Monster Madness: Vampires

Monster Madness: Vampires

Vampires have went from the Horror to Romance section in the past few years. Vampires used to be something that gave people the Heebie Jeebies, and now they are posters on our bedroom wall. 

Bram Stoker’s, Dracula. Anne Rice’s, Lestat. Joss Whedon’s, Angel. Stephenie Meyer’s, Edward Cullen. 
I joined the vampire craze when I was fairly young, thanks to the quirky, fashion forward, Vampire Slayer we all know as Buffy. Buffy blurred the lines between Horror, Comedy, and Drama. I would almost say that she was the first of many strong female characters in pop culture. 

Around the same time that Buffy came into our lives, Blade appeared on the big screen. Half Human, Half Vampire. Many knew him from the Marvel comics, but people like myself became fans while watching him and Stephen Dorff battle each other on screen. 

Now, Vampires are around every corner we turn, figuratively speaking. The Winchester’s hunt them, The Salvatore’s are them. With and without souls. Vegetarian sparkling vampires, and vampires who are soulless, evil things. 

Where exactly did all of these myths start? Do they really exist? Or is these creatures, that we all hold so near and dear, made up by media for our viewing pleasure? I dug a little deeper just to satisfy my curiosity. 

There are many different tales of the “Origin of the Vampire”, but this seems to be the most common. 

Porphryia. Many of you have probably not heard of that word, but it is widely considered "The Vampire Disease". Porphryia is a very rare disease, which causes irregularities in the product of heme, which is an Iron-rich Pigment found in blood. People who suffer from the severe form of this disease suffer from sensitivity to sunlight, experience stomach aches, and suffer from severe confusion. Long Ago, one of the ways to treat Porphyria would possibly have been to drink blood, though that has not been proven. 
Porphyria is hereditary, so it would be common for towns to be scared of these "Vampires"  as it would be show up more often in certain areas as families intermarried. 

Though some people actually believe in Supernatural beings, do you? Do you wonder if your very own Elena Gilbert or Edward Cullen is out there? Or do you think that the myth of Vampires is just that? A Myth. 

I think that there are such things as vampires, but not your modern day bloodsuckers. I like to refer to the as Energy Vampires. Have you ever met a person who walks into a room and sucks the life right out of it? I have. Those are the vampires that I believe in. As far as the blood drinking, sparkling, bursting into dust kind of vampires? No way. I think Porphryia is the closest the world will ever see to vampires. What do you think?