Vampires

[Lessien]

Okay, on a recent trip to the bookstore, I noticed that almost every teen fantasy book contains vampires. More specifically, they're almost all about....

1. A secret society of vampires
2. Vampires taking over the world
3. Vampires falling in love with mortals
4. A mortal girl who goes to a school that turns out to be filled with vampires.

What do you guys think of vampires in fiction? Are they drastically overused, or can they be interesting if used creatively?

I shall post my opinion later.

 

[MrBF1V3]

Vampires have become an interesting archetype in our society, therefore, writers find it hard to leave them alone. Vampires are scary and enviable at the same time. They are very strong, but they have weaknesses to common things like garlic or wooden stakes. (During allergy season I can relate.) They have heightened senses, but are not able to see sunlight again. They are immortal, but at the expense of other people's blood. They resurrect daily, but cannot stand the sight of a cross.
What's not to love?

B5

 

[Paladin Dave]

Overused, IMO. I'd like them a LOT more, for the reasons posted above, if every other bloody teenage girl wasn't squealing about how badly they wanted a vampire. At least they don't do it to werewolves and non-vampiric undead so much, so I can study my grim fascination in peace. >.>

But in all seriousness, vampires are great in fantasy. I don't like them being the focal point, except in old literature, but the teen tripe really doesn't give them the kind of credit or reputation they deserve. They're terrifying, powerful, can see in pitch darkness while we fumble around for a candle, can smell our blood while we look around and wonder where the heck they are, and could probably break half our weapons in their hands if they felt so inclined. At the same time, though, they have a weakness(heart and head, most universally). Nothing turns me off to a story like invincible foes that the hero must unlock some hidden power within to defeat, or something like that.

Er, but ya. In summary, vamps can be great, but often are used for the powers of the dark side(read squealing teenage girls)

 

[Lessien]

Overused, IMO. I'd like them a LOT more, for the reasons posted above, if every other bloody teenage girl wasn't squealing about how badly they wanted a vampire. At least they don't do it to werewolves and non-vampiric undead so much, so I can study my grim fascination in peace. >.>

But in all seriousness, vampires are great in fantasy. I don't like them being the focal point, except in old literature, but the teen tripe really doesn't give them the kind of credit or reputation they deserve. They're terrifying, powerful, can see in pitch darkness while we fumble around for a candle, can smell our blood while we look around and wonder where the heck they are, and could probably break half our weapons in their hands if they felt so inclined. At the same time, though, they have a weakness(heart and head, most universally). Nothing turns me off to a story like invincible foes that the hero must unlock some hidden power within to defeat, or something like that.

Er, but ya. In summary, vamps can be great, but often are used for the powers of the dark side(read squealing teenage girls)

Squealing teen girls can be scary....which is why I strive to not be one of them...lol.

Speaking of the undead, have you read The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks? It is what it sounds like--a survival guide for zombie attacks--and it's hilarious. Good tips, though....

 

[NeoScribe]

I've never found vampire's particularly interesting. Though this may have to do with the restriction of no sunlight scenes. I like my daytime. Then I got really turned off by the fangirls making every vampire an angsty, misunderstood, sexy piece of meat (I can't believe I just typed that). I'm a bit more lenient on them now; fangirls will do that to anything, vamps just got the unlucky pick for the season.

Still, even with their strengths I've never found them hero material, or useful enough as villians. Though people with vampire qualities can be interesting (read: creepy) to write about.

 

[Lessien]

teehee...I saw a picture once of the Hobbits on Weathertop (from the first LOTR) movie, and the caption said "The Hobbits watch in horror as five of the dreaded Fangurlz make their way up the mountain..."

I would've posted it, but couldn't find the link.

 

[Doubtless]

Vampires could be found in Tolkien, but only in ancient history sort-of-stuff. They, along with werewolves, were the servants of Sauron, I believe, back when he was Morgoth's lieutenant.

The Elder Scrolls (a fantasy video game series) survived vampirism, but only because they allowed you the choice of becoming a vampire, complete with death if you find yourself in the sunlight.

Other than those two, I've never known a story I liked that had vampires in it. I think it's because, as MrB said, they've become an archetype in our society, and I can't get past two images:

1.) Dracula in a cape, with long fangs hanging out of his mouth, chanting more than saying "I vant to drink you blood."

2.) The vampire-lady from the Underworld trailer. Scary.

