Vampires

Vampires
Vampires; the Undead
Although vampires are recognized to be deadly creatures and their
existence is controversial, evidence substantiates that they do indeed
exist. The teachings and the records of the past give enough proof for
sane people. Horrible things happen today, due to vampire activity.
Humans are instinctively fearful of the truth, fortune and of death; but
human fear of the fact that some incidences are actually caused by vampires
leads man to ignore the problem and thus make himself believe that
vampires do not exist. Ignoring the problem only increases its severity.
The number of vampires is probably multiplying. Vampires would most likely
one day rise against humanity, to avenge their long dead ancestors, and
turn the human population into a vampire one. People need to be aware of
the problem, and educated about vampires, maybe even taught about them in
school, so that humans can destroy the legions of the undead and live in
peace.
If the issue of vampires' existence is to be discussed, then the exact
meaning of the word vampire should be clarified. Webster's New Collegiate
Dictionary defines a vampire as "a bloodsucking ghost or reanimated body
of a dead person believed to come out from the grave and wander about by
night sucking the blood of persons asleep" (qtd. in Baumann 5). This
statement is also supported by the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of
Current English and Encyclopedia International (950; 6). Dictionaries and
encyclopedias usually give limited information, but in this case they
actually gave an incorrect definition. Firstly, vampires are not
"believed..." to be, but their existence has been proven. Secondly, they
do not just suck "the blood of persons asleep" but also of those who are
awake. In short, the word vampire is applied to a dead and buried person
who rises out of the grave every night except Friday, and goes about
stealthily sucking the blood of whoever is available (Crow 252). Kipling
was absolutely correct in writing that "Some of him lived but the most of
him died" (201).
Vampires have certain physical characteristics that distinguishe them
from humans. Generally, vampires are pale and skinny (Baumann 7). The
most widely known universal characteristic would be the fangs. Right
before the bloody encounter, the vampire uses its piercing eyes to
hypnotize its prey (Baumann 7). The vampire plunges these two, long, sharp
teeth into the jugular vein and sucks the blood from its victims (Baumann
7). It is well known that vampires cast no shadow nor a reflection in the
mirror (Stoker 245). A vampire can transform himself into a wolf (Stoker 245). Vampires can
also take the form of a bat to gain entry into a victim's house; It would
resume its normal form once inside (Baumann 7). Vampires, on certain
occasions, can also be seen as phantoms (Crow 252). Vampires are not
always spotted right away; but because of these morphological differences
between humans and vampires, it can be made.
Vampires have powers, but they can not always do as they wish because
their power is limited. A vampire will remain undead, as long as it feasts
on the blood of the living and is not killed (Stoker 245). A vampire can
not die like a human by the mere passing of time and the growing of age
because he can grow younger (Stoker 245). People who have died by the
hands of a vampire are at his command (Stoker 243).
A vampire "...can direct the elements: the storm, the fog, the thunder;
he can command all the meaner things: the rat, and the owl, and the bat
and the fox, and the wolf..." (Stoker 243). A vampire possesses strength
so overwhelming that it is estimated to be the equivalent of twenty people
(Stoker 243). A vampire can transform himself into a wolf, can come in
mist, can slip through hair breadth space, can see in the dark, and he can
come on moonlight rays as elemental dust (Stoker 245). A vampire can only
enter a house at first if invited, he can then come as he pleases (Stoker
246). A vampire is powerless in daytime (Stoker 246). If the undead
creature is not in its coffin, it can only transform itself at sunrise,
noon, or sunset (Stoker 246). A vampire can only pass running water at the
slack or the flood of the tide (Stoker 246). Garlic and a crucifix make a
vampire powerless (Stoker 246). A vampire with all its power still has to
abide by some of nature's laws.
