WHEN YOU WANT TO KILL A VAMPIRE....
...or a werewolf...or a witch...or just sit and have a sandwich with an ogre, it is imperative to know what mythos the realm or plane of existence you are inhabiting subscribes to.
Do vampires react to garlic? Crosses? How about garlic crosses?
Do you actually have to melt down your grandmother's silver spoons to make a bullet to kill a werewolf?
Or are there actually legitimately prescribed methods and rules involved at all with mythological creatures...(ahem, sorry...) I mean real-ish possibly impractical but nonetheless monsters with a well established fan base? Perhaps, it may just be a matter of belief. If you believe hard enough that a stake through the heart will kill nosferatu, it will. Then again, a stake through the heart will kill pretty much anything if you do it right. (who said that? I'm fairly sure it isn't original.)
In any case, I find with more and more creative writing classes, books by various authors (some great, some small), and the plethora of random webzines, websites, webs of death...that everyone seems to have their own concept of what is "true," and what is pure and absolute drivel. And everyone seems pretty fervent about the idea that they are right and you are wrong...
Example: Vampires DON'T SPARKLE!!! -anonymous
Therefore, WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL MYTHOS???
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Let it Be!!
13 years ago
I completely agree, Brion... taking up pen and striding blithely into a firmly established archetype or mythos is an excellent way to incite a metaphorical mob (complete with metaphorical torches and pitchforks).
ReplyDeleteI believe the only defense against such brutal and ego-destroying assault is authenticity. Not to be confused with "accuracy", authenticity manifests through a writer's honesty and intent in articulating their personal mythos.
An example would be a comparison between Anne Rice's vampire series and Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series.
Both authors took great liberties with an established mythos, yet Rice's vampires were much more widely embraced than Meyers. I think that's because Rice understood the archetype and embraced it, immersing herself in the very heart of the mythos and writing from that core. Meyer's is fairly obvious in her exploitation of the vampire mythos, using it as a vehicle for something else (teen romance) rather than honoring it.
Discerning readers can smell exploitation a mile away, so an author would be well advised to examine their intent behind utilizing any mythos. Are you honoring the archetype and expanding it's mythology? Or are you using it to cash in on an established fan base and steal a piece of the pie?
Love the metaphorical torches and pitchforks. As usual, you have a very succinct way of putting things. So as a dabbler in the surreal, unreal, or metaphysical, what are some elements of the established archetype or mythos that you personally agree or disagree with?
ReplyDeleteFor myself, I love the power of mirrors, but I don't buy the no-reflection aspect for vampires and would be remiss to use it in my own stories if I feel it to be a bit over the top...yeah?
Well, I think you need to consider the foundation of the mirror aspect of the vampire myth. I believe it was a moral commentary on the fact that they could not look upon themselves, that their existence was so shameful in the eyes of God, that they cast no image save upon the eyes (windows to the soul) of men.
ReplyDeleteOur sense of self is often (if erroneously) grounded in the image we cast into the world. From this perspective, the vampire has no sense of self, no soul, no image that has any meaning in the "real world." If treated in a cavalier manner, yes... it would be over the top. But if you're writing about defining one's self in the world, this aspect of the myth would be extremely useful and relevant.
So much of the vampire lore has strong archetypal and cultural foundations that it’s really tricky for me navigate the “agree/disagree” waters. What fascinates me most is the unflagging appeal and seduction of the vampire myth. The concept of the vampire we recognize today has evolved from millennia of folklore, myth, and cultural fixations/dysfunctions/fears and yet it seems to have found a home in modern culture.
Vampires are immortal (meaning they won’t die of old age). What a shock that this quality should catch in the cultural consciousness, especially one fixated on youth and beauty.
They’re un-killable except by specific arcane tools and rituals. Again, in a world where our vulnerabilities are exploited with increasing fervor and lack of compassion, small wonder that such a quality should be emphasized and accentuated.
They are contagious (the vampire can “infect” another person by sharing blood). From ancient days when a cold could kill you, the notion of catching some kind of affliction was a deeply ingrained fear. Even the compulsions of today regarding viral contagions play into malefic assessment of vampires.
And blood has always been seen as the water of life... even in our “enlightened” age, television and movies only need to show some blood to indicate a person is in mortal danger. Many of the vampire myths were founded in some noble’s madness that drinking or bathing in blood would somehow spare them from the ravages of time.
As our world teeters on the brink of moral and ethical ruin, it’s hardly surprising that the vampire has become elevated to near demi-god status. Ask anyone in the 12th century if they would like to be a vampire and you would likely be stoned and driven out of town. Ask the same question today and I fear the allure of immortality and immunity would overthrow most people’s squeamishness over the price of such blessings... having to kill to survive.
Like many people, I am seduced by the powers and abilities of the myth. And that disturbs me more than the myth itself.
So (to turn the post BACK to its authorial roots), writing about vampires is to invoke the darkest desires in everyone. In fact, most enduring myths have endured BECAUSE they lair in the deepest waters of the soul’s depths. That, more than anything, should give a writer pause to reflect upon what they will do when they tap that well-spring of desire and emotion. It’s a “free pass” past many of the psychological walls and structures we use as the foundation of our sense of self. A fertile ground, to be sure, but a false or insincere step will find the reader casting the author out forever as a charlatan, unworthy of sharing in their personal myth.
(more on the “personal mythology” in another post). ; )
Those be deep waters. I'd best steer clear.
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