Vampires: The Myth Exposed

by George Ford

It has been said that stories of the vampire are among the tales told around the world. Although there may be many and significant regional differences, this seems to be the case if the basic definition of the vampire is considered. In all cultures these are the stories of those who have not been able to die. They differ from the ghost in being more than spiritual manifestations. They possess physical bodies and the ability to act in the physical world. They are the undead. This consideration of the vampire will draw heavily upon the tales told in eastern Europe and thus may be severely limited in scope. It is apparent, however, that the stories are similar regardless of their culture of origin and their thousand variations. They are typically concerned with four main characteristics of such creatures. They tell of how the vampire is created, its nature, how it acts and how it may be guarded against or destroyed. Vampires are often viewed as being created because of the circumstances of their death and the treatment of the deceased that follows before the spirit has departed . A familiar idea, certainly, has been that they can be created because of contact with another vampire. Less common, perhaps, but of great prominence in many lands comes from the way in which they "died". Those who die away from their home and in blood (soldiers are perhaps the best example) or through an accident such as drowning are candidates to become the undead. Some say that the form the vampire will be able to assume is a consequence of the manner of their death: those who die in blood can become the wolf, those who drown or suffocate may appear as a cat, and those who are evil as a dog.

Another way in which the vampire may be created, related to the circumstances of death, is the way in which the newly dead are treated. If they die away from home or are unattended, they cannot be sent on their journey to the other world. As well, if the body is not protected before it is buried or if the services of the funeral are not performed correctly, the spirit is doomed to remain with the body. If the person is not acceptable to the gods because of the life that has been led on earth, it may be used by those from the "dark side". In at least one description of the vampire, it is not the person who survives, but it is the body that is taken by the evil one, animated with blood and an unclean spirit In the literature and films of the West, the vampire has often been transformed into a romantic, and even tragic, figure as a counter to its viscious and murderous nature. This has little resemblance to the vampires of the rural people of eastern Europe who view them as irredeemably evil, implacable in their fury and frightening, even hideous, in their appearance (see for example Perkowski 1976 and Summers 1991). They show little kinship with Vlad the Impaler, said to be the inspiration for Dracula, who is an historical figure still revered in his native Romania. The popular stories written by such

famous authors as John Polidori, Bram Stoker and now Ann Rice offer a different figure from that of the tales of the vampire in the village Although in some parts of Europe these creatures were originally simply fearful disturbers of the night, harmful to property and perhaps livestock, the vampire today is everywhere associated with blood and death. When it kills in its frenzy, it sucks the blood or devours the liver and other bloodrich organs. Another characteristic of the vampire is often a principal feature of the tales from the village, It is described as being lustful and "earthy", filled with strong passions that it is compelled to act upon. The vampire is considered to be a creature who, although without a capacity for love, is compelled by sexual desire. In contrast to those of the West, these creatures are never of a great age. They live quite alone, not in a family or communal group. If they have a grave it is their only home. There is nothing glamorous about these undead. They are akin to the villagers who tell the tales, not descended from a nobility. They are likely to be dressed in rags or burial clothing, as unclean as their spirits. Their bodies may be stained with blood, dirt and filth that are the signs of their recent occupancy of the grave or some other unholy place. They awaken no sympathyin the hearts of those whom they meet. They are simply creatures to be feared and shunned or, if they cannot be avoided, to be destroyed. Blood is the essence of the vampire and it is the spilling of its blood that will turn it away or destroy it. Blood animates and sustains the creature, The vampire may do many things that frighten, repel, disturb or destroy, but without blood it cannot exist. The most common means of protection against a visit by the undead is to put sharp objects in its path. The skin of the vampire is said to be thin and its blood easily spilled. It will turn away at the sight of a sharpened blade or a bush of thorns Garlic is not held by many to be an effective deterrent, although it can be a symbol of health and life. Nor are mirrors or a sudden display of the cross of much use. Some vampires, unlike the story of Dracula, can only be viewed in the mirror. If it is evil it will reject the cross, but some say it does not fear the symbol because its home is in the grave yard where it is forced to sleep among the many crosses. Much advice is given to those who would prevent the appearance of the vampire. Some say that they are compulsive counters and can be delayed by a bowl of grains. Farm implements may be buried with a body because the peasant who is a farmer in life needs to be occupied with work if it cannot complete its death. The body may be bound, but not too tightly, if it is feared that the person will become a vampire, The head may be severed and turned around or other means to di orient s may be taken . It has been suggested that many present day burial customs originated from the need to prevent the unwelcome return, because one can never be sure who might die with untold sins and be denied the journey to an afterlife. This, it has been suggested would include the placing of a headstone on the grave and the wearing of mourning clothing to disguise the members of the family. Fire and water play their part in destruction or prevention. If the body is dismembered or pierced with a stake, it is further destroyed by fire. Most essential is to burn the blood of the vampire. The essence of the creature must be completely destroyed, and fire is the most effective agent. Water may deter the vampire or bind its spirit. It is said that the vampire cannot cross water and some will even place a bowl of water at the grave as a precaution against those who may leave their grave . When these measure cannot be taken, magic spells, prayers and the rituals of the religion can be used to drive away or combat the vampire. Those neglected at their funeral may be redeemed by

