Last night's episode of Castle wasn't Just about Halloween and Vampires. It introduced many viewers to the vampire subculture in a very vivid manner. I'm sure many viewers were surprised to learn that some of men and women who live the life of a vampire have porcelain fangs implanted in their mouths. Even more shocking were the scenes of sanguinarians, or blood drinkers, actually ingesting blood from other people. The writers of the show didn't make this up, it happens to it in special clubs, in homes and apartments, and sometimes-in dark and places out on the street.
Though the show had a campy atmosphere, it was well paced, and figuring out who was the murderer was difficult. The surprise ending, took the viewer to a dark place where a stepmother murders her stepson in order to preserve her secret that she killed his biological mother.
After the show, many people Twittered each other about the episode. How do I know this? When I went on Twitter at 11:20 p.m. Eastern time, Castle was one of the hot topics listed. When I entered, "#Castle," I could see the actual messages going back and forth. The majority of them was from women and concerned Nathan Fillion, the tall, hunky, star of the show, has over 200,000 people following him on Twitter. Nathan, was the star of the short-lived cult science fiction show Firefly. Later, he starred in the movie Serenity, based on the television show.
I watched a couple of old, old vampire movies and was disappointed. The original Dracula has become a classic for a variety of reasons, but largely due to Bella Lugosi's campy, over-the-top, performance. His image, words, and style has become "the vampire" for many people for many decades.
This is not true of most of the other early vampire movies. The movie "Vampyr " made in 1932 by Carl Theodore Dreyer, is long on style and short on substance. The director, focused on visual effects, which were very powerful in their time, but not enough on the plot. It is the story of a traveler obsessed with the supernatural visits an old inn and finds evidence of vampires. In a way, it's unfair to compare a movie made seventy-seven years ago with current and recent films. This movie is best enjoyed by aficionados of vampire movies, and other early cinema.
Mark of the Vampire, made in 1935,starred Lionel Barrymore and Bella Lugosi. I found the dialogue to be clichéd and the acting "hammy" even for its time. One critic thought it was amusing. Perhaps it was, but I failed to see it as so. The photography by the famous James Wong Howe captured the eerie atmosphere, but didn't provide anything we hadn't seen in the original Dracula. Only when the script turns everything on its ear at the end of the movie, doesn't rise to a higher quality. The supporting cast, including Lionel Atwell, was talented, but limited by the stylized acting of the time.
The myth of the vampire has become part of world and American culture. It's a shame that movies about vampires aren't seen as potentially premier movies by the powers that be in Hollywood. Then again, the powers that be in Hollywood give us an endless array of cartoon characters in our movies.
My wife and I went to Asheboro, North Carolina to visit the fabulous zoo just outside the city. We had a great day at the zoo visiting the Africa section.
Gwen had gone to sleep by 10:00pm, tired from the walking we had done. I was in the mood for a couple of mugs of a good microbrew. Asheboro was dry, no alcohol, until July of this year, and doesn't have well-established pubs. I was talking with the hotel manager about this when he told me about some private clubs in the area. He recommended one and gave me a card to get me admitted.
For obvious reasons I can't mention the name of the club. However, I was impressed when I went inside. A long old fashioned bar with well-appointed tables and a jazz trio playing old favorites greeted me.
The bartender had just brought my second mug of a North Carolina lager when I heard someone approach. I turned to see a slender, dark-haired man of middle height. He was wearing a Carolina Panthers sweatshirt, and tan khaki pants. What caught my attention, was his pale white skin. Oh no, not another vampire, I thought.
"I'm glad to see that you recovered from the attack by the female vampire," he said in a local drawl.
"So am I," I replied. "How did you learn to about my attack?"
"I have been following your articles with some interest. Your approach is evenhanded, and you do not condemn us as many mortals do."
"Who might you be?" The vampire' s manner seemed friendly, I was nervous about his intentions.
"John Valerius," he replied, extending his hand.
It was cold when I shook it. I swallowed hard, hoping I wasn't facing another hostile encounter with a vampire.
