Temp0rary-ga,
This quote sums it up best.
"Ask a hundred people to tell you what a vampire is, and you will end
up with a hundred different answers. It's not surprising. By this day
and age the word vampire has grown into an ill-defined label that is
used to indicate all sorts of phenomena in a rather indiscriminate
manner."
"Originally the word "vampire" was used exclusively to indicate the
traditional reanimated corpse. Precise as this may seem, even then the
word was used as a general name for various types of the undead. Some
vampires were said to drink blood. Other vampires killed their victims
in a different manner. Some of them could be destroyed with a hammer
and stake. Others were immune to such treatment. Some of them were
thought to be the person itself, come back from the grave. Others were
said to be corpses inhabited by a demon. The only thing that all these
vampires have in common is the fact that they are all "living corpses"
http://www.shroudeater.com/adefine.htm"
This website attempts to tell the origin of vampires
Where do vampires come from?
From the Jewish/Hebrew texts, Lilith was the first wife of Adam; both
were created by God as equals. Adam was very dominant and during
lovemaking he always wanted to be on top which Lilith didn't like. One
day, Lilith had had enough and she muttered God's name and fled the
Garden of Eden to the shores of the Red Sea, where she copulated with
lots of demons. God sent 3 of his archangels to summon Lilith back to
Eden but she refused and struck a deal with the archangels that she
would not kill any children that bared the mark of the archangels
above their heads. Punishment for not returning to Eden was the
murdering of 100 of her offspring on a daily basis. In retaliation,
Lilith murdered human babies, usually boys younger than 8 days old and
girls younger than 20 days old.
In order for Lilith to have enough children, she would steal the sperm
from young men while in their sleep thus being blamed for wet dreams.
She is also blamed for SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Cain, the
first born son of Adam and Eve, killed Abel his brother in a jealous
rage. He was banished from the Garden of Eden, bearing a mark from God
and whoever should find him would kill him. Cain found Lilith by the
shores of the Red Sea where she took him in and showed him the powers
of the blood. There they copulated and bore many demons and monsters.
Cain is mentioned in the bible unlike Lilith but not very often. The
bible states that he had a number of legitimate children with an
unnamed woman, which could be Lilith?
OR
Judas Iscariot
A couple of members have already mentioned Judas as being the first
vampire. This theory shouldn't be dismissed as there are a lot of
theories involved in regards to what vampires like and dislike. Judas
was also portrayed as the first vampire in the film, Dracula
2000/2001. Judas betrayed Christ to the Romans for 30 pieces of silver
and for doing this; he and his family were cursed. When Judas tried to
give this back, it was refused and Judas cast it away before
committing suicide. If this holds true, you can see why vampires hate
the crucifix and its meaning. Judas died with a guilty heart. Also in
most European countries folklore and myth, it states that vampires can
be created by people committing suicide or being excommunicated from
the church. Lastly, Judas was said to have red hair. Again in most
European folklore and myth, red hair is the mark of a vampire.
http://www.shebitch.co.uk/TheLair/vampire/origin.htm
Another idea is this...
"There are several creatures that may have acted as precursors to the
vampire. The leech is perhaps the most basic, representing the idea of
a slimy, forboding creature taking human blood. The chupacabra, a
blood-sucking alien creature that feasts on animals, is another
vampire-like myth. This myth originated in the hills of South America,
and still exists today. The myth of the fury, or a women that sucks
the life from a sleeping victim, was created in Greek times to
represent the wrath of the Gods. These creatures were released upon
the earth to suck sould through the mouths of their victims, and send
them to agony-filled torment in Hades, or Hell. Finally, a species
known as the "vampire bat" has been studied by many scientists because
of its strange eating habits. This bat sucks the blood of its victims
by making a clean cut to the neck and main artery. It's saliva
contains chemicals that gradually take consciousness from the creature
it it eating"
http://pa.essortment.com/vampireshistory_rjxm.htm
From all of these descriptions, we can gather one thing, everyone
seems to agree that vampires are the "living dead that drink blood" It
also seems that many of the myths have a religious aspect to them, and
that they were banished, excommunicated, or had to do with demons.
Therefore, out of your two options, I'm going to go with "(B) The
pitiful wretches of eternal hell" as my answer. It seems the closest
to the truth that anyone can get.
Please remember though, this is all based on Myth. There is a lot more
to be said about vampires, it is a deep and interesting subculture,
growing more in the last 10 years. Please, take some time and research
it, if it interests you, if nothing else, it?s a way to blow through
an afternoon.
If this answer requires further explanation, please request
clarification before rating it, and I'll be happy to look into this
further
Nenna-GA
Google Answers Researcher |