posthumous ceremony. The services of lay people, predominately old woman who are held to be both holy and wise, may be sought. They may even surpass the authority of the ordained priestin the supernatural power of their spells and incantations. For many, these offer the best protection. The folklorists of eastern Europe have preserved many of the spells meant to stop the vampire or drive the creature away. Prayers and entreaties on behalf of all persons are begun immediately after they die. After all the fate of the deceased is never known for certain, and the passage to heaven or hell must never be taken for granted. Even today, the cries of people at the time of death are for the spirit and for the forgiveness of God. What sense are we to make of such tales of the vampire? Are they mere flights of fancy, intended for entertainment or told by the jokester? Are they offered only by the ignorant and those we dismiss as superstitious? Or do they provide something useful for us to think about? Could there be something in these stories told around the world that is worthwhile for us to learn from and to ponder? Many ideas have been offered by those who have attempted to account for the vampire The first . proposition to consider is that the tales may be true. The stories may have come from actual encounters however they may be embellished by retelling or by tricks played upon the mind by terror Perhaps in an examination such as this we need not dwell too long on this explanation, although it is certainly the most comprehensive and economical way to account for their universality and apparent uniformity from place to place and culture to culture. Paul Barber (1990) offers an explanation of the origin of the vampire, however, that is perhaps grounded in truth. It is his contention that village people may have first conceived their notions of the undead from the actions of the real and unembalmed dead. The body does not lie still after death. There are movements of the fluids within the body and involuntary contractions of muscles even though the heart is no longer beating and the lungs are no longer pumping. Other movements of the corpse can be caused by the processes of decomposition itself or the actions of microorganisms that result in shifting organs. These are natural occurrences to the forensic scientist that even now may cause those without such knowledge to wonder if the death has really been complete. Most frightening of all, there may have been premature burials of people in deep comas who, before the prevalence of embalming, awakened in the grave under the crushing weight of the earth. Later, if they are exhumed, these dead who were not quite dead may show signs of having moved in their graves. Other exhumations have given evidence of a lack of decomposition of bodies long buried. Even for people who can account for this by the conditions of soil and climate, this may have been taken as a sign of continuing existence. Villagers in places of rural Greece still dig up the remains of the dead and look for such evidence. Perhaps observations such as these were an origin of stories of those who do not die. But would they have led to ideas that these unfortunate creatures were evil? Barber and others suggest another way in which history may help us to understand the nature of the vampire in the stories that come from the villages of Europe, There were periods in all of Europe when contagious death was epidemic. The terrified people did not have the knowledge that we use today to understand the causes of such plagues. They would have been more likely to see them, as they were taught , to be the result of sin and evil. Death, it is still sometimes thought, can come from death. The evil dead

