Are Vampires Passe?

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Anne Rice, entertainment, paranormal, popular culture, trends, True Blood, Twilight, Twilight books, Twilight movies, Twilight series, vampire books, vampire fiction, vampires

We all remember the vampire craze was not too long ago. With “Twilight” being all the rave, vampires were surely in style. Vampire books, movies and TV shows – particularly HBO’s True Blood – were very popular, and there was a wonder when the bubble would burst.

Eventually, the bubble did burst, or rather, the craze died down. It’s been several years since the last Twilight installment, “Breaking Dawn Part 2” was released in movie theaters, and since then, vampires have been off the radar in popular culture.

Or are they?

Image via Pixabay via Creative Commons

While there are no mainstream vampire movies and TV shows out right now, and vampire books are not as popular as they used to be, there still is an audience for vampire lovers. That is my belief. I believe that there would always be readers of vampire books because some people simply adore the genre. For example, I just did a blog book tour specifically meant for paranormal book readers. That includes vampires. Even though these blood-suckers are not the trend at the moment, there are still those willing to read vampire stories.

That being said, though, it will be tougher for vampire books to sell these days. That is because they are not in style right now. That is discouraging, especially since I am almost done with the sequel to my vampire book.  I dread the fact that when I self-publish the sequel, it will not sell very well mainly because vampires might just be passe.

But are the passe for ever? Of course not. Trends come and do, and pop culture goes around in circles. Right now, vampires may not be as popular as they used to be, but eventually they will make a comeback and be popular, though to some degree. After all, there is talk of making Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles into a TV series. Now, if that happens, vampire will have a surge in popularity. Anne Rice is synonymous with vampires and just hearing her name again with these creatures will create high ratings for the TV series. I predict it may not be as popular as the Twilight series, but there will be an excitement for them.

I remember when I was in junior high, there was a strong popularity towards vampires. That was when Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire came out as a movie, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula was also released into a movie with Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder. Vampire books were popular at this time, particularly “The Last Vampire” by Christopher Pike, which served as an inspiration for me. There was a craze then, but that also died down, so to speak. And then came the Twilight books and movies, and we all know what happened next.

Trends come and go, but there will always be people doing their own thing. Vampires may not be as popular as they once were, but there are still people reading vampire books, watching the movies, and re-runs of the TV shows. Some people love these creatures of the night all on their own, and don’t need a trend to follow them. That gives me hope, and makes me realize vampires will always have a following, no matter what.

 

The Evolution of Vampires

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folkore, paranormal, paranormal romance, PNR, Pop culture, popular culture, psychology, Twilight

For centuries, vampires struck fear in the hearts of anyone who believed in them or enjoyed films or books about them. They were pure evil, luring humans to them before sinking their fangs into their necks to devour their blood. Vampires were the enemy of God and on the devil’s side. There was no way to pity something so villainous. 

But these days, many people are looking at vampires with new eyes. You might have noticed in popular culture these days, vampires are seen in a good light. They are tortured souls, unhappy with their existence and remorseful over killing humans for their blood. They also are able to have empathy for humans and are capable of having romantic relationships with them. This depiction of vampires is completely different from how they were traditionally viewed.

What has happened? Why the change in viewing an evil creature?

It could be that people today are more apt to think villains aren’t the way they are by accident. There’s always a reason why someone does or behaves in a certain way. You could thank psychology on that, which has made modern humans more likely to analyze theirs and other people’s behavior. Unless you are a psychopath, there’s always a reason why some people become lousy members of society.

But should vampires be sympathized at all? Should a human pity a monster?

For me, it depends on how they became vampires in the first place. Some are forced, while some choose to be without really knowing what they are getting themselves into, much like Louis in Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire – the book many credit with bringing about the sympathetic vampire into popular culture. In those cases, there can be sympathy. I’m sure we can all agree anyone who willingly chooses an existence of killing people almost night after night is not worthy of any pity.

But is it possible for a vampire to hold on to his or her humanity once they are transformed? A newborn vampire, I believe, can. Too bad they’ll be wrestling with their new nature that makes the scent and taste of blood too intoxicating for them. Also, I would think having supernatural abilities and senses would make a new vampire feel not exactly human anymore. At this point, a new vampire is a hybrid of a human being and a supernatural creature that could cause much damage in the world.

