My Bloody Valentine

It's all about the blood. From the mutated DNA strands that bring the animal to the surface in shapeshifters to the diseased cells that create zombies, it's always coursing through our veins. Is there anything more intimate than sharing blood? Before you say "Gross!" and click away, think about it. You are literally giving your life force to another person. You are trusting someone to know how to keep you safe while they fulfill their desires, or even their needs. There is so much more to it than just preventing the spread of diseases from donor to drinker, although that's always a consideration.

Blood is most commonly associated with The Big 'V'. Vampires. We love them. We know all about them, right? The shapeshifting ones, the emo ones, the Viking, and the sparkly.

But what about vampyres? The real ones? The ones who consume blood or energy regularly? They're out there, keeping their compulsions hidden from society at large.

Blood fetishists use blood for sexual arousal. The sight of it, the taste, the smell, the feel. Bloodplay is usually kept within the confines of a 'scene'. It gets them off. It's mostly sexual, but the trust and bond cultivated between the parities is undeniable.

Sanguinarians (sang) have a need to feed on blood. They do it because it nourishes their physical being and replenishes their emotional energy. Without it, they can develop migraines, weakened immune systems, depression, and even joint pain and rages. It's a part of their nature, not some image they wear, and it's not a sex game to them. Some of these sangs have suffered these symptoms for years only to have ingesting blood provide nearly instant relief, leaving the sang relaxed or energized. Is it medical, or a psychosomatic response? Does it matter? 

There are several medical conditions which may have contributed to the myth of vampires. Porphyria can cause a sensitivity to UV light and tightening around the gums, making the teeth seem longer than normal. Garlic can exacerbate the symptoms. Noticing any vampire myths yet?

Xeroderma pigmentosum causes severe photosensitivity. Exposure to the sun can cause blistering, and sometimes even death.

Some sufferers of catalepsy, a disorder that causes muscle rigidity, may have been buried alive. When they recovered from their symptoms, they might have attempted to dig themselves out of their graves. Exhumation of these bodies found bloody hands and mouths. The traditional method of driving a stake through their hearts to kill these vampires most likely simply released gasses trapped in the abdominal cavities of these corpses, leading superstitious villagers to believe they had killed a member of the undead.

These undiagnosed, misunderstood conditions probably gave birth to the myths we see propagated by movies and books today. Is it any wonder why these vampyres prefer to stay in the coffin?

~xxx~

Vampires Are Delicious

If ever I made a list of personal weaknesses in books, vampires would make the top five. As often as I have professed to hate them/be sick of them, I love me some bloodsuckers and have more vampire books to my name than I am willing to admit.

So why do they appeal so damn much? There are numerous theories discussed, and they're interesting discussions to be sure, but when it comes right down to it, I like vampires because it's really hard not to admire something that overcame death and came back stronger than ever. They aren't zombies, who lost more than a little bit in the transition. It probably doesn't hurt that "stronger than ever" also means "hotter than ever and apparently in need of lots of sex".

Whether you go with Dracula, Lord Ruthven, Carmilla, Varney, or any of the other numerous options, they are not the sorts of creatures one wants to piss off. They're as fascinating as they are bad, that red button that says "do not push" that we all push while cackling gleefully.

These days, it's the "classier" vampire that is prevalent, creatures who are ancient, powerful, but educated and usually crazy good looking (occasionally sparkly, it's impossible anymore not to mention the sparkles). They didn't start out that way, and while they were certainly more terrifying back in the days when they were beasts that people feared enough they actually made vampire hunting kits, they certainly got a lot more fun once stories like Dracula came along.

Vampires as nobles, as educated pretty boys (and women, because Carmilla could hold her own with the pretty boys) are the more popular versions today, and have been since books like The Vampyre. We still like them scary and deadly, but vampires as hideous monsters is just never as popular as vampires with a touch of pretty, a dash of angst, and the potential that they're just misunderstand bad boys rather than out and out evil.

It's also rare to have a vampire book that does not have a powerful sexual element to the hunting/feeding. This has been a trend almost since the inception of pretty vampires, and it's rare not to find it even in small measure. But that's half the fun, if not all the fun—the feeding itself is an intimate act; it's hard not to be affected in some way when you are drinking the blood of a person, whether you intend to kill them in doing so or not. Vampires aren't just predators looking for a kill. They're attached to their prey in a wholly unique way. A little bit tricky to feed on what you used to be, what you sometimes still wish to be, depending on the angst level of the vampire involved. Bad enough to need to feed, but throw in sexy times, and you've got even more complications, and everybody loves complications.

So why do vampires rock? They overcame death to come back better than ever, they're hot, hungry, horny hunters with a unique relationship to their prey that leaves them vulnerable even as they remain predator. There's a million ways to spin the concept of a vampire and no dearth of authors willing to do so, which makes this particular addict very happy indeed.