Written by LA Judge

The vampire myth is something that is a bit of a mystery. Shrouded in darkness and seeped in a thousand years of tradition we assume that all of these things are part of an overly active imagination and a lot of Hollywood hype. But what is it about the myth that so intrigues? Is there an ounce of truth underneath? Where did all these legends and claims come from and why are they so ingrained into our cultural psyche?

To answer part of this, let's do a little stage dressing here. You are not reading this article on a computer. Step back about 700-800 years or so. In fact, you can't read at all. Books are a rarity. The mass media of the day is religion. What you have learned is by word of mouth. You are freezing your tail in a hut with a thatched roof, your wife just died of some plague thing, you have a house full of screaming kids, and your favorite milk cow seems to be sickly and running dry. You have just been sipping mead out by the hay stacks with a couple of your friends and at this point, you are looking for someone to blame for all of this nastiness in life. Get the picture? Life basically sucks and you are going to believe what ever misconception comes along.

Now given this perspective, let's examine different parts of the classic vampire myth.

Myth: Vampires drain the blood from the living. Reality: Sanguinary vampires do rely on energies gained by consuming small amounts of blood on a regular basis.

Human blood, from a living donor, is the most concentrated form of natural prana. Some vampires do consume blood energies as a method of gaining the energies they need to maintain a balanced, healthy life. However, they rarely consume more than few mouthfuls of blood at any one time. Blood is a natural emetic. Drink too much and you will be sick. This is why ALL the stories you hear of consuming great quantities of blood are just that, stories.

Myth: Vampires are afraid of garlic.

Reality: Garlic was the penicillin of medieval Europe.

In the days before modern medicine garlic was a general cure all. It was used in much the same way that limes are still used today in some regions of Central & South America. Have a bad cold? Eat some garlic. Need to sanitize the dishes? Rub them with garlic. Need cured of a skin aliment? Mash garlic to a paste and rub it into the skin lesions. Need to chase a few evil sprits from your home? Garlic of course! No wonder vampires are supposed to be afraid of it.

Myth: Vampires avoid daylight.

Reality: Some vampires are rather light sensitive and have trouble dealing with bright lights of which daylight is the greatest source.

Sunlight is a tremendous source of natural elemental energy. Some vampires are very sensitive to light energies of which sunlight is the greatest source. They become overwhelmed and disoriented with the over stimulation they receive as they naturally absorb and deal with the input. Once they get to a point where their body can no longer handle the over stimulation, their systems begin shutting down. They become ill, have severe headaches, blurred vision, or whiteout type difficulties in seeing. Too much energy in too concentrated of a dose if often just as bad as no energy at all.

Myth: Vampires have no reflection in a mirror. Reality: Mirrors of medieval Europe were not the clear, highly reflective surfaces we have today.

Mirrors of that age were either polished metal or soft glass that had been coated on one side with "quick silver" AKA - mercury. Mercury oxides fairly rapidly. So that the reflective surface would have been a bit clouded. Now add that to the fact that you would be peering into this grayed clouded surface by candlelight and you pretty much would see only your own reflection if you were nose to the glass. You definitely would see nothing behind you.

Myth: Vampires sleep in coffins with some of their native soil. Reality: Vampires do feel much better and rest easier when they are surrounded by familiar energy patterns.

Vampires are highly energy sensitive / energy dependent individuals. They prefer to be surrounded in a comfort zone of energy patterns that feel natural to them. Once outside of their "native" energy patterns, they do not function as well until they adjust themselves to the local energies. Many vampires find this especially difficult when traveling. Many of us in fact often take along such things a blanket and pillow even for just a short overnight trip. The energy from the familiar surrounding helps us rest easier.

Myth: Vampires all dress in black. Reality: Vampires are human and dress in what ever they please. However many find the energy patterns of brighter colors and patterns disturbing.

Physics has proven that all things have an energy signature. That includes all colors. Black is the color that "vibrates" the least. For an energy affected human to dress in colors that have a much higher energy signature or vibration level it would be very distracting and overwhelming. Hence, the reason many vampires prefer to dress in darker colors.

Myth: Vampires have long fangs.

Reality: Elongated canines are part of the human condition.

There is an infinite amount of variation within the human species. We more rapidly notice differences where facial structure is concerned, because after all that is the focus of where we place our attention when we interact. Pronounced canines, pointed ears, and odd shaped eyes are some of the most noticeable facial differences. Unfortunately, with the pronounced canines every promoter from PT Barnum to the Weekly World News (and many before them) has had their version of a "bat boy." So while a naturally occurring variation, the myth part here has been well ingrained into our cultural psyche.

Myth: Vampires are afraid of holy water and it burns them.

Reality: Holy water thrown into anyone's eyes will burn.

See what you don't know is that there IS a formula for holy water. It is more than water that has just been blessed. Holy water, especially by Eastern European tradition contains a LOT of salt. It is blessed salt water. Usually when it thrown on someone thought to be "evil" it is aimed for the eyes. The reason for this is because the eyes are thought to be a window to the soul. Now I don't know about you but having been to the ocean a few times I KNOW that salt water in the eyes burns like hell.

Myth: Vampires can be killed by a wooden stake thru the heart.

Reality: Anyone can be killed by a wooden stake thru the heart.

Lol - Do I really need to explain this one? Actually wooden stakes, bow and arrows, small knives and farm tools were the weapons the common peasant of medieval Europe had available. Not everyone owned a sword. Swords were weapons of the elite. So if the common man needed kill something quickly, grabbing a wooden stake and plunging it into its heart was often the most expedient method.

Myth: vampires are afraid of crosses.

Reality: Respect and fear for the symbol of the cross is something that has been ingrained into the western cultural psyche.

The symbol of the cross itself is one of the older symbols in use by mankind. Instances of its use have been found in cultures predating 1500 BCE. Early crosses (in a circle) were used to indicate the sun god and the changing seasons of the year. The Romans however changed all that. Crosses were used as a means of torture and death. A cross in times Roman was something to be feared. Then along came the Christian church. They capitalized on BOTH uses of the cross that were now ingrained into the human psyche. The cross was now both something to be revered in a "God like" nature and something horrible to be feared. Still today, crosses hanging in cathedrals to homes are always treated with a degree of reverence. To take it out and shove it in someone's face today in a loud aggressive manner would STILL be fairly offense and fearful. But that same action into an illiterate EXTREMELY superstitious population and you could cause near hysteria in a person.

The vampire myth, like all myths, easily falls apart under close examination. Once you understand the conditions under which the myth developed, and the energy needs of real vampires it us easy to see how reality was molded into myth.