Today I welcome Valéry from the On the Soul series on my blog.
He is one of my favorite characters and I'm really happy he was willing to take the time to come over today.
Don't forget to look for the giveaway at the end of the post.
A Friendly Word of Advice from a Vampire
Vampires can’t be real, right? I mean, in this rational and scientific age, who could truly believe in an undead being who sustains immortal bodily existence simply by feeding on the blood of living beings? It’s just an ancient myth, further perpetuated by medieval man’s inability to understand disease or the natural process of death, coupled with some of his religious hang-ups about good and evil, his concept of sinful lust and the universal “there’s got to be a terrible price to pay for accepting earthly immortality over the spiritual kind” thrown into the mix. You agree?
Yes, well… This theory sounds fairly reasonable on the surface, I admit. .But there are a couple of holes in it. Of the fatal neck wound variety, one might say. Actually, maybe more than a couple, but here are a few that stand out: The myth long predates any Judeo-Christian concept of sinful lust (think the Sumerians circa 3500 B.C. and more ancient still). It exists in almost every culture and religion, some with extremely variant ideas on both lust and immortality. It has survived into this rational and scientific modern era which does understand disease and the natural process of death. And it still captivates the mind, and maybe something even deeper, as much as it ever has.
This makes one wonder then, doesn’t it, what is the power in this myth? What about it makes it able to cross divergent cultures, worldviews and millennia? Why does it survive, even if only as interesting fiction to most?
Some might suggest that it is because myth is not, in fact, synonymous with fiction, as is a frequent modern misconception. Others might say that not even fiction is ever fully fictional. Instead, it might be said that all myth and fiction are founded in truth, however obscured, and that they call to our awareness of that truth, no matter how deeply buried it is inside of us.
My suggestion is that you ask yourself these two simple questions: can something be true, but still be missing the fundamental truth? Or can it be true, but misinterpreted severely enough that it renders the truth unbelievable?
If you can answer “yes” to either of these questions, read on for a little more reflection because, I daresay, you already believe that vampires can be real.
Bloodlust
A defining characteristic of the modern vampire, to be sure; but what if this most important of traits is where man has been so led astray? After all, in these enlightened times, it is pretty difficult to see how simply sipping the red stuff could bequeath bodily immortality. There are quite a few creatures that live on it, from a breed of bats to leeches to those pesky unwanted summer visitors. But as eternally annoying as mosquitoes can be, we all know they don’t live forever. To the contrary, a few months, tops, I believe. So, outside of one’s own veins, blood would seem to have no magical properties of life.
Now, not to suggest that the legend has gotten it all wrong. Far be it from me to take the most spectacularly horrific trait from the thing. God knows no one less than a monster would consider spilling a human being’s blood. And drinking it? How gross – unless it’s cooked up in a juicy steak, of course.
Still, even if blood can’t supply immortality, have you ever thought on this: if a creature’s fulfillment required bringing about a death that was slow, intimate and more sedating than traumatic, what would be the most optimum way to deliver it? I grant you, if the death was all that was desired and the blood was not the source of nourishment, it would seemingly be pointless to drink it. Mm, yes, but then again, how many colas and cupcakes have you eaten this year?
Just Plain Lust
This is the strangest one, from my point of view, yet the most popular in modern times. An association with guilt over lustful desires might have been a factor in the legend from early medieval times into the early 20th century, but that’s a pretty much discarded guilt these days, from what I can see. And nonetheless, vampires seem representative of sexual desire more than ever. Odd, all things considered, that in an age where sexual violation and non-consensual relations are almost the only kind frowned upon, a creature that kills his date at the end of the night is considered sexy. But medieval moralizing aside, even the simple idea that a being considered all but dead would be, nevertheless, a sexual being, has always struck me as bizarre. Sex is all about life; vampires all about death. So how is it the twain did meet?
Well, this one’s a little complex for a casual article on the topic, but for those who still do believe man has a spiritual nature, not only a physical one, have you ever thought deeply on how the two are connected? In other words, if all earthly experience has an impact on the soul and prepares one for spiritual existence, where does sex, pardon the pun, fit in?
And Last But Not Least…
Immortality. Great subject and just never gets old, does it? Also the last sticking point in the whole crazy myth, I imagine. For, after all, who lives forever? And even if one could, modern scientific genius has not worked out the problem of aging. Creaky joints and tooth loss wouldn’t make for the most skilled vampiric hunting, assuredly.
Well, here I’ll just suggest that the word “undead” is causing all the problem – you know, the whole walking corpse thing Eastern Europe fixed in everyone’s mind. Not to put to fine a religious point on it, for those who avoid that sort of thing, but there is at least one story about resurrection in which the protagonist returns much more than a reanimated dead body, isn’t there?
But, how dangerous can a vampire be, if he’s offering advice to his victims about the existence of his kind, you might be thinking. And I’d agree this conclusion has merit. But, of course, if vampires are real, I’d be one among many. So if you’re now a little bit worried you discarded the myth or chalked it up to entertaining fiction prematurely, you might want to do some further reading, if only for the sake of self-preservation.
Thanks for the warning Valéry I'll definitely keep it in mind.
And thanks so much for stopping by today.
Krisi Keley has a degree in theology from DeSales University and has also studied foreign and classical languages. She was born in Philadelphia and currently lives in Chester County, PA with her family and eight dogs. On the Soul of a Vampire is her first novel and a second edition of the book with TreasureLine Publishing is now available on Amazon. Pro Luce Habere Volume I, Book II in the On the Soul Series, is expected to be released this summer, 2011 and the author is presently at work on Book II Volume II and Book III of the series.
Check out the website of Krisi Keley for an excerpt of the books and more information
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Giveaway
Thanks to Krisi Keley I will be giving away an ebook of On the Soul of a Vampire and Pro Luce Habere I to one winner and a ecopy of either On the Soul of a Vampire or Pro Luce Habere to another winner. So there will be two winners! This giveaway is international.
So here is what you have to do:
* You do not have to be a follower but it is much appreciated.
* Leave a comment with your email
* This giveaway will end October 22th 2011
* Winners will be chosen by random
You get an extra entry if you tweet about this contest (don't forget to leave a link in the comments)
