Admit it.  If you are a writer, and haven’t written something that has included at least one vampire, you want to.  It is my belief that an author isn’t really an author until they have expressed a certain... unrest?... with a character that is completely uninhibited.  Vampires are cross-genre, and appear in almost every type of literature, from fantasy to children’s stories, and especially in romance and horror.  Some vampires are dark and mysterious, some animalistic and terrible, while others teach children to count.   Before we write about these supernal creatures, we need to understand the many different legends that surround them, and more importantly, what they all have in common.

Let me begin by posing the question ‘What is a vampire?’  This may sound like a rather simple inquisition because we all know the facts: vampires have big fangs, sleep in coffins, and are best dispatched by a stake through the heart.  And most of all, we know that there are no such things.  Right?  Wrong.  Granted there may be no legions of undead stalking the streets and turning into bats, but vampires are much more than that.

I’d actually bet that you have met a vampire.  Yes, a real one.  There is a great article by Inanna Arthen entitled “Real Vampires” where a vampire is explained as more of a type than a creature.  Have you ever met someone that drains all your energy when you are with them?  Someone slightly eccentric, who, after being with them, makes you feel overwhelmed and tired?  Some believe that vampires do not necessarily need to drink blood, they just need “pranic” energy – or life force.  Blood is rumored to be the highest source of pranic energy, but vampires can take it with more subtle tricks.  When a vampire needs this energy, they become a “psychic vortex,” striving for attention, sexually frustrated, aggressive, and impossible to be around.  When a vampire has too much energy, they become introverted.  When you write your vampire story, be sure to include these mood swings.  They can take place hourly, daily, or in any amount of time your imagination can come up with.  A vampire requires this energy, and needs to find his or her own stimulating way of finding it.  If you were to write a vampire that didn’t like the taste of blood,  could you find another way to get them the energy they need?

The origins of the vampire is an aspect very disputed, but there are a few things we know for sure.  The first reference to the word didn’t occur until 1047, and as such, take care that you don’t use the word if your story is set earlier in time.  Of course, this doesn’t mean vampires didn’t exist earlier than this, just that there wasn’t a word for it.  One of my favorite legends about the birth of the vampire is the lore that Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus the Christ, is to blame. The Bible, in a seemingly contradictory manner, discusses the death of Judas the apostle in two manners.  The first, ‘And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself,’ while another reads, ‘… and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.’ The great secret, per vampirology, is that both are correct.  According to the first scripture, found in Matthew 27:1, a conversation pursued between Judas and those to whom he sold the Lamb of God.  He later, according to Acts, purchased a plot of land with the silver coins for which he sold Christ.  Because of his guilt, at sunset, he hung himself on a tree.  The hanging, however, did not cause instant death, and Judas was still alive as the sun set.  As the last ray of light danced on the horizon, the rope that suspended Judas mysteriously broke, causing him to fall and his bowels to gush out.  He was dead, because his soul left him.  He was not dead, because his life force (or pranic energy), combined with the spirit summoned to him by his act of betraying Christ, was still found in his body. I love this interpretation, because we learn that wooden stakes can harm vampires in symbol of the tree that suspended the living Judas; as though the tree wasn’t able to finish its job in the time past, it comes with more force in the hand of the slayer in the form of a stake.  Vampires can also be defeated by hanging or beheading, finishing the job of the noose.  A silver cross is a reminder of the silver that betrayed the Christ, and the cross on which he suffered for the pains of the world, including those of Judas.  This legend is so absolute, incorporating all of these things and intertwining them perfectly with a great historic event.

Of course, you can make up whatever you want.  I guess that’s what is great about fiction.

Modern day vampires are not cliché.  I find that, because they are so amazing to write, some consider the vampire myth to be overly exploited and boring to read!  How sad!  When you write your story, put a new twist on the old legends.  Make them somehow modern.  You can do this by combining many different versions of legend.  Will you use the Anne Rice philosophy that sunlight immediately kills a vampire, or do you think more like Christopher Pike and feel it preposterous that such a powerful creature can meet his doom by light?  Are you like me, believing that it is all based on the experience and age of the vampire?  Or can you think of another way to twist this aspect of legend?

A vampire is powerful, and has learned to use its naturalistic qualities to intrigue and impress.  As humans, we are enthralled by something that claims no moral inhibitions.  Part of being a vampire is to not follow the rules of society.  They murder, deprave, shock, and amaze, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have a conscience.  I’ve met some authors who connect the soul with the conscience, and write vampires that have no remorse or regret.  I believe the morals and standards of a person are both logical and spiritual, and therefore believe that a vampire still feels that killing is inherently wrong.  I find the psychological exploration, between the struggle of what the creature knows it needs and knows it wants, very profound.  If your vampire is “dead” this makes for an even harsher point… his remorse for what he has to do coupled with his desire to do it can literally be the purgatory in which his soul is rumored to roam.  Expanding on this will give your character more depth, intrigue the reader, and make them feel sorry for the creature.  You then have a perfect stage for a heart-wrenching plot – romance, horror, fantasy, or otherwise.  However you choose to do it, a psychological element is a must, whether that be blatant mind control, intrigue, remorse, regret, or a psychological horror element.  Make it bittersweet (or sweetbitter, as the case may be).

Hopefully you have picked up on the following key points:

1.      Vampires are emotionally draining requiring the energy of others to survive.  They are demanding, docile and unpredictable all at the same time (almost sounds like my ex-girlfriend, eh? Oh I know you were thinking the same thing).

2.      A vampire does not have to be dead, and can creatively be written as any character as long as they posses vampiric traits.

3.      Focusing on pranic energy, instead of the common ways to obtain that energy, can allow you to create a vampire that is cruel, kind, horrific, loveable, or anywhere in between.

4.      Pick a legend - or at least know the legends - and improve on, twist, or interject your own experience into that legend.

5.      Vampires are more psychological creatures than anything else.  They represent a side of humanity that would exist if there were no moral constraints.  They should act accordingly, and intrigue accordingly.  The surrounding characters should see them as something they long to become, but are afraid to allow.

As a self proclaimed vampire lover, I am in a state of amazement at the levels and delicacies of the vampire world.  An abusive spouse could be considered a vampire, as could Lestat, Count Chocula, Dracula, a stray dog, a loving mother, a wayward child; a human being or a creature of the night!  

When we look at what truly makes a vampire, when we see past the clichés of fangs and coffins into the depths of the being, when we analyze the makeup of these fictional (or not so fictional) creatures, we will be enlightened with the understanding that vampires are only an attractive, immortal, powerful, uninhibited, and fearless portrayal of ourselves.