Still, I think if a writer could reinvent the vampire archetype (or at least give it a new slant), they could go far with the viscous blood-suckers.

 

[CelticRose]

I hate vampires. Boring & overused & the whole blood thing creeps me out. Far more possibilities with the Undead.

 

[Doubtless]

I'm the same way with the undead.

 

[Lessien]

....I LIKE the undead!

 

[Jesus_Luvs_techies]

I don't think I can use vampires in stories other than to make fun of them. A friend of mine came up with dracula being a repetitive, not so bright, villan who was allways moving the sun towards the ice-cream planet. (Note: She was 4 to 5 years old when she came up with this, but it was a very good story for her age. Very funny.)

 

[sunstruckdream]

Eh...overdone. But I do think that if a fresh, creative twist is put on ANYthing, it can be done well.

 

[Chazemataz]

I dunno why, but I've always found vampires to be oddly sexy myself. Not of course the RAHHH SUCK YOUR BLOOD type, but in the Alice and Edward Cullen type from Twilight.

 

[Shicoco]

Werewolves are cuter

 

[avatarblade2000]

I'm still waiting on an author to take on vampires from a Christian perspective. I liked how, in I AM LEGEND (the book, not the movie of the same name), vampires were treated as a real scientific possibility. The book, to this day, is treated as the single greatest "proof" that vampires could "feasibly" exist...but still, the suspension of disbelief has to be stretched.

Similarly, Max Brooks wrote both THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE and WORLD WAR Z, works of great humor and cunning social satire (what can you expect from the son of Mel Brooks?). He treated the zombie genre of horror with more realism and respect than even most of the pioneers of the genre put thought into.

My vainest hope, for an author like Ted Dekker or Frank Peretti (oh, either or both would be awesome), was that they took on the idea of vampires from a purely Christian perspective. I mean, granted, saying they are infectees of a blood-devouring disease or really the undead out to suck the blood of the living, either would be okay for me. Just so long as we had some Christian explanations of the vampire myths, as I am sure there are some already. Stress why a cross is so terrifying to a vampire. Or garlic, or holy water, and the like.

Granted, treating vampires from that kind of perspective would be literarilly easy, I suppose. The hard part would be to treat things like zombies, aliens, cryptids and such from a Christian perspective, monsters without a blatant religious connection (save zombies, which are found in voodoo-prone cultures). Peretti already did bigfoot and dragons, so...let's see him deal with vampires.

To answer your question, I think the overall stereotype of "when you become a vampire, you become an immortal sex god" is pretty overdone. There was once a story I read that explained this, in which a vampire systematically chose "lookers" for his own cabal of vampire followers, who struck out during the night to flirt and seduce their way into even more followers for their master just by their "good looks." But, that doesn't change the fact that the whole idea is getting cliche. I am, however, with sunstruck: anything can be done well, even something ancient and overdone, if you add a little freshness to it.

 

[Shicoco]

The Zombie Survival Guide will change your life lol.

And I don't watch Jerry Springer, but this one episode said "Jerry Springer and the Vampire", so I had to turn it on lol. This guy thought he was a vampire. It was quite unique.

 

[Inkachu]

Love a well-done vampire story. I like it when the vampire is a well-developed character, with a history and depth to him/her; not just some fanged bloodsucking monster designed to elicit screams from girls. I like it when they're portrayed as eternal, beautiful, sometimes conflicted and mournful. And of course, extra-human strength and senses are just plain cool.

Some fave vamp stories:

Bram Stoker's Dracula
Interview With The Vampire
The "Twilight" series

 

[avatarblade2000]

Some fave vamp stories:

Bram Stoker's Dracula
Interview With The Vampire
The "Twilight" series

Those would be the definitive books in the Vamp-Fan Starter Kit. I agree whole-heartedly.

...don't forget I AM LEGEND, though.

 

[Inkachu]

Never read "I Am Legend" and not sure I want to.

 

[Tariel]

Overall, I don't like vampires, though I have had one or two decent experience with them. Well, fictional thems. I've never met a real one. Just wanted to clear that up. As a whole, I don't have a problem with them, but I don't get what all these teenage girls see in them.

(Slightly off topic, but I've been to a few websites for people who are/think they are vampires. It's very interesting - and if anybody wants to know why I was there, it has something to do with the fact that they had the best information I could find about how much blood a person could loose and still live.)