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. <sigh> 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. <double sigh, fanning myself>
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…
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.
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.
Quoted from a friend’s livejournal, by her permission:
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?
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.
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:
Power
Being overpowered (damsel in distress phenomenon)
Sex and lust
Immortal life
Immortal beauty
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.
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.
