The Book of Vampires mainly talks about vampire across the world, how other contries percieve them, but the part that stuck out the most to me was about how not all vampires suck blood. What could these vampires possibly gain by spreading a disease or strangling someone? And what the hell does "Causing a retarded death by various other means" mean? Does that mean clobbering someone over the head with a streetlamp or something equally bizare? Why do they have to stake the vampire first? Why not just burn the sucker? This chapter does a good job of explaining how they do something, but not why.
The Phantom World talks about Spectres and apparitions and how they've reeked havoc on the lives of townspeople. Personally, I can believe all this. Even now, in our 'Space aged society', things that can't be explained, like apparitions, still occur. Apparitions show up to announce deaths before they happen, spirits show up to warn of danger and lead people away. If this stuff still happens now, whos to say it didn't happen in the past? I have never, though, in modern day, heard of them digging up someone who has been dead for a few years to find them as though they had only just died. I don't know, maybe they have and I just missed it, but this is all sort of a recap of everything I've read in The Legends of Blood.
Tale of a Russian Vampire- did anyone else get the feeling is guy was a no good lifesucker even before he died and became a vampire? The vengeful bastard... So, I guess that, because even after he forced his wife to promise to stay single before he dies, when she falls in love again, her dead husband arose from the grave and sought to punish her. I wouldn't have bothered driving a stake though the bastard, I would have just doused his body in gasoline and set it ablaze.
Vampires of Roumania- I sort of invisioned The Girl and the Vampire sort of being like Romeo and Julliet only instead, when the girl and the boy could finally be together, the girl freaks out. If she finally has the man she loves with her and get laid every night, why wouldn't she accept him? Instead of being happy, she lies to him, letting him kill her dad, mom, and the girl herself, and ultimatly destroys him to live happily ever after with the emperor's son. I mean, damn, this girl's not greatful unless she's sitting on a throne.
A Vampire Story from Botosani- So, I guess the Vampire in this story really did like the girl and was just trying to get her attention. When the girl disappears into the forest, the vampire sent out a search party, though he killed them when they could not find her. He even takes her to his house in the forest and begins to clean up for her. She, however, freaks out once more and flees to a house where a dead man lays on the table, curls up on the stove and tries to sleep. In defence of the vampire being angry, he really did seem to be trying to appease her, but she was too scared to see it. When the vampire comes after her and enters the house, the dead man arises, and mortal combat is ensured. When the girl wakes up, she is amazed by the beauty of the forest and runs home to bring her parents to the house. However, her parents kill her because she had become a vampire.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Poe
Soooo, I found this creepy vampire cult website, does this fulfill part of my assignment? They even have their own vampire bible! http://www.vampiretemple.com/
In Edgar Allen Poe's Ligeia, She is described to be lovely beyond all others, sporting marble skin and glossy raven locks that have a strangeness about them, pure black eyes too large for a human. When the man talks about her, he says her eyes contain something found only in the eyes of the aged, or those who have lived a long time. Ligeia was weathly beyond normal mortals and possessed an almost unearthly nature before she died. At the end of the story, from what I gathered(it was kinda confusing), Ligeia kills the mans new wife Rowena, and comes back to life.
In The Oval Portrait, In a dark area of a room, there hangs a picture in an oval frame of a girl almost a woman, 'a maiden of rarest beauty'. This one was equally confusing, maybe its the language barrier, but I guess that whole time the painter was painting his beautiful bride, she was dead.
In The Fall of the House of the Usher, Roderick Usher is said to have a very ancient family that has been the object of fine works of art. When the narrator meets Usher face to face, he speaks about Usher's cadaverous complexion and perfect facial features. Usher speaks of acuteness of his senses, how all flowers smelled opressive to him, and how even the faintest of light tortured his eyes. Both Roderick and his dececed sister Madeline suffer from a strange illness that baffles their doctors and are the cause of their strange complexions. When looking upon Lady Madeline's corpse, they note that the mysterious illness had entombed her forever in her youth. At the end, while reading a book to Usher, the narrator hears noises that match up to the story he is reading. It turns out that Lady Madeline was not dead and was making noises as she broke free of her tomb, looking for her twin brother, Usher.
In Edgar Allen Poe's Ligeia, She is described to be lovely beyond all others, sporting marble skin and glossy raven locks that have a strangeness about them, pure black eyes too large for a human. When the man talks about her, he says her eyes contain something found only in the eyes of the aged, or those who have lived a long time. Ligeia was weathly beyond normal mortals and possessed an almost unearthly nature before she died. At the end of the story, from what I gathered(it was kinda confusing), Ligeia kills the mans new wife Rowena, and comes back to life.
In The Oval Portrait, In a dark area of a room, there hangs a picture in an oval frame of a girl almost a woman, 'a maiden of rarest beauty'. This one was equally confusing, maybe its the language barrier, but I guess that whole time the painter was painting his beautiful bride, she was dead.
In The Fall of the House of the Usher, Roderick Usher is said to have a very ancient family that has been the object of fine works of art. When the narrator meets Usher face to face, he speaks about Usher's cadaverous complexion and perfect facial features. Usher speaks of acuteness of his senses, how all flowers smelled opressive to him, and how even the faintest of light tortured his eyes. Both Roderick and his dececed sister Madeline suffer from a strange illness that baffles their doctors and are the cause of their strange complexions. When looking upon Lady Madeline's corpse, they note that the mysterious illness had entombed her forever in her youth. At the end, while reading a book to Usher, the narrator hears noises that match up to the story he is reading. It turns out that Lady Madeline was not dead and was making noises as she broke free of her tomb, looking for her twin brother, Usher.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
First Assignment
I'm not really sure what all I know about Vampires. First off, there's the mainstream vampires, you know, holy water, crosses, and stakes. Then there's more modern, I guess, vampires like in Twilight. (Ooh...sparkly vampires says the Magpie...heheheh..) I've seen vampires on opposite sides of the intelligence scale, from mindless and primitive monsters to sexy and sophisticated.
There is a book that I sometimes check out at the library...you know...one of those old dusty books in the back...you're sure you're the only one who ever checks it out...called "The Legends of Blood".
The Legends of Blood is all about Vampire in history, poetry, art, etc. It come's complete with how vampires came all the way up to their habits and real life encounters. I really do like this book, and one of the best parts is you don't have to read it in order. If you don't want to read about the history of vampires, you can skip right on ahead to another section.
I have never read any of her books, but I have heard some amazing things about Anne Rice's books and look forwards to reading them. I have never even heard of The Historian before.
There is a book that I sometimes check out at the library...you know...one of those old dusty books in the back...you're sure you're the only one who ever checks it out...called "The Legends of Blood".
The Legends of Blood is all about Vampire in history, poetry, art, etc. It come's complete with how vampires came all the way up to their habits and real life encounters. I really do like this book, and one of the best parts is you don't have to read it in order. If you don't want to read about the history of vampires, you can skip right on ahead to another section.
I have never read any of her books, but I have heard some amazing things about Anne Rice's books and look forwards to reading them. I have never even heard of The Historian before.
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