Our Fascination with Vampires - Jess Haines

Hello there!  Jess Haines here.  I’m the author of the urban fantasy H&W Investigations series (HUNTED BY THE OTHERS, TAKEN BY THE OTHERS, DECEIVED BY THE OTHERS, and the recently released STALKING THE OTHERS). 

As cheesy and ridiculous as most media involving vampires can be, I love them dearly.  Movies, TV shows, games, books—even music videos—there’s a little something for everyone. 

One of the first books I read about vampires was by R.L. Stine (I believe it was GOODNIGHT KISS). When I was younger, I loved reading his Fear Street novels, and devoured as many of them as I could get my hands on.  After reading this one, he sparked my interest in reading more about vampires.  Soon, I was reading Bram Stoker, Anne Rice, and watching movies like Interview With the Vampire and Fright Night. 

What was it about them that made them so fascinating?  As much as I’ve always loved fantastical things, vampires drew my interest like nothing else. Was it their power? Their charm?  A fascination with the dead?  Maybe all of those things and none of them. There’s something compelling about a creature that has no life force of its own, and must subsist on the blood and flesh of others in order to survive.  We see animals and insects like this in nature, such as ticks, bats, leeches, and lampreys. There is even a type of bird that lives on the Galapagos Islands called a “vampire finch” that supplements its diet of insects with the blood of bigger seabirds.

It’s also been said that the penetration of the vampire’s fangs is supposed to have some bearing on oral fascination. And why not? There is something to be said for the variations of aggression that can be alluded to when referring to the mouth, lips, teeth, tongue, and biting; whether to fight or in sexual play, it’s not hard to see how reading or watching movies about that might remind some primitive part of us about the darker side of nature.  The psychological implications are many and varied, but they are what you make of them.

Depending on the lore the book, movie, etc, used for their vampires, they can be smart, sexy, rich, suave, lonely, selfish, sensual, frightening, dangerous, beastly—or some combination thereof.  They might present a false front, an image of being cool, collected, and enticing their victims with promises of pleasure or power.  Others hid in shadows and pounced when their prey least suspected, too weak or monstrous or ugly to do otherwise.  Either way, they have always drawn my interest and left me wanting more.

What do you think?  Who are some of your favorite vampires in movies, books, and video games? If you’re a fan, what draws you to them?

Want to talk to me about your favorite vampires? Visit me on the web:

www.JessHaines.com  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JessHainesAuthor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#%21/Jess_Haines

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/jesshaines

Thanks again for having me, Lee!