were perhaps even more to be feared when a corpse was observed and evidence of continuing life was present. This fear had a positive side. It provided the tormented people with explanations, even scapegoats, that could stir action in relief of anxiety. Rulers and the clergy may have fostered these beliefs to avoid blame and reaffirm their authority in the midst of chaos. In this time of fear, if the vampire could represent a hope of life, it was not by becoming the loathsome creature but by providing a tangible agent whose destruction might conquer death itself. For many analysts, a belief in the vampire has been viewed as a part of a religious belief in the supernatural. In Slavic Eastern Europe, the social scientist, Tosheva-Gjorgjievska (1981), has traced these to beliefs that existed among the people prior to their arrival in the region. These were preChristian beliefs, persisting even today in the little traditions of the villagers, that were characterized by three components: the ancestor cult, totem beliefs and animism. Ancestor cult is a term used to describe a system of beliefs in which the boundary between the world of the dead and the world of the living is less distinct and more permeable. The dead may live in a place such as the underworld, but they are thought to continue to play a role or to be available to the society from which they have departed. The resulting interaction between the living and the dead can be positive. The ancestors may be called upon for assistance and for intervention with the gods. They can help to divine an uncertain future and the belief in the more powerful among the ancestors can provide the foundation for a lineage to establish the authority they may need to rule among the living. But there can be a dark and fearful side to the ancestors as well. As is so frequently noted concerning the belief in ghosts and spirits, the departed, even those who were benevolent in life, may return as hostile and evil. This transformation has not always been so well accounted for. There is certainly the idea that the spirit may be angered by its treatment while alive or neglect after death and be seeking a revenge. Such malevolent spirits or the evil side of any spirit have often been thought to be the cause of death and disaster in the world. We have noted how the funeral service may contain ways to ameliorate or to keep the dead in their place. The content of Christian funerals reflect "pagan" beliefs concerning the actions of the dead that have persisted, perhaps because they continue to have a meaning and a purpose. A failure within these rites and therefore the mismanagement of the deceased are thought to have consequences in the creation of the undead. Tosheva-Gjorgjievska has also connected the totemistic aspects of the earlier religion to the vampire. It does not seem that the reverence of non-human totems resulted directly from the simple, pre-scientific beliefs in non-human origins of the group. Perhaps, as Durkheim (1915) early on concluded, reverence for the totem creates a mystical focus on the importance of the social group itself, serving to strengthen relationships. But, regardless of whether the totem is to be viewed as the origin or the symbol of the human society, in these religions the totem is feared and protected. Especially, it is a form that the ancestral spirit can assume. In this way, ToshevaGjorgjevska regards the notion that the vampire can take the shape of an animal to stem from such totemistic systems of beliefs. It may also explain why the hunter, who is a threat to kill the totem animal, is so often identified as among the potential vampires even though their deaths alone and bathed in blood may be relatively rare. In its third aspect, the earlier religion is also characterized as an animism that populates the world with invisible, spiritual beings. Tosheva-Gjorgjievska acknowledges the influence of Edward Burnett

Tylor, the first formal academic anthropologist in the West, in her understanding of animism. Tylor, whose work began at about the time of the first publication of Darwin s influential theory of natural selection, defined anthropology as dealing with the scientific (empirical) study of the evolution of culture. He based his theories of cultural development on stories he collected from around the world. From these tales and descriptions.he arrived at the conclusion that all societies have developed along the same path of social and cultural evolution, including science, religion and technology. Some societies have attained greater heights of development along this co mmon path. This is a notion of cultural superiority that unfortunately still influences some in their evaluation of others different from themselves. Perhaps, we view vampire stories as ignorant superstition because they are not a part of our (more enlightened) beliefs. Tylor s search for the origins of religion led him to the theory that it began with the concept of the soul, a "detachable", invisible duplicate of the person. He offered that the idea of these spiritual beings led to the conclusion on the part of "early" humans that these spirits were acting in the world and were the reason for otherwise inexplicable events. Tylor s work is tainted with conclusions based on speculation rather than evidence, but his descriptions of animism remain useful. To the believer, an evil spirit can be the cause of evil in the world. This then provides an explanation of the disease and disasters that beset the human, including even death itself. The understanding of the plague was not the concept of germs but the concept of evil spirits. The search for and destruction of such evil spirits gave at least an illusion of effective action that may have reduced anxiety and replaced it with another that could be more readily understood and combated. Vampires tales can be usefully thought of as myths. This approach may be a promising path to explaining the stories that are told. However, the concept of myth can be tricky. Myth defined as stories that concern supernatural beings and events provide the ideological foundations of a ll religions. Although one common use of the term today is of something that is not true, it must be acknowledged when used to understand religious beliefs, that one man s myth can be another s sacred text. Most people in the West had their introduction to what they were taught to call myths in the stories of the Greeks, Romans, Norsemen or American Indians. They read these in their schools typically as reading exercises or as literature, perhaps even for entertainment. They often viewed the edited versions they were offered as fantastic tales and not as the foundation of beliefs. If they thought of them in this way at all, it was probably to question how any of them could actually have been believed. Only later, perhaps, did they learn that their own sacred stories might be so regarded by others and that what they had dismissed as superstition at best could be for another a deeply held conviction. The power of myths depends upon symbols. We can define symbols as words or objects or gestures that arouse thoughts and emotions, in contrast to signs that denote a physical presence. The powerful and efficacious symbol is one that has been described by scholars such as Victor Turner (1967) as condensed and multivocal, packing the potential to provoke many thought . It does not s depend on everyone getting an identical message and, thus, a single symbol can have a wide appeal. The cross to the Christian, the Star of David to the Jew or the crescent moon to the Muslim may stimulate many different notions among the faithful....something for everyone, adding up to a powerful device to motivate or inspire. The way that others act toward us in regard to the symbol

