BAD Vampires

OK, starting with the idea of bad and good vampire. For some of us there is no such thing/creature as a bad or good vampire. Some of us even don’t like to think about vampires, for we find them scary and fairy tale like. But let’s think for a while about bad and good vampires. There was always a division between things considered as good and evil, people have good and bad side (yeah, dark side etc.). The main concept of fantasy genre is the war between good and evil, so we’ve got heroes and anti-heroes. In short, that’s how the history and introduction goes. Since Meyer’s Twilight we observe a continual progress of good vampire emerging out of thin air. OK, maybe not out of thin air, rather out of authors’ mind.

I’m aware of three GOOD vampires, Edward Cullen, Bill Compton and Stefan Salvatore. The huge rest of them, including even the stereotype and conventional ones, are BAD vampires. Bad, so we should avoid them, be afraid and in the end stake those monsters because otherwise we’ll be their next dinner or aperitif! Just run for your lives then duck and hide in a pot full of garlic. I know that’s grotesque, but such is introducing the contrast between good and evil vampires. Good vampires don’t drink humans’ blood, they prefer (how come? masochists!) animal or synthetic blood and usually fall in love with a human. And then what is the greatest desire? The lover’s blood. Yeah, that’s all about masochistic behaviour and being a veggie vampire.

Back to the true vampires, that is, bad or evil vampires. I’ll mention only those who are nowadays most popular. Eric Nothman, Damon Salvatore, James and Victoria. James and Victoria, both Meyer’s characters, are rally evil. They’re predators, humans are only food for them, sort of fast food. But, I think that our and my attitude is affected by the lack of insight into their motives and history.

Damien and Eric are a different kettle of fish. We more or less know their motives. But first let’s look at those lads.

Eric

Damon

Two gorgeous  lads. This seducing look. Maybe I’m over-interpreting that, but still. Both wearing black leather jackets and jeans. Both having their arms folded as if saying ‘so what?’ or ‘you’re already won’. But there’s a difference between them, even huge and I’m not mentioning their vampire are. Damon was made during the Civil War and Eric in the pre-Middle Ages. Damon was a son of the bitch as a human and he is happy with his ‘new’ powers and the ability to control humans. Eric’s mentality is different. He was a Viking and though you might thing that Vikings were fierce warriors who didn’t really care about anything  it’s not exactly the way it was. Vikings were Germanic warriors who are a part of the culture of shame (Christians are the culture of guilt). Their honour is the only thing they posses. They have to fight and win so others would be proud of them. It’s not that they didn’t care about their follow warriors. They were dedicated to their leaders, loved them. They’d do anything for them.

Some time ago, we wouldn’t go into analysing characters’ psychic, but nowadays it’s normal. The deeper we go into the more we understand. For me there is no division between good and evil vampires. As vampires they have the same traits as they had as humans. A story needs a hero (good vampire or a vampire slayer), anti-hero (bad vampire or a stereotypic vampire) and a victim (usually beautiful girl).

That’s all.