Essential Question: Where did the legend of vampires begin and how has it evolved?
I chose to answer this question because my book 'Salem's Lot is about a vampires who are taking over their town. Two brothers, Ralphie and Danny Glick go into the woods one night, and Ralphie disappears. Twelve year old Danny comes out alive, only to die in the hospital of unknown causes. Doctors were baffled about his mysterious death and what may have caused it. They believed it was related to some sort of internal bleeding because all tests came back negative. After his death, a bunch of Jerusalem's Lot residents were turning into vampires. In the book, when a vampire bites a person it turns them into one them self. The person who is bit dies, and the marks the vampire left on their neck disappears. So when people started dying at the hands of the vampires, nobody suspected anything until more people began turn. Ben Mears, the main character of 'Salem's Lot, used to live in Jerusalem's Lot as a child, but moved away. He returned to the town to get inspiration for his new books because he was an author with a creative block. In Jerusalem's Lot, there was a murder suicide when he was a child. Hubie Marsten, killed his wife and hung himself in their home. When Mears was a child, his friends dared him to go into the abandoned house. When he went into the house, he swore he saw the hanging ghost of Hubie Marsten, and it traumatized him for life. Matt Burke, a friend of Ben Mears discovered the corpse of the Mike Ryerson, the second vampire. He theorized that he was a vampire because of some of the things he witnessed.
Ryerson was a gravedigger, and when he was digging Glick's grave, he claims to have passed out. When he woke up, the grave was filled. He had no recollection of whether or not he filled it himself. Ryerson explains to Burke that he was felt sick ever since. He sleeps through the day and wakes at night, his skin is pale and he had marks on his neck. In the middle of the night, Burke hears Ryerson invite an unknown person (or thing) into their home and overhears sucking sounds. Burke argues that vampires can only enter a house or environment if they are invited by a homeowner. He compiles all of the evidence to prove that there are vampires in Jerusalem's Lot, but is in denial. After Ryerson passed away, Burke contacted Ben Mears. He believed Mears would believe him because of his traumatic experience with the ghost of Hubie Marsten. Ben does believe him, and weird things continue to happen. The number of vampires multiplies, and the lives of the townsfolk are in danger.
Some shows, movies and books portray them differently than others. The Twilight series is definitely different from 'Salem's Lot. I have also watched a show called The Vampire Diaries and there are some clear dissimilarities as well. How vampires are created, their mentality and behavior, history, legend and more varies throughout the world.
I was curious as to how the real urban legend of vampires came about, so I did some research. The first case of vampires was back in Greek Mythology when a young man named Ambrogio fell in love with a woman named Selena. Apollo, the god of the sun, wanted Selena for himself so punished Ambrogio. Whenever Ambrogio was exposed to sunlight his skin would burn. When he turned to Hades, the god of the underworld, he gifted him with fangs and supernatural powers. He used his fangs to kill beasts because their blood to write love letters to Selena. Later on, he turned her into a vampire, telling her it would kill her body but her spirit would live on. Selena and Ambrogio's blood mixed together would turn anyone who consumed it into a vampire.
The legend continued into the 1400's when Vlad Dracula (also known as Vlad the Impaler) came to power. He was the ruler of Romania. He was a sadistic, brutal person and tortured many people. His enemies, and some of his own people. His preferred method of killing was staking people through the heart with wood. Dracula's cruelty created the popular legend that the only way to kill vampires is by staking them with a wooden stake. It is also believed that he would dip is bread into the blood of his victims. Since Dracula's reign, the myth of vampires has changed and evolved into popular culture.
https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/vampire-history
Ryerson was a gravedigger, and when he was digging Glick's grave, he claims to have passed out. When he woke up, the grave was filled. He had no recollection of whether or not he filled it himself. Ryerson explains to Burke that he was felt sick ever since. He sleeps through the day and wakes at night, his skin is pale and he had marks on his neck. In the middle of the night, Burke hears Ryerson invite an unknown person (or thing) into their home and overhears sucking sounds. Burke argues that vampires can only enter a house or environment if they are invited by a homeowner. He compiles all of the evidence to prove that there are vampires in Jerusalem's Lot, but is in denial. After Ryerson passed away, Burke contacted Ben Mears. He believed Mears would believe him because of his traumatic experience with the ghost of Hubie Marsten. Ben does believe him, and weird things continue to happen. The number of vampires multiplies, and the lives of the townsfolk are in danger.
Some shows, movies and books portray them differently than others. The Twilight series is definitely different from 'Salem's Lot. I have also watched a show called The Vampire Diaries and there are some clear dissimilarities as well. How vampires are created, their mentality and behavior, history, legend and more varies throughout the world.
I was curious as to how the real urban legend of vampires came about, so I did some research. The first case of vampires was back in Greek Mythology when a young man named Ambrogio fell in love with a woman named Selena. Apollo, the god of the sun, wanted Selena for himself so punished Ambrogio. Whenever Ambrogio was exposed to sunlight his skin would burn. When he turned to Hades, the god of the underworld, he gifted him with fangs and supernatural powers. He used his fangs to kill beasts because their blood to write love letters to Selena. Later on, he turned her into a vampire, telling her it would kill her body but her spirit would live on. Selena and Ambrogio's blood mixed together would turn anyone who consumed it into a vampire.
The legend continued into the 1400's when Vlad Dracula (also known as Vlad the Impaler) came to power. He was the ruler of Romania. He was a sadistic, brutal person and tortured many people. His enemies, and some of his own people. His preferred method of killing was staking people through the heart with wood. Dracula's cruelty created the popular legend that the only way to kill vampires is by staking them with a wooden stake. It is also believed that he would dip is bread into the blood of his victims. Since Dracula's reign, the myth of vampires has changed and evolved into popular culture.
https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/vampire-history
How come something specifically about vampires was one of your essential questions? Was it from the beginning, or is that a developing interest?
ReplyDeleteIt was a developing interest as I read my book more. I have always been somewhat intrigued by the legend of vampires and Vlad the Impaler, but the main focus of the book is vampires so I decided to research them more!
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