Vampyr F. A. Q.Do
Vampires Still Exist?There is little tangible evidence available on the
existence of
Vampires, and undue weight has to be placed on circumstancial
evidence. 1. Every occurrence of human combustion - especially 'spontaneous'
combustion - needs thorough examination. In practice, this is patchy and
details
often emerge too late for firm conclusions to be drawn. A trickle of reports
has arisen in Eastern and Central Europe, most provided by professional Vampire
hunters. Several isolated
reports have come from urban areas in the USA -
50% of these in New York. 2. Vampire-Typical injury reports (neck bites,
severe bleeding from small wounds), also need investigation. This is almost impossible,
as no health service categorises wounds in a useful way - and victims often go
to great lengths to disguise or deny such injury. 3. Exsanguination deaths
and missing bodies: A significant number of such
events have occurred in key
locations; reports of body snatching have continued, some with no evidence of
external assistance, and few with any possible motive for such theft. 4.
Vampire sightings have increased in recent years; this may be in part due to unwelcome
and inaccurate televisual displays - a badly educated public is in increasing
danger, and compounds this by false reports Verification is difficult,
but there is sufficient circumstantial evidence, and individual experiences, to
assert that not only do Vampires still exist - but they are thriving. Is
anyone still investigating Vampires; Where?Most sightings, and indeed
most legends, still arise in Central Europe;
there is little doubt that the
species arose in this area, and was probably
confined there until about 150
years ago. Recent evidence suggest that the
anonymity of large cities has
attracted an fast-growing network of vampire
communities, attracted by a transient,
dislocated population, as well as an
active nocturnal life. Most serious researchers
are at work in the great
cities of the western world, with just a few in the
Carpathian Mountains.
Do Vampires Turn To Dust
When Staked?In a word, No. This device, popularized by Buffy
the Vampire Slayer, was actually a television convenience devised by Joss
Whedon to evade the need to justify a stack of corpses littering the graveyards.
Staking actually starts an incendiary process,
likely to end in a pile of fine white ash, with some boney remnants. Do
Crucifixes Kill Vampires?A wooden crucifix could cause serious superficial
burns, and, given enough time, could prove fatal. But this is a chemical
effect, not a religious one.
Many vampires are of devout Christian, Central
European descent, and a crucifix could well trigger severe guilt feelings; in
some cases, self-loathing. But not fatality. Do Vampires
Fear Water?Yes; A vampire really is an incendiary device waiting to be
detonated (check the theory), and water,
even steam, presents a real risk to the vampire. Can
Vampires Fly?Only if they get a ticket. Vampires have been shown turning
into bats, wafting effortlesly upward, even leaping out of windows with a 'bat
flight' soundtrack to suggest flight. It's all hokum; an exhausted vampire could
not fly across Los Angeles and look fresh afterward, any more than I can - whatever
Nick Knight might suggest. And why a
vampire should even want to turn into a swarm of bats, as suggested by The League
of Extraordinary Gentlemen, beats me. Vampires can probably utilize stored
energy better than normal folk, and a vertical leap - or rapid escape from
pursuit - might suggest flight. But it's not. Are Vampires
Evil?Not necessarily; vampires just "are"; as a lion is not
evil when it kills a zebra, so a vampire is not evil for feeding off a person;
living creatures do what they must to survive. The consensus is, however, that
for the most part, Vampires are "not very nice". However, like
the fox killing all the chickens in the hen house, rather than just the one, some
Vampires are particularly unpleasant - and as they have intelligence, those that
choose such a lifestyle are probably evil. Just as some humans are evil ... Have
Vampires Evolved?If Vampyrism began somewhere in Eastern Europe in the1400's,
and given the extremity of their physiology, it would be logical to assume that
if they have survived this long that they may have evolved in order to survive. Long-lived
creatures are doomed to evolve more slowly, whatever the
pressures on them;
a longer life means fewer generations, slower
reproduction and so fewer opportunities
for evolutionary change. Parasitic organisms might appear to have the freedom
to reproduce at will;
but most are subject to limitations, in some cases a
complex life cycle,
involving more than one host species, in others a simple
population
pressure. Vampires who allow their community to grow too
large risk discovery and
destruction; individuals and small groups might get
by for ages - especially
in isolated communities. The act of vampirification
creates a potential
competitor, as well as a blood relative - a community
that can support one
vampire's appetites might not be able to support two;
from such instability
mobs, riots and flaming torches are born! How
Do Vampires Survive?The advance of technology must pose a threat to the
vampire; bureaucracy, finger print identification and security photography may
force vampires to finally decide whether to risk life within the 'normal' community
- or to survive in the netherworld of the drug and crime community, illegal immigrants
and the homeless: they must be tempted to want the advantages of each, without
the disadvantages of either. I suspect a fear of the tightly-ordered modern world
will make the decision for them. Long life brings opportunities and knowledge;
a stable community has the
chance - and the need - to plan for the long term.
Legends of lonely castles and huge empty estates are probably close to the truth.
The modern equivalent would be the Swiss bank account, the off-shore trust
... but still an emphasis on property, the safest deposit of them all - and the
one vital to the Vampire life style. The vampire down on its luck would
be at the mercy of everything life could throw at it - including sunlight - and
would probably not survive for long. AcknowledgementsThanks
to PK (private), for raising interesting questions
| 
