Archive for November, 2009
With the popularity of vampire shows and movies such as Twilight, New Moon and True Blood, the subject of vampires have been discussed a lot recently.
Vampires have gone mainstream these days, but for hundreds of years vampires have inspired real terror among the populations of different areas. Throughout the world people have feared the undead and feared that their deceased loved ones would return after death to stalk the living. Over the last couple of decades vampires have gone mainstream with the wide recognition of Goth culture and a new generation of vampire devotees inspired by the Twilight books and films but vampires have not always been seen as romantic, misunderstood figures.
In Europe the legend of the vampire is believed to have come from a misunderstanding of the natural process of human decomposition. After a person died and was buried the process of decomposition can cause physical characteristics that are often associated with vampires such as blood around the mouth or nose, or a full stomach. The hair and fingernails of a corpse appear to continue growing after death but in reality what happens is that as the bodily fluids drain through decomposition the skin shrinks and pulls back on the body, which gives the illusion of longer hair and fingernails. The appearance of blood around the mouth and nose made people assume the corpse had been drinking blood.
There are humans who have a medical condition called Porphyria who really do drink blood. Porphyria is a genetic condition that can run in families and is very common in some parts of Europe. Porphyria can cause symptoms 
similar to those associated with vampires like a sensitivity to light that can cause the skin to burn or purple lesions to form when the person is exposed to sunlight. People affected with Porphyria usuallyi have a ghostly pallor caused by a blood deficiency and lack of sunlight on the skin. In the past drinking blood was prescribed for people with Porphyria to replace the blood elements that their own blood lacked.
Hollywood created the first romantic vampire with the creation of the Dracula character with the 1931 Dracula film starring handsome leading man Bela Lugosi. The film Dracula was famously portrayed as a tragically handsome figure who spent eternity pining for his lost love. But in actual vampire mythology vampires are not handsome, romantic, or loving. They were portrayed as ghoulish characters who would stalk and kill humans by drinking their blood in various ways and leaving corpses in their wake. Even the quintessential vampire, Dracula, was based on the horrifying life of Vlad Tepes, the Romanian mass murderer who was known for the brutal killings of thousands of his own people and his taste for human blood. The 1922 silent film Nosferatu showed a vampire character that is in keeping with traditional vampire lore: an ugly, frightening killer.
But audiences latched onto the suave, romantic figure of Bela Lugosi’s tuxedo and cape clad vampire and the vampire has been associated with tragic romance ever since. If you’re planning on dressing like a vampire for Halloween you can create either a Bela Lugosi inspired romantic costume or you can create a more traditional ghoulish costume with corpse like makeup and scary accessories.
It is never too early to start planning for Halloween 2010. While it is only 355 days until Halloween (as of this post), you can always get some good deals and inspiration.
Many people that I know ask for Halloween stuff for Christmas presents. Now that is the devotion we like.