"I'm glad that our mutual friend in Bucharest was able to help you." He smiled, showing an even row of teeth, without any display of fangs.
"And how do you know our mutual friend in Romania?" I asked.
He chuckled. "I have been in North Carolina for over a hundred years. But I was born in Hungary… some time ago. During my travels I visited Bucharest on several occasions and had the privilege of spending time with our mutual acquaintance."
"You sure have adapted well to the local scene," I said.
"Blending in is a survival mechanism. Modern society makes it easier to do so." He looked at my mug of beer for a moment, then turned his attention back to me. "Please excuse me. While we have been chatting your beer has gotten warm."
John made a motion with his hand and the bartender moved quickly to him. "Please give Neil another mug on the house, and give me a glass of my usual."
"Your usual?" I asked.
He smiled. "I'd be a poor host to allow you to drink alone."
"You own this club?"
"I'm a businessman. In a dry county, I saw an opportunity to make money meeting people's needs. Prohibition was a farce, and men and women will always find places to drink."
A few minutes later, the bartender returned with another mug of beer for me. He put large wine glass, half filled with a red fluid, in front of John.
"Is that what I think it is?" I asked.
"Yes. I always have a supply of blood in the refrigerator. The bartenders warm it up for me so I can drink with the customers." He lifted his glass and touched mine. "To new friends."
"To new friends," I replied. Also, to new experiences. This was the first time I had ever drunk with a vampire.
Mercy by Vampyr14 is a short story about a vampire who sees an opportunity to help the elderly and help himself. A humanistic vampire? No, just an opportunistic one. Read it and find out.
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1553075
The Vampire Maid by Hume Nesbitt is about an Englishman that visits a cottage on the moors. He has dreams about the maid and her full red lips. But are those just dreams or might leave visitations from a deadly creature? Read more and find out. This is the complete story.
I was sitting on a stool in my neighborhood pub drinking a pint of my favorite brew when a black-haired, swarthy man of middle height approached me. I looked at him while he stared at me. I turned away, hoping he would disappear into the men's room. Unfortunately, I could feel his eyes boring into my back, and I knew he wouldn't go away.
I turned to him and asked, "Is there something you want?"
He continued staring at me without showing any indication he had heard what I had said.
"Okay, stare away," I said, and glared at him. After a while, the intensity of his gaze became disconcerting.
"You are the person that wrote the article stating that psychic vampirism is nonsense?" he asked in a strange foreign accent.
"I wrote a post on my blog to that effect," I replied.
"Same thing," he said. "You think psychic vampirism is a joke?"
"I don't know if it's a joke, but it's certainly not real." His intense gaze continued to bother me.
"Perhaps you need to learn a lesson in humility," he said tersely.
"Life has humbled me many times but I don't see you as tonight's teacher."
"Perhaps a demonstration is in order," he said as he opened his eyes wider.
Suddenly, I began to feel dizzy and leaned forward. I wasn't sure what was happening, but I'm knew I needed to steady myself. So, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and visualized a peaceful blue sky. I slowed my breathing until I felt relaxed and noted that the dizziness had disappeared. Time to face this character down.
I raised my head and he maneuvered his so that his eyes were in contact with mine. I continued my slow rhythmic breathing and returned his stare. This time it had no effect on me.
He squinted and his forehead furrowed as if he were trying to intensify his stare. Beads of perspiration broke out on his forehead and above his upper lip.
Feeling more confident, I smiled at him.
"Grrrhh," he said as he leaned forward, bringing his face closer to mine.
"Enough is enough I said," as I put the palm of my hand against his chest and shoved him backward.
He had difficulty maintaining his balance and bumped into a large, muscular blonde-haired man. The Nordic-looking fellow pushed him away. The swarthy stranger opened his mouth without saying anything. He righted himself, but when he looked at me all of his confidence was gone, and his eyes were confused.
By this time he had attracted the attention of Mike the bartender. "Hey, buddy. We don't need any trouble around here. If you wanna drink, fine. If not, get out," Mike said.
The swarthy man shook his head, turned, and walked out the door.
