The Ethics of Vampirism

Myths and legends are not just quaint folk-tales told for amusement-even in the days before television and movies, myths always served a higher function than mere “entertainment.” Invariably, behind those stories there exists an entire worldview that deals with the fears, anxieties, and darkest desires of a culture. A single myth can explain more about a culture, than a legion of sociologists armed with surveys and clip-boards could accomplish in a life-time. Myths are powerful because they tap into the real, underlying values of a culture

The myth of the vampire is worldwide; every culture seems to have developed some sort of legend of a creature who lives off the blood of the innocent. This connection may be explained by Scripture itself telling us that the “life is in the blood.” While we recognize both the sacramental aspects of this as well as the medical, blood and life are closely associated in all human communities. Most people today are most familiar with the Eastern European version of the blood-sucking myth, especially as dramatized by Bram Stoker’s novel, “Dracula.”

When analyzing any mythology, the old Materialist’s anti-supernatural prejudice must be recognized and dealt with. Christians, by revelation, KNOW that the supernatural exists; but apart from what Scripture tells us, we must depend upon rational investigation to determine if legends or myths have any substance in reality. Since the Bible does not talk about vampires, we have no divine authentication for their actual existence. While belief in literal vampires was common throughout Europe during the Middle Ages, (most well-educated, professionals right up to the Enlightenment assumed the vampire’s existence to have been proven), the 19^th century saw a powerful reaction against anything supernatural. Vampires, being supernatural could not exist because the Materialists refused to believe in anything that was “above” nature. By the time that Stoker wrote his novel, it was just a horror story- a compilation of strange and eerie legends that could send a shiver up the spine. Granted, his novel probably touched something very basic and primordial in English and American culture; men were uncomfortable with the advancing power of Humanism and Materialism and therefore found his novel intriguing, just because it provided a culturally acceptable way of dealing with the supernatural.

And apart from certain maladjusted personalities suffering from various psychopathologies, no one in modern society really BELIEVES in vampires -though there MAY be several perfectly normal explanation for wide-spread reports of vampirism in the Middle Ages. For example, a person infected with rabies shares many similarities with the classic vampire; aversion to light, pasty complexion, insane, aggressive behavior leading to biting, etc. And like the vampires of legend, a person bitten by someone or something afflicted with rabies will contract the disease (though actually, to become a vampire according to classic mythology requires a transfer of blood FROM the vampire to the victim-again, Hollywood usually gets this wrong). However, people afflicted with “vampirism” might bite a victim, who would then die. It was assumed that since vampirism was a curse, if a person came back from the dead, as a vampire, he MUST have done something intentional to bring it upon himself, such as make a pact with the devil or willingly drunk from a vampire; either way, there was a connection between an exchange of fluids and vampirism, which is what happens when the rabies infected saliva is introduced into an open wound.

So, modern science has safely regulated the existence of the vampire to actual phenomenon misinterpreted by “primitive” pre-scientific cultures. However rural villagers in Romania have been reliably reported TO THIS DAY to routinely drive a stake through the heart of certain corpses before final burial. (As a side note, the purpose for driving a stake through the heart of a vampire is NOT to kill it, but rather to pin it to the ground so that it cannot leave its grave; again, Hollywood got it wrong).

Originally, the vampire legend, though taking slightly different forms in different cultures, universally described the creature as a genuine undead monster, creeping out of its grave to prey on the innocent. It was only with the stage and film version of Stoker’s “Dracula” especially as personified in the characterization given by the Hungarian actor, Bela Lugosi that the vampire became a “romantic” figure with suave manners and an opera cape.

In fact, due to the strictures on sexuality in the films of the time, it became quite clear to EVERY social commentator that the appeal of vampirism was that it was a euphemism for erotic seduction. All those scenes of “Dracula” staring into beautiful young women’s eyes, or entering their bedrooms at night, were deliberately staged to suggest something that the more Christianized culture at the time forbid to put on the screen. Dracula however became passé in the 1940’s; the Depression and WW II created a conservative mindset that suppressed sexuality in ALL forms and vampirism was no longer frightening without his seductive powers. “Dracula” was eventually reduced to sharing the screen with Abbot and Costello; no longer a character of fear or even seduction but simply a caricature to be ridiculed.

The Hammer Film Company in Great Britain revived the vampire genre starting in the 1950’s-60’s and with the loosening moral ties, exploited the sexual aspects of vampirism. In the early films, they might have restricted themselves to the inevitable busty female with a plunging neckline, but by the seventies, they created an entire series of films that qualify as soft-porn. Only having seen the American television versions of the Hammer films, I was shocked when I saw them broadcast, uncut on BBC and ITV while living in England. I grew up watching Peter Cushing as Van Helsing chase Christopher Lee as Dracula with crosses, cornering him and then inventively dispatching him, only to see Dracula arise in ever more creative ways in the next film. To realize that Hammer had destroyed the “innocence” of this classic battle between good and evil by deliberately injecting nudity and perversion, was just very, very, sad.

However, this sexual aspect has always been a basic underpinning of the popularization of vampirism in modern literature and film. In fact, contemporary movies actually make the sexuality the central theme. Originally, a vampire was an animated corpse, with all the attraction that implies, able to maintain a sense of “life” by feeding off the blood of the innocent. The silent film, “Nosferatu” (and its recent remake-which is a brilliant satire on Hollywood) is a far more accurate portrayal of the actual myth of the vampire; a horrible, monstrous, undead THING that preys on the living. Vampirism is clearly a curse for both the vampire and the victim.

