Vampires: An Essay Collection

In recent years, the vampire has become synonymous with eroticism and seduction; he has become, "Gentleman Death in silk and lace, come to put out the candles." (Rice). The vampiric myth, however, dates at least as far back as Mesopotamia, with our modern interpretation of the vampire emerging in the Balkans during the 18th century. With each new iteration of the vampire mythos, the tale has become a mirror of the era in which it was written; each version of the vampire tells us something about ourselves previously unknown. And each iteration adds more complexity to a myth that has sunk its teeth into at least as many countries as people. Like the vampire, we are both devoted to and repelled by faith. We seek to understand the nature of morality and the complexities of sin; we see ourselves in the dark plight of the vampire- in his loneliness. Mankind, like the vampire, is full of outcasts; creatures longing for understanding in a mysterious world. The vampire and mankind are two sides of the same coin. Who is to say which is more real? After all, "the world seems full of good men, even if there are monsters in it." (Stoker).