The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

Blood has been a symbol of life since very ancient times. The blood in our veins has always been iconic of our continuing life. To lose too much blood is to lose consciousness, breath, and eventually, our very lives. If a person or animal is already dead and is cut open, blood does not flow. Only the living have blood that flows. Blood has been used throughout the ages as a ceremonial sacrifice. In pagan times our forefathers worshipped their gods with blood sacrifice. And today, indeed, we are not so different. Even in modern times, in our churches, there are those taking communion or the Eucharist, and drinking of the wine that symbolizes Christ's blood.



It seems appropriate, then, that this creature who is an antithesis of both death and life should gain his strength from feeding from the life's blood of humans. For the vampire, the drinking of blood is its life, its sustenance, and the single thing that makes it identifiable all around the world, regardless of the culture in which you were raised or the language you speak.



As the scientific nature of man progressed, he began to abandon his God in favour of logic and reason. In this the vampire tale was no different. As the nineteenth century drew to a close and the twentieth century approached, reason began to enter vampire literature. Scientific reasoning was applied in an attempt to justify the vampiric need for blood. In many literary instances it was linked to anemia, and blood loss. In Bram Stoker's Dracula, Van Helsing prescribed a blood transfusion for Lucy, in an attempt to divest her of the vampire blood in her body.