Fantasy is having a bit of a thing at the moment, isn't it? Vampires are appearing everywhere, from the new BBC remake of Dracula (I am mentioning this purely because I know that as soon as you remind Judge Bookman of it's existence it causes him to turn funny shades of blue, grey and red, a poorly understood (though very understandable) phenomenon), twilight (See previous bracket, but replace "Judge Bookman" with "Beserker Bard". Seriously, those two are more similar than you would think), the Walking dead, iZombie, Game of Thrones, Wolfblood... and.... yeah, actually werewolves are somewhat neglected. Oh wait, Harry Potter. Does Harry Potter count?
But anyway, you get the point. This classic triad of baddies is emerging from the shadows. Getting a new lease of life. Insert third "undead" pun here. But today, I want to answer a definitive question. Which of these monsters is the deadliest? Which is the coolest? Which has been treated best by modern cinema?
Obviously, this is highly subjective, however I would say that as my personal favourite magical creature is the dragon (obviously, because dragons are the best), I don't have a personal stake here. I'm actually curious to take a dive into these mythologies, and see how they stack up against each other, and why they still have such an appeal in modern fiction/fantasy.
So, to begin, with the origin of these three mighty powers.
Origin: Human corpses have been suspected of being vampires for at least 500 years. This may be because, as a human body decays (squeamish readers may want to skip this bit), it's face often swells. This can make the teeth protrude over the bottom lip, and blood and other fluids may often ooze out at the same time. This could create the illusion of a dead body getting up and going wondering, snacking on a human or two in the night, then sneaking back into their grave by morning. This led to suspected vampires beign buried with bricks smashed into their mouths, to stop them biting, or with a stake through their chests to pin them down to the ground. Obviously, I should mention Bram Stoker. This story, of Dracula, created (or perhaps collated?) many other European myths, creating most of the vampire lore we know today. Vladimir Dracula is a compilation of Vlad the Impaler (a fairly brutal war-lord with a fondness for eating dinner amid a field of impaled corpses), Countess Elizabeth Bathory (who enjoyed bathing in the blood of young women, considered the most prolific female murderer of all time), European folklore and a few other influences, including the ancient Greek Lamias, who are snake-like blood drinking monsters.
But anyway, you get the point. This classic triad of baddies is emerging from the shadows. Getting a new lease of life. Insert third "undead" pun here. But today, I want to answer a definitive question. Which of these monsters is the deadliest? Which is the coolest? Which has been treated best by modern cinema?
Obviously, this is highly subjective, however I would say that as my personal favourite magical creature is the dragon (obviously, because dragons are the best), I don't have a personal stake here. I'm actually curious to take a dive into these mythologies, and see how they stack up against each other, and why they still have such an appeal in modern fiction/fantasy.
So, to begin, with the origin of these three mighty powers.
Vampires:
Origin: Human corpses have been suspected of being vampires for at least 500 years. This may be because, as a human body decays (squeamish readers may want to skip this bit), it's face often swells. This can make the teeth protrude over the bottom lip, and blood and other fluids may often ooze out at the same time. This could create the illusion of a dead body getting up and going wondering, snacking on a human or two in the night, then sneaking back into their grave by morning. This led to suspected vampires beign buried with bricks smashed into their mouths, to stop them biting, or with a stake through their chests to pin them down to the ground. Obviously, I should mention Bram Stoker. This story, of Dracula, created (or perhaps collated?) many other European myths, creating most of the vampire lore we know today. Vladimir Dracula is a compilation of Vlad the Impaler (a fairly brutal war-lord with a fondness for eating dinner amid a field of impaled corpses), Countess Elizabeth Bathory (who enjoyed bathing in the blood of young women, considered the most prolific female murderer of all time), European folklore and a few other influences, including the ancient Greek Lamias, who are snake-like blood drinking monsters.
Zombies:
Origin: There are a few different origins for modern Zombies. In Haitian tradition, zombies are created by necromancers, and are dead humans returned to life (though Zombie may also refer to a part of the human soul, which could be enslaved and used to strengthen magics). The vikings also had zombies, Draugr were the undead spirits of humans. You could tell if someone would become a Draugr by their corpses beoing found sat up, and by being a bit unpleasant while alive. Draugr really were like the walking dead, bloated, decaying corpses that could be destroyed by dismemberment or burning, and would kill thier victims by crushing them with their great strength and enlarged size. Draugr were also hungry, and ate animal or human flesh ravenously. Of course, many zombie stories nowadays have a more science-fiction tone to them, possibly inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which seems to be the first time science and scintific methods were used to create a zombie. Of course, Frankenstein's monster was not your typical zombie, it could feel emotions, was intelligent, and was composed of multiple corpses rather than just one. Still, Frankenstein's monster is probably the most famous zombie, and so is worth mentioning.
Werewolves:
Origin: Werewolves go back a long way, and, like dragons (the most awesome fantastical creature), seem to have sprung up in many cultures. The Ancient Greeks told stories of tribes that transformed into wolves. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Lycaon is punished for serving the flesh of his children to Zeus by being changed into a wolf. The Romans had many stories surrounding wolves, for example that of Romulus and Remus, who were raised by a she-wolf. In Native America, there are stories of people transforming into wolves to hunt when prey was scarce. In the last 600 years, werewolf belief has persisted in Europe. Werewolf trials took place alongside witch trials, and many serial killers were executed as werewolves, though it's unclear whether was actually a belief that they transformed, or people just compared their visciousness to that of beasts. Of course, as with the witch hunts, many people admitted to being a werewolf under torture, confirming to the people nearby that werewolves were real. In short, while vampires and zombies seem to have their origin in human death and decay, the term "werewolf" was used to describe people who acted atrociously. However, there are a few other medical explanations for the behaviour. People with prophyria, for example, exhibit psychosis, reddened teeth, and photosensitivity. Hypertrichosis is a codnition causing excessive hair growth all over the body, and although this is rare it may have contributed to the idea of half human half animal creatures roaming free. Rabies is another, fairly convincing explanation of many beliefs. Rabies is caught when an infected animal (or human) bites you. Commonly spread by dogs and wolves, the disease then causes foaming at the mouth, disordered behaviour, and a compulsion to bite someone else to spread the disease on, which might explain the common theme of a bite spreading the curse of the werewolf.
Comments
Post a Comment