The World Is A Vampire

     When you think about it, there's something of a vampire in all of us. And rather than an undead monster that stalks the night for human prey, I'm referring to a dark, more primitive part of our nature that seeks to exploit others, to "drain" them of their vitality in order to take it for ourselves.

     Victorian literature saw an onslaught of gothic fiction, sensational stories of strange horror its readers had never come across before. And the monsters that continue to spook us today have lingered for years because of the many complicated, often inexplicable feelings they can evoke. Vampires, among other creatures of the gothic night, are sensual as they are dangerous and became so popular in part because they were the sexiest things you could read about at the time. Even though Dracula is a monster in every sense, he still has gravitating seduction powers that enable him to prey upon young girls and bring them over to the dark side. Symbolically, we're talking about an exotic older man who seduces innocent virgins and corrupts them, transforming them into creatures their rightful suitors can't peruse themselves. And so, Dracula is destroyed by a band of young, red-blooded Englishmen, the perfect foils for his otherworldliness.

     Vampires choose their living victims, drain their blood, and either leave them for dead or turn them into their undead fledglings. Every day humans, in turn, often prey upon each other in such a manner. Blood is a natural symbol for life, which doesn't have to be literal in and of itself. "Life" can simply mean virility and energy. Therefore, anyone can be a symbolic vampire rather than a murderous beast. Anyone can engage themselves in toxic relationships with "vampires." Now I'm referring to any relationship in which one participate is only engaging with the other in order to take something, which can be a physical, emotional, or even psychological.

     People will always be selfish, and this can sometimes even be helpful. But to exploit someone in order to rob them of something you don't have is an altogether darker thing, which is why monster stories from hundreds of years ago can still resonate with the modern reader.