No one is born a vampire; yet, one can become a vampire if certain
conditions are met. According to legend, when a werewolf dies, it
immediately becomes a vampire (Baumann 7). Priests proclaim that people
who commit serious sins leave their graves at night because their souls can
find no peace (Baumann 7). A person can be buried for months, even years
before leaving the grave (Baumann 8). People excommunicated by the church
are also liable to become vampires; so are people cursed by their parents,
and wizards, and people who commit suicide (Baumann 5). But horribly
enough, some people became vampires solely by having their blood sucked,
during life, by another vampire (Crow 252). Even after death a person can
become a vampire, that is if an animal jumps over the corpse or if a bird
flies over it (Crow 252). These undead or living corpses are doomed to
live as vampires until they could be destroyed. Certain procedures have to be employed if one desires to keep
vampires away and ensure safety from them. The most common method is
placing garlic in front of all doors and windows (Baumann 8). A person
wearing a crucifix or rosary is also supposed to be safe, so is someone
standing in a circle of holy water or salt (Baumann 8, 76). If a vessel of
holy water is thrown onto a vampire,it would be burned and scarred (Baumann
8). The same result would be achieved using Holy Wafer (Stoker 302). It
is said that placing a wild rose over a vampire's coffin would prevent him
from leaving it (Stoker 246). For people living in fear of vampires, it is
reassuring to know that they can protect themselves from them.
The best news is that vampires can be killed, but they simply do not
die as easily as a normal human. As a human dies and turns into a vampire,
it is as if it has just been born again, but as a vampire this time who has
been baptized with blood. Morning is when vampires are usually found in
their coffins; they must be killed immediately before they recruit some
more troops. There are many ways to kill a vampire such as driving a large
nail across the head, through the temples, driving a stake through the
heart, or cutting the head off or burning the whole body (Crow 252). If
the coffin is found empty, usually at nighttime, a crucifix is placed in
the grave so the vampire will not be able to get back into it; then when
the sun rises, and its rays will transform the vampire into a shapeless
pile of dust (Baumann 3). A vampire can also die if a sacred bullet is
fired into the coffin (Stoker 246). Vampires will live on and on, feasting
on the blood of the living, unless one of the mentioned anti-vampire
remedies is used. Dracula, often assumed to be a vampire, did exist; sixty years after
the publishing of Dracula, his identity has been firmly established
(Baumann 10-11). Dracula means "son of the dragon" or "son of the devil"
(Baumann 13). If it had not been for Bram Stoker, the real Dracula would
very likely have been lost to history (Baumann 13). Dracula's childhood
may explain why he "...was one of the cruelest and most barbaric rulers in
recorded history"
(Baumann 13). At eight, Dracula was imprisoned by the Turks for four years
and, as a result, he became eager for revenge (Baumann 16). Dracula was
released from prison and he ruled Walachia (Baumann 16). On one occasion,
three hundred Tartar soldiers entered Walachia; Dracula had several of
them fried in oil, made their companions eat them and he told them that
they would continue eating each other if they do not agree to fight the
Turks with him (Baumann 18). He got into more trouble with the Turks than
he could handle and fled to Hungary, but there he spent seventeen years in
prison (Baumann 18). Even though Dracula was imprisoned, he still had to
see blood flow. Guards brought him creatures and the Russian ambassador to
the Court of King Matthias (the king of Hungary) reported that: "Dracula
particularly enjoyed plucking all the feathers off chickens. He would
watch in fascination as they ran around his cell in wild circles. When the
novelty of that finally wore off, hewould slit their throats (Baumann 19)."
Dracula's long years in prison were not entirely unpleasant; the sister of
the King liked him and as a result, he was given special treatment by the
guards (Baumann 19). He ate and drank well, and he spent much of his time
in the palace because the King enjoyed showing him off to his visitors
(Baumann 19). Dracula married the Princess when he was released from
prison (Baumann 19). Dracula was killed on the field of battle by
anonymous assassin(s), who cut off his head and sent it to the Turkish
Sultan in Constantinople; it was openly displayed on a stake (Baumann 19).