"Neil, who the hell was that guy?" asked Mike.
"A wannabe psychic vampire," I said, and laughed.
"A what?" Mike asked with raised eyebrows.
"Never mind," I said, and picked up my mug to finish my beer.
As Mike walked away, I called out to him. "Another beer please."
Gary Hendricks, a writer for Slate magazine, after attending Comic-con, said, "The big story wasn't comic books -- it was vampires. Some 2000 young women set up a tent city outside the San Diego convention Center on Tuesday, sleeping rough so they could attend the Thursday panel on new moon, the upcoming sequel to vampire blockbuster Twilight." What he said next is of major importance to people who make a living writing about vampires, and to vampire lovers, young and old, across America.
"Like many people who acquire mega celebrity, the vampire has developed an eating disorder. Read the books. Watch the movies. You'll see vampires who manage nightclubs, build computer databases, work as private investigators, go to prep school, lobby Congress, chat with humans, live near humans, have sex with humans, and pine over humans, but the one thing you won't see them do is suck the blood of humans."
No, bloodsucking is so yesterday. It's so 1994. It's Anne Rice. Today's vampire is a good listener. He cares about our love lives and our problems, which is strange because we're supposed to be his food."
Gary has hit the nail on the head, or the vampire with a stake, whichever you choose. When I read Twilight, I wondered what the fuss was. Nothing happened. I didn't think there was enough action to make a movie. But once they had put it all together some things had happened, but the movie still wasn't good. Part of the problem is that vampires have become the property of teenagers who allegedly smoke dope and have sex, but won't let vampires be the evil creatures they are meant to be.
Vampires are supposed to live outside the realm of human society. We are their food source, their cattle so to speak. Or at least we were. Now they survive on whole blood which is readily available to them. At the same time, a vampire subculture has emerged among mortals where people actually ingest blood from each other. Would somebody please explain this to me. I'm a psychologist and I don't understand it. I've also written a vampire novel, as yet unpublished, in which vampires are nasty creatures, except for the lover of my mortal hero.
What next? Freddy Krueger working as a volunteer with wayward youths? This has got to stop. There needs to be real evil in the world. Or at least some evil besides Al Qaeda or the people who talked you into mortgages you couldn't afford.
The Transfer by Algernon Blackwood is is a short story a ballot a peculiar patch of earth and a peculiar man. The narrator notices a desolate patch of earth in the garden where nothing seems to grow. At the same time, a man noted for his ability to seemingly draw the life out of others arrives for a visit. When this man and the desolate patch of earth come into contact, both are changed forever.
http://www.scribd.com/full/16464091?access_key=key-4nia4732wp10s2tduj9
The Haunted House by Edith Nesbitt is about strange events that are taking place at the Omehurst Rectory in Kent. People are taking ill and do not recover. Desmond, a visitor soon finds himself in the same situation. His host leads Desmond downstairs so that he can but what does he have in store for his guest?
http://www.scribd.com/full/16464123?access_key=key-1kp21jfbkahczclzq9qu
The Stone Chamber by HP Marriott Watson is about a man who takes possession of an old house only to find out that all is not well. It would have been wise of him to have determined that previous occupants, long dead, were not inhabiting the premises. People's lives are at stake when strange creatures are encountered during the night.
http://www.scribd.com/full/16464096?access_key=key-27cxmimmkjrrw4lzze7n
They stand, talk, move, run, and carry out all sorts of physical activities.How do vampires carry out their active physical existences? Humans, mortals, have complex biological systems that provide energy to the muscles, tendons, bones, etc. that enable us to carry out physical activities. Vampires are dead: their hearts don't beat; their lungs don't breathe; and their former biological energy producing systems are no longer functioning. Where do their muscles get the energy? Dr. Katherine Ramsland wrote an entire book, The Science of Vampires, speculating about how vampires function and think. Dr. Ramsland could only speculate, because neither she nor anyone else has examined a "real undead vampire."
