Figured I'd open up a thread for wild-eyed, blue-skying brainstorming of whatever kind of topic might come up for discussion.
Here's an idea to get us off the dime.
I've been thinking for awhile now about why vampires, traditionally, have been portrayed as monsters and what makes them that way. Now, this is not the idea of the "sparkly" type of vampire, but more your traditional blood lusting spawn of evil.
Modern tradition, which stems from Christianity, mainly, holds that vampires are the spawn of evil, that they did something hideous, usually against the Church, which effectively damned them for eternity or at least until someone can release their souls by driving a stake through their hearts. Of course, the tradition doesn't really go into why a victim of a vampire rises and is also evil. I mean, wouldn't the victim just be a victim? Why would a victim be damned?
So, what is it about a vampire, from a psychological and scientific perspective (and psychology aspires to scientific reason in most cases) that would cause a victim to become an insane, calculating, bloodthirsty monster?
I think it might have to do with the idea that the "monster" cannot rest, cannot really or truly "sleep" (and thus rest the conscious mind), and is driven by an unslakable hunger for blood. Even when dormant, the vampire hungers. Because it cannot truly rest or sleep, it is always essentially awake as we define it. However, during the period of daylight, the vampire is essentially paralyzed, locked within its mind in a body that simply will not operate. It is, during these periods, a wide-awake coma or stroke victim.
Modern science knows that keeping a normal human mind awake for too long a period of time or forcing someone normal to essentially face atrocity after atrocity eventually results in a "psychotic break".
Think about it - a traditional vampire rises 3 days after death. For 3 days the victim has been locked inside a coffin or buried or otherwise entombed and they are a hundred percent completely cognizant of the fact. Only, they don't know they'll eventually rise as a vampire. They only know that they're locked inside a useless body, buried live, and with this rising, unbearable thirst steadily increasing within them.
After 3 days that might be enough to drive any normal person stark raving mad.
Here's an idea to get us off the dime.
I've been thinking for awhile now about why vampires, traditionally, have been portrayed as monsters and what makes them that way. Now, this is not the idea of the "sparkly" type of vampire, but more your traditional blood lusting spawn of evil.
Modern tradition, which stems from Christianity, mainly, holds that vampires are the spawn of evil, that they did something hideous, usually against the Church, which effectively damned them for eternity or at least until someone can release their souls by driving a stake through their hearts. Of course, the tradition doesn't really go into why a victim of a vampire rises and is also evil. I mean, wouldn't the victim just be a victim? Why would a victim be damned?
So, what is it about a vampire, from a psychological and scientific perspective (and psychology aspires to scientific reason in most cases) that would cause a victim to become an insane, calculating, bloodthirsty monster?
I think it might have to do with the idea that the "monster" cannot rest, cannot really or truly "sleep" (and thus rest the conscious mind), and is driven by an unslakable hunger for blood. Even when dormant, the vampire hungers. Because it cannot truly rest or sleep, it is always essentially awake as we define it. However, during the period of daylight, the vampire is essentially paralyzed, locked within its mind in a body that simply will not operate. It is, during these periods, a wide-awake coma or stroke victim.
Modern science knows that keeping a normal human mind awake for too long a period of time or forcing someone normal to essentially face atrocity after atrocity eventually results in a "psychotic break".
Think about it - a traditional vampire rises 3 days after death. For 3 days the victim has been locked inside a coffin or buried or otherwise entombed and they are a hundred percent completely cognizant of the fact. Only, they don't know they'll eventually rise as a vampire. They only know that they're locked inside a useless body, buried live, and with this rising, unbearable thirst steadily increasing within them.
After 3 days that might be enough to drive any normal person stark raving mad.