Vampires or Werewolves. Which Would You Choose

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Vampires or Werewolves. Which Would You Choose

Vampire or Werewolf! Which would I choose?

Vampires have titillated the imaginations of the public. Vlad the Impaler was a feared warrior who led his armies against the Turks. (Of course he was born in Transylvania, the stomping grounds of the vampire.) It was said he drank the blood of those he vanquished. Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula, portrayed as an intelligent if evil seducer, fueled the public’s interest in these denizens of the dark. Murnau's 1922 "Nosferatu” could hardly be considered seductive but the movie did again fuel the public’s interest. The legend of the vampire exists in many cultures in various forms. Most often as demons of the night rising to suck the blood of the unwary.

Vampires have the ability to shapeshift, turn into mist, fly through the air, see like a cat in the dark, and have extended lives. Their big drawback is the fact that they have to drink blood, and preferably on the hoof – and human. Kind of takes the thrill out of meeting one. I’m also afraid of heights so soaring through the air would probably cause my bat wings to droop and I’d crash to the earth. Fangs would also be a problem. Who really wants to kiss someone with huge fangs and talking would take practice. Bad breath is also an attribute the vampire are said to have. Modern writers have transformed some of the evildoers into sexy defenders of the unwary – which isn’t all bad.

The popular definition of werewolf or lycanthrope is a man who transforms himself or being transformed into a wolf under the influence of full moon, although modern writers have stretched the werewolves’ abilities to include shifting whenever they want. During the shift, werewolves will attack anything in sight and rip it to shreds. Remember Lon Chaney, Jr.? He portrayed the Wolf Man in several early films. Thoughts of Lon Chaney don’t cause my heart to flutter, but I have to admit, Taylor Lautner in the Twilight series, though young, is easy on the eyes.

“The first recorded Werewolf sighting took place around the countryside of German town Cologne and Bedburg in 1591. An age-old pamphlet describes those shivering moments vividly. Few people cornered a large wolf and set their dogs upon it. They started to pierce it with sharp sticks and spears. Surprisingly the ferocious wolf did not run away or tried to protect itself, rather it stood up and turned out to be a middle-aged man he was Peter Stubbe from the same village.” See http://alam25.tripod.com/first.htm

A few methods to become werewolves (though not all):

Curse: An ill fated man could become victim of witchcraft or fall under curse of evil spirits. The person then would involuntary turn into werewolf.

Bitten by Werewolf: Another common believe was that any one could become one if saliva of a werewolf could find a way to blood stream; might be from bite or scratch.

See http://alam25.tripod.com/portrait.htm

I love dogs but being the mate of one—not really and waking up with one next to me doesn’t cause happy chills up and down my spine.

So, do I prefer vampires or werewolves—hmmmm—I’d have to throw in my lot with the vampires if a choice has to be made. Maybe with a whole vat of mouthwash, I could handle the situation.

I guess that is why I wrote Absolution! I made my vampire Zaccarius an entity who fights the demon tearing at his soul and Chloe, one of the forgotten, who tries to exist in modern society.