"He spilled the blood of thousands of people, but he never drank any of
it. Contrary to common to popular belief the real Dracula was not a
vampire" (Baumann 13).
Although Dracula was not a vampire, the existence of vampires has
been proven. Men centuries ago signed statements saying that Arnold Paole
became a vampire because he was bitten by one during his lifetime in 1727
(Baumann 46). Within months after Arnold's death, a number of villagers
claimed that they have been haunted by him and his nightly visits left them
weak; some of them died soon afterward (Baumann 48). A party was sent to
destroy the vampire; when the grave was found and opened, Arnold's eyes
were wide open and blood stained his lips, he looked as if he died recently
(Baumann 49). As a stake was driven through Arnold's heart, the corpse
shrieked (Baumann 52). The same was done to the people who died because of
him and no more attacks were reported (Baumann 52-53). Many similar
stories are told, including ones about the Vampire of Croglin Grange and
the Vampire Shoemaker (Baumann 61-68; 32-39). For people living in the
eighteenth century, there was proven evidence of the existence of vampires. One might wonder why there is no evidence of
vampire activity today,
there is! Highgate Cemetery is an unkept and a rather frightening place in
London, England (Baumann 69). An epidemic of ghost sightings began in 1967
and still continues; there is evidence that at least one of the ghosts is
a vampire (Baumann 70). Dead foxes and rabbits were found in the Cemetery;
they had wounds around their throats and their bodies have been completely
drained of blood (Baumann 70). Manchester, President of the British Occult
Society, personally investigated the matter and found that the most
accurate description of the phantom came from a man who had been attacked
one night while walking in the Cemetery (Baumann 73). Elizabeth Wojdyla
had the symptoms of a vampire victim and contacted Manchester; she bore
the "mark of the vampire" on the side of her neck (Baumann 74-75). On
several occasions, Elizabeth went into a trance and sleptwalk to the
northgate of the Cemetery and then came back (Baumann 76). She was
attacked several times by the vampire and desperate measures were taken to
prevent further attacks (Baumann 76). The attacks stopped, which indicates
that "the ancient anti-vampire remedies still worked in the twentieth
century" (Baumann 77). The vampire, unfortunately, found another victim
"Lucy", who refuses to reveal her real name, and who developed the same
symptoms as the ones Elizabeth had (Baumann 77). Manchester believed that
if Lucy were followed sleepwalking, the vampire's grave would be found,
which is what happened; but he could not give it the vampire treatment
because disturbing a corpse was against the law (Baumann 77-81). The
entrance to the tomb was sealed (Baumann 82). Four days later, a body of a
dead man was found in the Cemetery; he had died from a vampire attack
(Baumann 82). Things that can not be explained logically still happen in
Highgate Cemetery (Baumann 82). "Twentieth-century man may refuse to
believe in vampires", says Manchester, but he insists that they are by no
means a thing of the past (Baumann 74).
People must face the fact that vampires exist and do something about
it. Vampires will not disappear if they are forgotten; that is like
asking whether a falling tree in a desolate place makes a noise or not.
Vampires and humans were probably created at the same time and for
centuries neither race became extinct, but the vampire population is
increasing and is ready to strike. It is a war that has to be fought and
humans have to take the first step which is, since the existence of
vampires has been proven, making the public believe in vampires in order to
be watchful and control them.
Works Cited
Baumann, Elwood D. Vampires. New York: Franklin Watts, 1977.
Crow, W.B. Witchcraft Magic and Occultism. Hollywood: Wilshire
Book Co., 1974.
Hornby, A.S. "Vampire." Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of
Current English. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1974.
p 950.
Rudyard Kipling. "The Vampire." Treasury of Poems. Chicago:
Book Production Industries, 1985.
p200.
Stoker, Bram. Dracula. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.
"Vampire." Encyclopedia International. 1963. ed.
p6.