gives it a unique reality. If the connotations of the symbol connect to basic human processes or stimulate emotional response, its authenticity can only be enhanced. The symbol elicits thought and these cannot be verified in an empirical reality. This is the strength of the myth. To the scoffer s contention that the existence of a supernatural power cannot beproven, the believer may answer but neither can it be disproved by the methods of science. These differences of the requirements of evidence have often separated science and religion, perhaps unnecessarily and too often without recognition. The function and purpose of myth in our lives have been the subject of even greater debate. Some say they are intended to provide information about the world. Others say they should be taken as instructions about how to behave or how to experience the world around us. An example of the former may be Levi-Strauss theory that myths reconcile the contradictions that exist between culture and the natural world, such as that between the knowledge of death and the promises of life. An example of the latter can be Joseph Campbell s formulation that myths can tell us how to experience our lives to realize our human potential. Myths may also serve to provide an identity for a group, a rallying point that overarches conflicts and helps to solidify relationships with those upon whom we must rely. Certainly, we see in Western myths, including those of our own religions, the creation of a "we-they" dichotomy that on the one hand results in troubles such as those in northern Ireland or in the Middle East, but on the other hand helps to make claims on others for the support and assistance that brought, for example, the Irish Catholics of Boston to such political prominence. The mainstream Western religions offer a view of the earth and the cosmos in terms of the existence of good and evil. Zarathustra of Iran is generally given the credit, or the blame, for the promotion of the spiritual dualism that so governs our lives and our cultures. The concept is of the creator separate from the creation, resulting in the sacred and the profane. In the principal, so-called spiritual religions of the Orient, the creator and the creation, even including you and me, are considered to be one and thus there can be no spiritual evil. There may be dangers to the body and the mind, but this is not thought of as spiritually wrong, only a part of existence. The obligation of the believer is not to war against evil. It is to connect oneself to all of creation. This distinction that results in such profound differences of belief and practice is made through the myth or, if you will, the sacred text. The myth is not a set of easily understood and followed "how to" books of instructions. Because it makes use of symbols, its power is in arousing many thoughts and emotions. Above all, as we have noted, it is not subject to empirical disproof.. Vampires may fit the definition of the symbol and the tales of vampires may qualify as myths. What the vampire symbolizes is undoubtedly condensed and multivocal. One illustration of this is the many different ideas that are stimulated by the popular literature and films of today and by their subsequent wide appeal among such a varied audience. For the people of eastern Europe, the vampire was the symbol of evil, As myth, it told something about the way the world was to be regarded. Perhaps we have difficulty understanding these as instructions for behavior, except for simple messages such as the care of the dead or the dangers of the night. They may be equally difficult for us to see today as a path to experience the world. But, they may have provided a way in the earlier context of beliefs to think about evil and how to deal

