From Fear to Fascination

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Examining our love/hate relationship with creatures of the night, including speculative work about what makes vampyres "tick."

Why vampires are popular

When I was a Vampire, I did it for the money. Which makes me a vampiric whore I guess. Which is mild compared to labels the blood sucking, corruption dealing reps of the Undead have been trading under for millennia.

Dracula: once bitten, forever smitten

From Dracula to Lestat to Mona the Vampire, the thirst for vampire novels is unquenchable. They've been examined from every conceivable angle, done to death as it were, and yet literature about them proliferates at greater speed than vampires themselves could ever hope to. So what is it about books featuring the undead that holds us so much in thrall?

Understanding porphyria: no vampires here

Many of the world's myths and legends have some basis in fact, which is why they are perpetuated through the centuries. In one case, the idea of a race of nefarious monsters-specifically, vampires-may actually have sprung from a very real and potentially deadly disease that affects thousands of people worldwide.

Past and recent vampires as symbols of changing sexual mores

Over the centuries, the vampire has undergone radical changes. From the Count in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel to the alcoholic New Yorker Sam in the 1997 film Habit, the figure of the vampire has evolved with society.

Why do women love vampires?

"He met my eyes with his penetrating gaze. Suddenly, it was hard to breathe. The temperature in the room spiked into the tropical range. My heart pounded in my chest like a ritual drum, and my knees threatened to buckle. I'd never seen such a gorgeous male. My logical mind engaged in a futile attempt to regain my attention...

Vampire Evolution

The modern idea of the vampire is open to many different possibilities. What defines a vampire? And where did these traits come from?

Vampyric Drinks

Let's begin with the True Classic of VAMPYRES, the famous Viking Margarita, brought to you by the legandary Countess E. Bathory (and a cast of thousands).

Vampires in Modern Culture

Vampires in our culture? Yeah, sure, there's a lot of vampire stuff out at Halloween. But most people see vampires nearly everyday, the other 364 days a year, and don't even know it. To begin to study vampires in pop culture, we must first identify all the places they pop up.

Vampires and Pregnancy

What should be expected from the interaction between vampirism and pregnancy depends on what characteristics one chooses for the vampiric infection, and may also be affected by one's suppositions as to whether a fetus should be considered human and/or alive.

Vampires and Blood Types

The following is provided for the use of any of our local writers of fluff who might wish to inject a little pseudo-science into their writing.

Also at VO:

The Urban Jungle

Legend paints post-apocalyptic New York City as an urban jungle being replaced by actual jungle, with plants sprouting up through cracks in the sidewalks and a veritable field of waist-high grass in Times Square. So is this what would really happen if civilization ended?

Break Me

The lunatic inside my soul reaches out and touching you gently brings forth the blood from your multiple wounds.
Like a cat licking cream off its paw, I taste you and you are ever so sweet.
Like sin melting on the tongue, and the smell of jasmine in the air to cover the scent of you.
That powerful aphrodisiac that leaves me weak and wet.
The kaleidoscope of images from one single dream one single touch.
And I can feel you under my claws and the pain is so exquisite, I want to bleed with you.

In my dream

In my dream the forest shrank back into its shadows, the land faded behind me like a darkening mirage and riding on the night ocean I saw a ship of glass.

With towers and curving staircases it rose shining above the waves, driven by static winds to the midnight edge of the world.

A solver unicorn stood at the helm.
His eyes glowed amber in the moonrise, his mane blew out behind him like the threads of spun crystal.

In my dream I entered the vessel and climbed to the top of the highest tower.

Shadows

The sun is void
There is no day
Dark cast over the truth
Hidden evils
Once captive now roam
Where the misunderstood
And the outcasts govern
Where the sidewalk ends
And the world is turned
You may never have seen us
But we're so definitely there
Haunting your subconscious
You're not quite aware
But we'll stay in the shadows
In the dark shades
Of what you don't know.

Howling Stars
October 9, 2001

Thoughtless Feelings

do you cry at night
do you wonder why
do you sit awake and think
do you ask yourself
do you imagine yourself different
do you change your point of view
do you see yourself through another's eyes
do you get disgusted and try to hide
do you change your ways
do you no longer care
do you finally give in to their stares
but now that you've changed
now that they know you're there
can you really be sure they care
do you honestly thing you fit in
do you really think you belong

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Thorn105: *runs back in and waves to Klaudia and runs out*
-- Thu, Nov 20 12:37pm.

Thorn105: *waving madly at LB* Hey, I've missed you all! I'll try to catch up in BRI soon
-- Thu, Nov 20 12:32pm.

Salem: never seen it, i probly should though, anyone do anything interesting lately? im so bored!!!!!!!!!!!
-- Fri, Nov 14 10:28am.

DEATH: Interesting costumes though
-- Thu, Nov 6 10:58am.

Morbius: Good one, Ranger! Of course, there was much more drama last night
-- Wed, Nov 5 4:50pm.

Ranger: Morbius, I watched that too, but last night. I think it was called something else though. Election Day Results '08 or something
-- Wed, Nov 5 3:47pm.

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