rethinking vampires - part 2

In my last post, I talked about mythical vampires. Now, let's talk about 'biological' vampires. I know, it sounds a bit more squishy, but it's still worth exploring a bit.

So, some would have vampirism be a biological explicable phenomenon. Zombies have been given the same basic treatment over the last several decades, to the point where a movie like 'I am Legend' was able to rework the vampires of the source material into zombies and nobody noticed. Well, almost nobody. At least enough people didn't notice and they mostly got away with it.

Some classic and non-classic vampires. Good old Drac was a mythological vampire, Blade tried to have its cake and eat it, and honestly, I don't even know what pretty-boy's story is. I think the Vampire Diaries vamps were mythological?

Some other stories, like Underworld, blended the two ideas. If I remember correctly, the original vampire and werewolf boys were born from an immortal (magic), but by now the vamps and the weres have figured out there is a pathogen or something in their blood (biological) that transfers the affliction through bite.

Okay, it's been a while since I've watched the movies, how about we just move on from the parts I got wrong?

Anyway, the bio vampire seems to be that there is some tangible something in their spit which can be passed down. It's not magic, it's messed up biology.

Now, these boys can have a bunch of medical problems. Yes, they live long and they can make baby vampires just by biting other people (which is why Anne Rice's vamps always have to kill their dinner). But they now have a biological pathogen or something in their bodies. Obviously, something must change.

Here, I will take issue with writers claiming that vampires no longer have biological functions, such as a functioning respiratory or circulatory system. A biological thingy needs biology to continue working, especially where vampirism is concerned. See, a virus or germ might kill their host, but the evil bug lives on through infection to others. But the basis of vampirism is that they infected lives long lives because of it. And shutting down the body's natural functions seems like the easiest way to end up in a walking corpse, and now we're back to zombies instead of vampires. Bio vampires need to be more alive than regular human beings.

A very apt bio vampire would be the good old Wraith in the Stargate: Atlantis universe. The origins of the Wraith are explained biologically, and it is stated that the creatures themselves would not die under natural circumstances. They are also dependent on consuming humans unto death for survival. The series calls them aliens, but the truth is, the Wraith is a perfect example of bio vampires.

Now, I said these guys need some krypton, so let me expand upon it a bit. You want your bio vampire to be afraid of silver? Well, maybe silver has the ability to kill the vampiric pathogen, and so the pathogen makes the host naturally skittish around silver. The same with garlic.

What will not be a thing, though, is the entire 'reflect in a mirror' thing. Bio vampires will still be human enough to be slaves to good old physics.

This, of course, doesn't mean you can't have fun with a bio vampire. When I was probably about 14, I read a book about a family that adopted a kid from Romania. The kid seemed frail and pale, except that the kid would get better whenever he drank blood. They tried giving him blood intravenously, but that didn't work. And, seeing as his adoptive mom was a doctor, she figured out that the kid had an extra organ attached to his stomach that needed human blood to regulate his bodily functions. She even surmised that not only would the kid be able to live longer than most normal humans but, seeing as it is a genetic thing, his ancestors are probably the cause for the vampire legend to have originated in Romania. Though I don't remember the name of the book or the author, even back then I thought it was a good use of the vampire mythology.

There's still a few thoughts I want to share about vampires, but I think this will be it for this post. See you in the next one!

Stay vampy!