Why do we find vampires so fascinating?

Vampires are arguably one of the most popular types of mythical creatures to appear in books, movies and folklore. One only has to browse the extensive range of urban fantasy books and movies featuring vampires to know that they are more popular than ever. But what is it about the bloodsuckers that fascinates us so much? Do we just love a good story? Or could there be something deeper about vampires which hooks into the human psyche? 

Legends of vampires have been with us for millennia, in every part of the world. The Mesopotamians, Hebrews, Romans and Ancient Greeks all told tales of creatures who would suck blood and vital life-force from human victims. The Mesopotamian she-demon Lilitu*, reportedly drank the blood of babies to secure magical power. This myth was adopted by the Hebrews. Lilith - as she became known, was Adam's first wife. Early jewish texts describe how she refused to be subordinate to Adam and hence was banished from eden by God to instead rule over demons in Hell. The Ancient Greeks spoke of Empusa, a beautiful young woman who seduced men as they slept before drinking their blood. In India, Sanskrit folklore described an undead creature called a Betal which hung upside down from trees, like a bat, near cemeteries. 

The traditional vampire of modern, popular culture has its roots in twelfth century tales of revenants. These were reanimated corpes, brought back to life to haunt and curse the living. Then in the eighteenth century, instances of what modern scholars interpret as mass hysteria, in Transylvania, Europe, paved the way for many of the vampire myths we have today.  In one such tale, a local man Petar Blagojevich died and was buried but returned the following day to his son's house to ask him for food. When his terrified son refused, Blagojevich went away and was found dead the next day. However, in the weeks that followed, Blagojevich was said to return to attack other villagers in the area who then died of blood loss. The villagers were so freaked out by this that they exhumed his body and drove wooden stakes through the heart, thus satisfying themselves that Blagojevich was truly dead. In another such case, an ex-soldier turned farmer, Arnold Paole died from a hay-related accident. The rumour was that he had been attacked by a vampire some years earlier and that after his death this led to a string of vampire attacks which locals attributed to Paole. These two cases were well-documented by officials at the time and were part of what became known collectively as The eighteenth-century vampire controversy.

Modern myths surrounding vampires are a hybridised collection of stories taken from various cultures. The idea that vampires can be warned off by holy water and crosses likely owes its inception to an Albanian myth which said that a cross made of a sheep bone could be placed at the entrance to a church on Easter Sunday. Any vampires hiding inside and trying to pass themselves off as human, would be unable to leave the church and could be safely killed upon their attempt to cross the threshold. The Icelandic version of vampires, named The Draugur, were corporeal ghosts which could drag the living into graves to feast on them, thereby turning them into Draugur. To prevent this, decapitation, staking through the heart or pinning down of corpses was common. Slavic legends gave rise to the vampire hunter stories we have today. They told tales of the undead who would drink blood for forty days in order to gain a thin, jelly-like human form. This would allow them to leave their graves whereupon their human form continued to solidify, eventually rendering them equal in substance to a living human. In Slavic myths they were always men and could have children with human women. These children would have the magical ability to see and sense vampires and hence could become vampire hunters.

Modern psychiatric case studies report Succubus* delusions. A succubus is a female demon which visits men in their dreams to have sex with them. The belief is that the sexual activity is a means by which the demon drains the man of spiritual power. As the succubus returns, night after night, the man becomes more and more listless and wan by day. The male equivalent of this phenomenon is the Incubus. In one such case, an eighteen-year-old man reported going to bed and feeling the sensation of being touched and caressed in a sexual manner by a woman who would suddenly appear. He would become aroused and they would proceed to intercourse. He felt guilty about this but was convinced these interactions were real and denied the psychiatrist's assertion that these experiences were sleep paralysis. In another similar case, a twenty-four-year-old man often heard his female teacher's voice expressing love to him while he was in bed at night. She would give him sexual suggestions which would make his groin vibrate and would then manually stimulate him to climax. His psychiatrist believed these to be hallucinations and diagnosed schizophrenia. 

But what if these cases weren't mental illness but something more sinister and paranormal? Occultists believe in the existence of parasites. These non-physical beings exist in a dimension closely linked to ours. They are able to attach themselves to humans and gain energy by feeding off powerful emotions. The belief is that different entities have different specialisms as far as energy thievery goes. Some specialise in inciting sexual energy, others are anger specialists, others favour guilt, others greed and so on. Some speculate this is why it is common for sexual abuse victims to go on to become perpetrators - they are infested with sexual specialist parasitic entities which compel them to seek a sexual fix in order to draw energy from it. Could Succubus' and Incubus' be parasitic entities? Could our fascination with vampires stem from our deeply buried subconscious belief or knowledge that parasitic entities are real?

What about the less esoteric explanations for our vampire obsession? We all know what it's like to be around someone who drains us. Perhaps this individual is constantly whining about the state of their life without ever taking active steps to change their situation. This 'poor me' person is literally feeding off the sympathy and ego-stroking that comes from living in victimhood. But this interaction comes at a cost to you as you feel exhausted and depleted after spending time with them. The polar opposite in the drama triangle, but just as valid, is the person who constantly criticises and belittles you. This person gains a false sense of power by elevating himself over you. He gets momentarily uplifted in the false belief that he is so much better than you, thus gaining emotional power and validation while your self-esteem is damaged and your energy and power robbed. 

Whatever the roots of our vampire fascination, it is clearly here to stay for the long-term. How about you? Do you have any theories as to why we love these stories so much? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

​

Sources and further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_folklore_by_region
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6198602/
https://www.mysticaltransformations.com/blog/spiritual-vampires-and-parasites
https://leadershiptribe.co.uk/blog/the-drama-triangle-explained

 *Lilitu is believed to be the basis for succubus beliefs.