with it. Why were these messages, if that is what they were, so obscure rather than straight forward instructions or information? One reason they may seem to us as so disguised is because the information we rely on today was not available or meaningful. More importantly, the function of the myth is not to answer empirical questions but to bring forth thoughts and provoke emotion. Within the terrors of disasters, vampires might provide an understanding, however faulty we might consider it, of the unknown and hope for dealing with the cause. Myths as stories are also more likely to be listened to and remembered than lists of rules or instructions. One afterthought concerning vampire tales as myths. Myths and symbols can establish an identity for a group that helps to maintain its solidarity and protect its boundaries. The people of eastern Europe who have provided the main examples of this discussion told stories that offer an example of this use of myth. In the Balkans, these are Slavic speakers and they consider themselves to be of Slavic origins. These are not the descendants of earlier people on the peninsula and almost from their first arrival in the sixth or seventh centuries AD, their ancestors were ruled by other groups. For long periods of time, this included the Bulgars and the Byzantines. For more than five hundred years, into the twentieth century, much of the land was part of the Ottoman Empire. Even today, some explain or rationalize their culture and behavior as shaped by five centuries of Turkish "slavery." Life under the Turks could be hard. But, inspite of often heavy burdens of taxes and tributes, the Slavic people were allowed a surprising measure of autonomy. The Ottoman Empire was organized as a Muslim state, with an intriguing and now often debated interaction of government and religion. The lands were conquered and organized as religious communities. As "people of the book," Christians were not only allowed to keep their religion, but their churches were given a voice in their own governing. The result was a population within the Turkish empire who adopted many features of Turkish dress, diet, language and custom, but still maintained a separate ethnic identity. This identity was regional in nature and the widespread idea of Slavic nations did not emerge in some locations until the twentieth century. But, it provided the essential vehicle for the social relationships needed to cope and survive. For many Slavs, the most important organizations in Turkish times were not those of a nation but of the family and the village. Religious beliefs were an essential part of that identity. Balkan people still affiliate and mark themselves off from others in their lands according to religion. To be a Christian in the Ottoman past might mean to be a second-class citizen in many ways, and some few did convert for that reason to Islam. But the religion was more important as the basis for claims of obligation and assistance at the subsistence level of everyday life. East Europeans today exhibit the boundary maintenance of ethnic groups largely through proclaimed differences of religion and language. You see this clearly in the sometimes puzzling behavior of different groups within the tiny former nation of Yugoslavia. The vampires in the tales of the Slavs are Christian and described within the Christian system of belief. The Muslim Turks and Albanians of the land have their own stories of the supernatural to tell, but they are not a part of the Christian traditions of the vampire, The vampire is often created when the requirements of the church are not met. The way of protection from the vampire is sought through the religion. The great tradition of the official church has long condemned the vampire as a pagan belief, but the little tradition is strong and even local clergy have participated.

On this basis it is suggested that the vampire tales , like all myths, have a "we-they" component important to their meaning. This may not tell one how to live one s life as a Christian, although proper Christian procedures may be essential to the stories. Rather, meaning is conveyed that the Christians are different from the Muslims, subject to different rules under a different God. It is a claim on the person and it is their claim on others for the relationships of family and community necessary for their existence. Tales of the vampire take their place along with other elements of history and lore that preserved the systems of relationships needed to cope with the world. It may also be that the terrifying nature of the stories contains a warning to stay within this community whose symbol is the church.

References

Barber, Paul 1990. The Real Vampire.Natural History, October 1990, pp. 74=82.

Durkheim, Emile 1915. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. The Free Press, New York, NY.

Perkowski, Jan L. 1976. Vampires of the Slavs.Slavonic Publishers, Inc. Cambridge. MA.

Summers, Montague 1991.The Vampire. Dorset Press, New York, NY.

Toshiva-Gjorgjievska, Elica 1981.VeruvanjetavoVampirivoMakedonija: Religiozno- FilosofskiAspekt (The Belief in Vampires in Macedonia: Religious-Philosophic Aspect). Folkloriot i Etnologiatana Bitola i Bitolsko (Socialist Republic of Macedonia) pp. 565-579.

Turner, Victor 1967. The Forest of Symbols.Cornell University Press. Ithaca, NY.