Despite knowing that it?s incredibly silly, this is a subject that interests me. In the years following Twilight many people have started arguing about what are the essential elements of the vampire mythos. Before it was thought that, since vampires don?t exist, we can pretty much declare that they are whatever we want them to be. However in recent years people have started to insist that this is not so.
Personally I have had experiences with this. Perhaps that should be a secondary to this subject. Is this an acceptable vampire mythos for a sci-fi series:
Created in the 1500s by a race of aliens wanting to harvest humans as food, the vampires were humans with dragon DNA injected into them. The dragon DNA was supposed to make them more powerful and more compliant, as dragons were reptiles and therefore far less psychologically independent. At first the vampires served their alien overlords and started gathering human children for them to feast on. However over time reptilian mechanical psychology began to battle human emotional psychology. The more passionate or fierce the emotion the better chance it had of surviving as the two natures battled and eventually, the vampires became either cold blooded killers, or hyper idealists, in both cases becoming monstrous. The vampires are sentient and nothing about them requires them to be ?evil?, they just have issues with anything even resembling subtlety.
The vampires have healing powers, but no need to drink blood. They have super strength and speed but no fear of sunlight. They?re often ferocious killers, but generally have no interest in romancing boring humans even if they are into romance. They?re nigh immortal, but can be killed by any natural means that can?t be countered by their very considerable healing powers. Finally, they can morph into completely feral winged monstrosities.
(In my series of course, the ?vampires? are not the original ?vampires?. They have just come to be called that as part of an elaborate cover up for mutants living among us.)
I?ve been given plenty of hate on this and even those who don?t hate the story told me this should be probably a werewolf myth. Honestly, I never thought it mattered. When Lord Maelstrom kidnaps a human child in one of my stories, drains his blood and forces it through the pluming of his girlfriend?s house while dumping the body in the tub? I figured that was bringing horror back to the mythos. Folks have agreed that this is scary, but just not vampires. Thoughts?
Personally I have had experiences with this. Perhaps that should be a secondary to this subject. Is this an acceptable vampire mythos for a sci-fi series:
Created in the 1500s by a race of aliens wanting to harvest humans as food, the vampires were humans with dragon DNA injected into them. The dragon DNA was supposed to make them more powerful and more compliant, as dragons were reptiles and therefore far less psychologically independent. At first the vampires served their alien overlords and started gathering human children for them to feast on. However over time reptilian mechanical psychology began to battle human emotional psychology. The more passionate or fierce the emotion the better chance it had of surviving as the two natures battled and eventually, the vampires became either cold blooded killers, or hyper idealists, in both cases becoming monstrous. The vampires are sentient and nothing about them requires them to be ?evil?, they just have issues with anything even resembling subtlety.
The vampires have healing powers, but no need to drink blood. They have super strength and speed but no fear of sunlight. They?re often ferocious killers, but generally have no interest in romancing boring humans even if they are into romance. They?re nigh immortal, but can be killed by any natural means that can?t be countered by their very considerable healing powers. Finally, they can morph into completely feral winged monstrosities.
(In my series of course, the ?vampires? are not the original ?vampires?. They have just come to be called that as part of an elaborate cover up for mutants living among us.)
I?ve been given plenty of hate on this and even those who don?t hate the story told me this should be probably a werewolf myth. Honestly, I never thought it mattered. When Lord Maelstrom kidnaps a human child in one of my stories, drains his blood and forces it through the pluming of his girlfriend?s house while dumping the body in the tub? I figured that was bringing horror back to the mythos. Folks have agreed that this is scary, but just not vampires. Thoughts?