However, modern vampirism in movies and books seems to be a blessing; one receives eternal youth, beauty, strength and power. One can have sexual relations at will with all the partners one wants. One can control others through various means as well it seems a black belt in various martial arts. Film-makers still usually make the vampire an evil character, but they seem muddled about WHY the character is evil-and often blur the line so badly that it is hard to tell the difference between the hero and villain. In fact, in popular literature (say Anne Rice’s works), the vampire is often down-right sympathetic. “Blade,” three films based on a Marvel comic book series began with the classic conception of the vampire as the ultimate evil to be destroyed, but eventually succumbed to the temptation of making them morally ambiguous. It is no accident that if one does a Google search on the Internet for “Vampire” there are literally tens of thousands of web-sites devoted to vampiric lore, clubs, fiction, art, films, etc. The average person today no longer sees the vampire as a monster to be feared, but rather the overt expression of their own dark natures; sexual and otherwise.

The appeal of the modern vampire is of power on man’s terms; the power to be strong, to kill at will, but preeminently the power to seduce. And let there be no mistake, seduction is power. The original mythology of vampires was more akin to a brutal rape; the violent assault on the innocent (which is not to say that the earlier mythology was sexual in any way). The modern version normally uses hypnosis and the promise of immortality as the main means of obtaining “blood” when it wants to portray the vampire as anything less than pure evil; but at the core, both approaches are ultimately about exercising power over others.

The modern vampire is thus popular just because it offers the greatest of all possible temptations; to be as god, unrestrained by anyone or anything other than one’s own will. The vampire is beautiful and young, sexual and strong, without conscience or inhibition and in female form, is ALWAYS perverted in orientation. Thus the modern vampire appeals to all the basest urgings and desires of the human soul, because at heart, it implicitly grants the right to be above morality.

The ethic of the modern vampire is simply the philosophy of the Marquis de Sade without all the pretentious verbiage. De Sade was not just about inflicting pain for sexual pleasure, but about imposing his will on others because he could; whatever “is” - is right. De Sade sought philosophical justification for his perversions, and even revolutionary France declared him insane and committed him to asylums. But the attack on Christian theism and morality that the revolution had unloosed could not be stemmed simply because they imprisoned its most philosophically consistent adherent. Later on Nietzsche gave a more philosophical and rational justification for the same approach to human ethics; his myth of the super-man, directly led to fascism and the death camps in Germany. Power, unrestrained by anything except man’s own will, inevitably leads to destruction. As Lord Acton said, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Thus, the modern myth of the vampire is De Sade and Nietzsche come to life in the form of a monster that we secretly recognize as living inside all of us. For two thousand years, Biblical Christianity kept that monster safely chained up; the Enlightenment, Humanism, Materialism and the death of modern philosophy have released him again to prey on the innocent. It is no accident that brutal rapes, and sadistic serial killers (almost all sexually motivated), have become pandemic in modern culture. No, we cannot blame the myth of the vampire for their cause, but we can see the common ground between them. What Hollywood and popular fiction glamorize, twisted men act out in their daily life.

As mentioned previously, at the root of all human problems is a basic orientation to want to be as god, determining good and evil for one’s self exercising power over others according to one’s own will. This power might be personal, social, economic or political; but the essence of the man in rebellion to God is an unlawful desire to replace God’s sovereignty with man’s will.

In a Christianized society, this sinful orientation is inhibited and suppressed. Men are taught by Christ, through His church, to live self-sacrificial lives, serving, rather than being served, and submitting their wills, to His. It is no accident that the earlier mythology saw Christian symbols such as the cross or the Eucharist as being the ONLY effective means of combating the vampire; symbols that are routinely ridiculed as being ineffective in ALL modern movies and books. Whether they realize it or not, the contemporary producer or writer is actually making a profound statement about the role of Christianity in modern society; it is not some half-baked attempt at political correctness, but the realization that Christianity no longer provides the basic morality of society that is being attacked.

And without that Christian moral consensus, men tend to become consistent with their basic nature-and evil flourishes in the world. It is no accident that vampirism in films and literature is closely associated with violence against women in particular; the unlawful hunger for brutal sexual power, over another man’s wife or daughter.

But the sexual aspects are simply one manifestation of the deeper problem. Apart from a few superstitious people living in almost forgotten parts of Eastern Europe, no one fears the vampire today as a genuine entity. But the same philosophy and ethics behind the vampire are taught in every university and college in America and practiced in the personal ethics of most Westerners; Man is his own god, he can have what he wants on his own terms, because there is no universal moral code that binds all men.

Thus, the rejection of Biblical Christianity, and the search for morality apart from Christ, must inevitably lead us to the ethics of the vampire; seduction if possible, brutal rape if necessary, for nothing can transcend the individual’s will. And while these terms are provocative and possibly even offensive to some, only they carry the full range of emotive response to the reality of the vampire ethic being worked out in every area of life. From the university professor seducing his students into a meaningless worldview, to the corporate raider, raping a company for his assets, to the politicians who use both techniques to acquire and maintain their position, all are engaged in the same vampiric effort to exercise unlawful power over others.

The vampire as myth no longer has the power to frighten us; familiarity does breed contempt. But the vampire as ethic is as real as your local prison; and most frightening of all, this ethic is become mainstream. Modern Western culture has no defense against the vampire ethic because philosophically, they have rejected the only worldview that can consistently combat it. By the sovereign grace of God, He has chosen to restrict how consistent men become with their vampire ethic, but how long will he be patient with a rebellious and wicked people? The lands of Egypt, Canaan, Babylon, Greece, and Rome were all finally judged and destroyed because despite the local differences, at heart they had accepted the Tempter’s lie and adopted the vampire ethic. Each of these societies glorified in death, occultism, slavery, sexual debauchery and tyranny; and each, according to God’s time table were overthrown. Let us pray then, that God gives grace and a new revival or religion, lest we find that the vampire has returned and taken up residence next door.