Now you may argue that a vampire could easily drink from animals – PETA wouldn’t like that – or drink enough from a person so that the prey would survive. That can happen, and I may be a bit more easy around a vampire like that should I ever meet one (or rather, if any actually exist).

But let’s say a vampire is not a newborn, and is 100, 500 or even 1,000 years old? Will that vampire still have any humanity left in them? Did they have any to begin with? After all, in some parts of the world, people are more compassionate to each other than ever before. But a century, or centuries ago, there wasn’t much empathy going around. It was OK to have disdain for, mistreat and even kill someone who was different from you in any way. With that in mind, I would think someone who became a vampire during then would be quick to see humans as anything but sources of nourishment. The Middle Ages, for example, were a brutal time, so a newborn vampire in that time period would be used to such cruelty and wouldn’t have been taught to be empathetic as much as we are today.

At the same time, I think a very old vampire would eventually lose his or her humanity because they had spent so many years living separately from humans. They usually only come out at night and hide their identities, because they can’t let the world know that they are bloodsuckers or else they’ll get a stake through the heart. This would cause vampires to live detached from humans and have their own way of life, and therefore, their own mindset. How could a vampire in that situation maintain their empathy for humans like that? I could see a newborn vampire doing that, but not an old one. By then, their memories of being human are miniscule compared to their centuries of being vampires. Their humanity becomes a faded memory, almost like a legend in their minds.

Image via Wikimedia Commons

But in that case, can a vampire regain their humanity? Could a 1,000 – more or less – year old vampire learn to be compassionate and empathetic to humans? Could they ever realize that they are killing their victims, and not just getting their fill? Could they ever melt their hearts from such hardness? Can a vampire ever have a heart, no matter their age?

All this is worthy of debate because of the way vampires are portrayed these days in books, movies and TV shows. Some may complain that Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga has ruined the vampire lore by making hers very different from the traditional vampire. But when you really think about, all myths and legends evolve as humans progress. Those stories reflect the society that either creates or enjoys them, so having the compassionate vampire who is worthy of pity reflect how people today are more analytical then ever, and are less likely to see the world in black and white as they did in the past.

My Take on Vampires

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characterization, characters, Christopher Pike, traditional vampires, Twilight, writing

It seems as if each book and each movie portrays vampires differently. Most of the time, these paranormal creatures are very pale, bone cold, have fangs, are undead, sleep in coffins, and so on and so on.

Of course, we all know the Twilight series broke away from the usual vampire depiction (ie: they sparkle, they have no fangs, they somehow manage to produce offspring). But I’ve come across some other vampires who broke the mold on how a vampire should be.

Most notably in my case was Sita in Christopher Pike’s YA series, The Last Vampire, or Thirst, as it is known these days. Sita was a 5,000 year old vamp who is able to crush boulders, jump very high, has rather sensitive hearing, and can move around in the daylight, though not all day long.

She also does not need to survive on blood each and every day of her existence and can consume human food and drink. Sita also does not sleep in a coffin and doubts she is dead because at one point, she mentions hearing her heart beat loud in her ears (I believe that was Chapter 1 of the first book that mentioned this).

The Last Vampire had an effect on me, even though I last read those books back in junior high. Whenever I imagined or wrote about a vampire, Sita’s characteristics played a role on how I depicted the vamp. When I decided to write seriously and not just for fun, that influence remained.

Even when I wrote my forthcoming E-book, The Dark Proposal. I had the vampires in my novel not sleep in coffins and were able to eat and drink regular food, though they really didn’t have to. Furthermore, my vampires can move around in the daylight. However, that depends on how old they are and the weather conditions outside. If it is cloudy and rainy out, they can walk around in midday. The same if the sun is just rising or going down.

But how do they deal with the sun if they don’t sleep in coffins, you ask?

Well, they sleep in beds like you and I do, but they block the sun with heavy duty curtains from Sweden, a country nicknamed the Land of the Midnight Sun.

But, my vampires maintain the traditional depiction of these characters. They are very pale until they drink blood, which they need every night in order to survive. They are also very strong, are able to read and manipulate minds, and can move in nano-second speed.

So I blended the traditional characterization of vampires along with the nontraditional. I think if someone wants to write vampire fiction, they don’t have to strictly stick to tradition; they should feel free to break away a bit. This way the author gets to have more fun and create their own world rather than stick with convention. But they should only break away a little bit 😉