Attacked by a Vampire

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."

The Mark of the Beast by Rudyard Kipling - free horror short story

The Mark of the Beast by Rudyard Kipling is a story about what happens in a time and place East of Suez where the veneer of civilization wears very thin. Strange religious ceremonies are held that turn a man into a beast much like a werewolf. A leper proves to be a formidable opponent. Can the narrator help his friend? Find out.

http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0BzZFYqsJhXG0MTE2MWRiNzUtZDRhYy00ZDY1LWE3MGItZTUyYmUxMjUyYTM2&hl=en

Do vampires still drink blood?- How do Vampires Exist?

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.