In the movies and in novels, vampires share blood with humans to turn them into vampires. How is this possible? Without hearts that beat, what keeps vampire blood flowing? Vampires are always depicted as being cold to the touch, quite logical since they are dead. Vampires are also depicted as being impervious to the cold. However, if they are cold-blooded creatures, and they are outside, or even inside, in freezing temperatures there blood would begin to thicken. That issue has never been addressed to the best of my knowledge. It's not a matter of unanswerable questions as much as it is a illogical possibilities.
We've also seen, or read about, vampires turning into some kind of dust or smoke. The transformation of matter from one form, a solid, into another form, gaseous, requires heat or some kind of chemical process. Modern science has no means by which it can almost instantaneously turn a solid object into a gaseous one with the exception of a nuclear explosion. There's a lot of bad science going on when it comes to the undead vampire. The stories of these creatures arise from folklore and are given life not by some magical process, but by the creative imagination of writers. The reader also has to participate, because more than a little suspension of disbelief is required to go along with the idea. However, judging by the current popularity of vampire books, movies, and now television shows, science and logic of the furthest things from the minds of readers and viewers.
The Vampire Maid by Hume Nisbet is a classic horror story. There are all sorts of advantages to having a maid, such as being served, and having someone to clean up. However, sometimes the maid is not the prim and proper lady we expect her to be. In fact, she may be something out of our worst nightmares.
http://www.scribd.com/full/16389499?access_key=key-2csdbfjfkdbd1zk2c7cr
The Anima by Lucas White is about a terrible creature that is found in another country. The story reminds us then when we go abroad we have to see things differently. We also may be forced to make terrible choices in order to protect ourselves.
http://www.scribd.com/full/16205064?access_key=key-2cxsca54kyrkuc28olf8
Southern Bites by Neil Benson is a vampire story that takes place in the south. An obese young man with minimal intelligence is turned into a vampire as a result of an accident. The young man learns that being a vampire can be more challenging than he thought. Do not look for southern mansions, pedigreed families, or any form of aristocrats from the south.
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1567707
Aylmer Vance and the Vampire by Alice and Claude Askew is a tale about a once healthy men who has become pale and sickly. His relationship with the family of ancient lineage has led him into a dangerous place. Perhaps he should've been more concerned with family curses than family trees.
http://www.scribd.com/full/15488039?access_key=key-28856oiiq5bml3r2urvc
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Unholy Embrace is a swift paced,
action-packed novel about the relationship between a mortal man and his
immortal female vampire lover as they fight werewolves, vampires, and other
creatures in their effort to kill a soul eating demon.
Interlude with the Undead by Anne Rice is a recounting of Armand's lesson regarding the nature of life, death, and the feeding habits of the vampire. Delectable just before dinner.http://www.scribd.com/doc/13253231/the-corpse-of-the-blood-drinker
current financial disaster. He is also under instructions to bring back the worst offenders dead or alive. Along with him are Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, and Samuel Jackson. None of them have shaved recently, and they look like they have ridden from Silver City Nevada without a bath. They are the modern day four Horsemen of the apocalypse for financial felons. Don't be afraid, be very afraid.Here's some music to get you in the right mood for a vampire site.Music from Bram Stoker's Dracula. Listen at your own peril.
I have a free vampire short story on my blog. It's a humorous story about a vampire from a trailer park in the south. "The Wrong Vampire" Leave comments to let me know what you think.
Underworld would have been just a lot of shooting and dead bodies. She gave the movie its verve and introduced us to an alpha female vampire whose credentials went beyond an exposed bosom. When she jumped out of the tower in her black vinyl suit, landing catlike on the ground, we were introduced to the image of the modern female vampire. When she picked up Scott Speedman like he was a small child and pinned them against the wall she certainly got my attention. 
member the first time I saw the movie over 50 years ago. The movie, which took liberties with Bram Stoker's novel, introduced us to a creature of mythology from all over the world. Some of the campy lines from the movie have become legendary. The raw sexuality of the movie and the power of the vampire gave moviegoers an image of something most of them had never heard about. Enough of the movies for the time being. Next time I'll address the fundamental issues of the vampire and how it relates to the not so unconscious desires and fears of socie
