I am quite sure most people are wondering what the hell one of these blood sucking creatures actually are. Bloodsucking creatures they may be but the vampyre goes so much deeper than that.
The 1964 Concise Oxford dictionary had a cute little definition that I couldn't resist putting up. it reads, "vampyre: Ghost or reanimated body that leaves the grave at night and sucks the blood of sleeping persons." How possibly on the surface can you get? If a dictionary wishes to define things then they should at least do it properly.
In found a much richer definition in a book, or guide rather about the Anne Rice Vampyres. The guide is called "The Vapire Companion" and it is by Katherine Ramsland. It reads: "Vampire: A preternatural, malignant creature transformed from a deceased mortal and sustaining itself on the blood of the living. Having once been human and in possession of consciousness, vampires are closer in kind to human beings than any other monsters. They exhibit the reality of an asocial inner life, and embody the horror of sociopathic conduct. As a symbol, vampires are typically associated with the Earth, darkness, the moon, and the abyss, all of which are identified as feminine. Shunning the sun involves losing the male element, thus making male vampires androgynous and female vampires doubly powerful." Wow. This is a little closer to what I was expecting. But we cannot only consider what they are Physically, we must also consider their minds |
