it's anyone's game.

[Circle V]

Humanism is a philosophy that became prominent in the Enlightenment, Pinstripes.

I don't like it when vampires, instead of being tragic monsters, become the equivalent of hot Goths with superiority complexes and a few mental problems.

[PinstripesAndPithHelmets]

Indeed, although I was under the impression that Humanism came into its own during the Reformation. In any event, I suppose "humanist" was a poor word to use. What I should have said would be something akin to "Specist favoring Homo sapien sapien".

[ExistentialDisorder]

Originally Posted by PinstripesAndPithHelmets

In the end, I just hope that no one took offense to my views. I doubt it, since I was only expressing my likes and dislikes on a certain branch of fiction, but even so I don't wish to engage in an arguement with anyone. My hat is off to anyone who writes vampire fiction, or any other kind, for that matter, and I wish them the best of luck. Maybe someone could write a novel about a reticent space marine who stumbles upon a nest of evil (or not-so-evil, depending on your perspective) vampires. My money's on the guy with the BFG, but hey, in fiction it's anyone's game.

I didn't intend to imply hostility with my use of the word 'argument' by any means. and of course your views don't offend. it's all a matter of preference. there's valid points on all sides. i just think it's fascinating. that "humanist" approach is what a lot of writers target in their audience, to tap the deepest sympathy for the hero. i think it takes a lot of skill to be able to turn the audience against the human and have them rooting more for what would traditionally be the anti-human adversary.

It's funny. I didn't know Doom took place in hell. why is it that all our "demons" have to come from hell? Dracula became what he became because he denounced god. so that automatically makes him evil? dang, talk about propaganda.

For vampires in space, it's already been done, a few times. Check out the movie Event Horizon. Not really vampires, but it's pretty much insinuated. Vampiric entities more or less. and there's another one, that I can't remember the name of right now. I'm most possitive it had a sequel. All I can really remember is at the end there was a beam of light lifting all the souls of the victims up into space, or heaven, where ever it was they were going. I think it took place mostly onboard a space ship of some sort. It's been too many years since I've seen it tho. And I'm sure there are several others.

[angel011]

It's funny. I didn't know Doom took place in hell. why is it that all our "demons" have to come from hell? Dracula became what he became because he denounced god. so that automatically makes him evil? dang, talk about propaganda.

Well, where else would the demons come from? Hell is the most evil place, it's where evil comes from, and since demons are evil... Etc, etc.

The funny thing is, I've never seen Dracula as evil. I've seen him for the first time in one of the old movies (I was eight or nine at the time, so i don't remeber which version exactly it was), and he didn't seem evil to me, just different. His question "Human blood or chicken, what's the difference?" sounded very reasonable to me. I was very glad at the end of the movie, when Dracula escaped.

And even those evil demons... They seem more like interesting creatures (people?) to me, than someone to hate.

I guess i'm weird.

[PinstripesAndPithHelmets]

Originally Posted by ExistentialDisorder

I didn't intend to imply hostility with my use of the word 'argument' by any means. and of course your views don't offend. it's all a matter of preference. there's valid points on all sides. i just think it's fascinating. that "humanist" approach is what a lot of writers target in their audience, to tap the deepest sympathy for the hero. i think it takes a lot of skill to be able to turn the audience against the human and have them rooting more for what would traditionally be the anti-human adversary.

I'm glad to hear that I haven't made anyone's shitlist. I do agree with you about the issue of writers attempting to garner sympathy for the humans in their tale, especially older stories. It does indeed take a great deal of skill on the part of the writer to break conventions and have the vampire be a hero, or at least an anti-hero in the position of a main character. Still, I find more and more that writers are using the traditional "bad guy" antagonists as main characters for their stories. I guess I just decry the loss of a certain literary simplicity. Good and Evil are starting to be replaced with something more ambiguous, and Black and white are rapidly fading into a mix of grey. I miss the old idea that "Vampires are monsters. Monsters bad, humans good. Come gentleman, let us drive a stake through the heart of the beast and then celebrate with a decanter of port." I know that's a rather selfish viewpoint, not wanting things to change from the 19th Century and all, but I can't help it. That's not to say that I like the hero of a story to be squeaky clean and dressed in a white tophat and tailcoat, however. I do enjoy it when the hero is flawed by vice. It makes it easier to identify with a character if he or she drinks and smokes and is prey to their own carnal lust, rather than a chaste and virtuous choirboy. Probably because I suffer (or enjoy, if I'm going to be honest) similar vices and character flaws.

In the end, however, I must blame much of my current "Specist" feeling on the movie Underworld. Kate Beckinsale in a corset? Good idea. The rest of the movie? Utter schlock. It made me want to drive a stake through my own heart. I think that's when I decided that I prefered more traditional vampire tales. Blade didn't really help my opinion of the Neo-Vampire story, but it was Underworld that drove the final nail into the coffin. The only movie with supernatural protagonists that I really liked was Nightwatch. It's a Russian film, and is mostly subtitled, but if you can put up with that it's worth a look.

[angel011]

Yay Nightwatch! I loved it.

[Teh_Emi]

I haven't really been able to find any Vampire novels. My parents and grandmother think that I'll get into a cult of some kind. Ehhh. o_O;;;

From what I HAVE read, I like reading about Vampires as a version of 'better' humans. More intelligent, more stamina and strength, etc, etc. I get a better feel of the story that way.

[Sobeh]

I prefer my vampire novels to explore the interesting field of a human mind with immortality paired with the fact of needing to end other human life prematurely to maintain it. This is the only kind of vampirism that involves any existential themes, so far as I've found.

[winged_dreams]

I've heard about Nightwatch. Never seen it though.

Ok, vampires still have human shapes. They still have stomachs and organs about the same size or at least I think they would. This is my take on vampires or at least part of it. It would be impossible for a vampire to drink all the blood of a human if the stomach was the only place it would go to. The stomach isn't that big. They would get sick or throw up the blood. And I like to say that dead blood isn't as tasty as real blood.

There aren't many vampires left in the world. Back in the day, vampires could rule by fear but the religious crusades came. Everyone was in a fever and they wan't to destroy any unholy creatures, vampires included. The vampires didn't keep their identity too much of a secret since they had nothing to fear. Many a vampire was killed during the religious crusades and they had to go underground in a sense. They didn't want to attract much attention so they had to change their ways. Humans weren't attacked needlessly, very few were killed, and very few vampires were made. Therefore vampires aren't overrunning any cities nor are there massive unexplained deaths. That's basically part of the history for my vampires in the one story I'm working on.