Paper Summary:

An in-depth look at the history of the vampire giving examples of famous past figures claiming to be vampires. It looks at the symbols in the vampire culture and what they mean - blood, church, religion. The paper then tries to examine medical excuses for vampires - anemia, catalepsy etc.

From the Paper:

"Vampires have been around since the beginning of time. People have used them to explain things they thought were unexplainable. "Vampires are mythical creatures who overcome death by sucking the blood from living humans (Vampires)." [See addendum A] In our modern society, when people see a picture of a vampire they are supposedly overcome with feelings of longing, whether consciously or unconsciously. Vampires, in our eyes, are elegant, debonair, gorgeous, sexual, and desirable. What vampires want mimics what people want: all of their hidden desires and secrets. They are outlets for a society where the line between good and evil is bold, where everything is black or white. Aspects found in vampires are the same aspects that are found in us. Vampires rise not in the morning but at night when the world turns out its lights and darkness descends on the people. Some people yearn for the carefree life that is the vampire. A vampire is law unto himself. And most importantly, what people believe to be evil becomes their vampire. But to people who lived long ago, vampires were minions of the Devil, evil incarnate, monsters capable of turning others from the path of righteousness and God to the Devil and darkness. The key aspect of the vampire is death. They can be killed and yet still are thought of as immortal. People will never truly understand all there is about the vampire world. The understanding of the historical vampire, the evidence that disproved them and the real vampires of the modern world are all part of the vampire phenomenon."

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