# What is the appeal of vampires? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 31, 2004, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-vampires/257706 "2004-07-31T08:20:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-vampires/257706/21 "2004-08-02T16:49:12Z")
I have no clue what makes vampires appealing. All I know is that for awhile I had the major hots for Spike, in spite of the fact that he was a scrawny, bleached blonde, blood sucking dead man. \ Not to mention Brad Pitt in Interview with a Vampire…I had to watch that movie several times to realize there was a plot, that it wasn’t just about Louie strutting his stuff. \ And truth be told, I’m not into blondes, guys with long hair, those who creep around after dark or blood sucking dead men. But, there’s something about Spike and Louie… ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-vampires/257706/22 "2004-08-02T18:17:25Z")
> [@Pyrrhonist](#): > > I blame the whole phenomena on a hack who wrote a mediocre vampire novel filled with homoeroticism and sophomore existentialism. The book started a cult following and spawned even sillier sequels with pseudo-religious/mythical overtones and an adoration of rock-n-roll narcissism. > > If you replace the vampire’s existential angst of the novels with real life teenager’s existential angst, some of the popularity can be explained. Psychologically vampires are no different than a bunch a dumb teenagers. I think that **Pyrrhonist** has hit the coffin nail on the head. Ann Rice’s books added the element of profound loneliness to the concept of vampirism. Since most goth-type kids I have known were society outcasts with a tendency toward depression, the idea found fertile ground. The idea of the creature physically incapable of living in everyday society (therefore not his/her fault) and thereby forced to dwell in a nocturnal subculture in which omnipresent death and eternal life dance together lasciviously – well, that’s an awfully seductive fantasy for a lonely and depressed kid. Add to it the power over former enemies (and all those who ignored them), the gleeful embrace of sociopathic tendencies (rejecting morality – the root of empowerment!), and the erotic elements (another form of power), it all becomes a power fantasy so real they can almost…ahem…taste it. IANA psychologist, but it makes sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-vampires/257706/23 "2004-08-02T18:32:41Z")
> [@Muad'Dib](#): > > I also wrote this because I am _really_ looking forward to [_Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines_](http://www.vampirebloodlines.com/). Why in the world did I have to verify my age before I entered the site? Perhaps I just don’t have the patience to click through thousands of maybe or maybe not identifiable links. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-vampires/257706/24 "2004-08-02T18:47:06Z")
Quoted from a friend’s livejournal, by her permission: > [@](#): > > I don’t know. There’s just something about a guy who isn’t afraid to sink to the bottom, you know? As a sixteen year old girl of course I want to live fast and die young, I mean, isn’t that what all kids imagine themselves doing when they get older? Living fast and experiencing life to the fullest? So a life with a guy like Cassidy _[a vampire]_ is very appealing because of that. He’s not afraid to be crazy, I mean, fuck, he’s immortal, I know, but it’s just very romantic. Everyday life gets so old and boring; I wish I could hole myself up somewhere in New York City with a mattress and a typewriter and a view, and of course someone to share it all with. Not necessarily a lover, just someone to keep life interesting. I think it’s an interesting take. Someone who can live a consequence-free life, and maybe bring you along too. In the words of my Jewish grandma: What’s not to like? ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-vampires/257706/25 "2004-08-02T18:49:04Z")
Speaking from personal experience, I was about 13 or 14 when I read _Interview with the Vampire_ and I wanted to be a vampire **so bad**. Main appeals were: -it makes you beautiful -it makes you immortal -you can do “whatever you want” (i.e. run away from home and not ever go back to stupid high school) I mean, hello! Does it get any better when you are 14? No, it doesn’t. I was a “goth” in high school and even then (1988-1992) goth was old news. Those consarn kids nowadays are even more behind than I was. But the effects have gotten cooler. I didn’t get my first pair of fangs until I was at least 20. And those neato contacts! Creepy and cool. Can’t say I do the goth thing much nowadays, though. I smile into my hand when I see those kids now, and think back to a time when life was a lot more simple. My philosophy is to let them have their fun while they don’t have to look “normal” to hold down a job or function in society. P.S. As an angst-ridden attention-seeking bored suburban teen, there is nothing more entertaining to do than get all gussied up and go to the mall. Sad but true. ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-vampires/257706/26 "2004-08-02T19:04:17Z")
In related stories… I had a highschool friend who dated a die-hard goth boy… who had issues… he didn’t just pretend he was a vampire - he honestly believed he was one. She thought he was just putting on a show, being different and cool and weird… … until the day he bit her. That was the end of that. ::: shudder ::: I think all the reasons kids do this has been listed above - and it’s not just kids. You’ll find a whole group of women (mostly women) who are avid readers of vampire-related stories. They’re the new angle to mass-market romance nowadays. Vampires are related to: 1. Power 2. Being overpowered (damsel in distress phenomenon) 3. Sex and lust 4. Immortal life 5. Immortal beauty 6. Secrecy, secret society, underground “worlds” so to speak You can see why this would be quite appealing to the misunderstood teen who wants to be different, and in control of his/her life. For those who doubt the relationship between vampirism and sex, go re-read Dracula. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-vampires/257706/27 "2004-08-02T19:20:12Z")
Having played Vampire The Masquerade for many years now (I like the Malkavians and the Kiasyd) I’ve thought about this before. ``` Vampires By DocCathode ``` I feel sorry for vampires. Think about it, For most of us, you get through life and die. After that depending on who you ask you go to an afterlife, Or you get to forget about this life and reincarnate Or maybe just lie there and become fertilizer. But vampires have to get up three days later. They get to other side and find out they can only stay three days, Kind of like an HMO. Then when they wake up, They’ve got to dig their way out. I don’t even like walking to the curb for the paper in the morning. And think about how hard it is to shop. You can only buy things from stores that are open after dark. Seven Eleven, serving all your vampire needs. You have to cover up all your windows. Who wants to tackle a project like that after they’ve just been dead three days? Combing your hair without a reflection can’t be any fun. What must it be like to live in fear of Italian food? What about dating? It’s got to be hard meeting other single vampires. If you’re lucky enough to be single. Your spouse becoming a vampire has got to be hard on a marriage, I don’t think most vampires live in mansions or castles, And wear expensive clothes. I figure they sit around in bathrobes and watch tv, While sucking the juice out of some ground chuck. So the next time you see a vampire, Put down that stake and holy water, And give him a hug instead. He could probably use one. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-vampires/257706/28 "2004-08-02T20:14:09Z")
_sniff_…that was beautiful…I’m all choked up, man. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-vampires/257706/29 "2004-08-02T21:23:37Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > Arden Fair Mall? **Suburban Plankton** is heading there this afternoon…I’ll have him look for the Vampire kids. LOL! I miss Arden Fair Mall… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-vampires/257706.md?page=1)