An Anthropological Perspective On Vampires
Since the beginning of time, humans have believed in supernatural beings. You can think of God, Satan or ghosts as examples of supernatural beings. This essay examines the concept of the vampire from a social/anthropological perspective based on the cultural context read in this class.
According to the context, a vampire is an undead human (living or real corpse) who receives emotional or physical sustenance form a victim and who is left feeling debilitated. A person with supernatural powers is a possible definition of a vampire. Dracula is a good example. He was a ruler who took harsh measures to kill anyone who didn’t know how to solve his problems. Aysa was a prostitute who made a lot of money by using her sexual abilities. Aysa, who was a vampire, could be seen as haunting her clients’ dreams in her final days. Dracula could be considered a vampire on the contrary. He “forsook God’s light” and accepted the darkness of the Roman Church in prison. His actions led to the death of many people. Dracula’s story teaches courage, as he orders his men not to go to battle if they fear death. And honesty, when he fails to impale the merchant of Hungary. The Kashubs believed that failing to take preventative measures against a Kashubian vampire being detected after it died could lead to a large number of deaths within the community.
Today, those who suffer from photophobia or cannibalism are considered to be “vampires” in modern society. Because they are fearful of light and feel the effects it has on their bodies, photophobia people might be called vampires. Cannibals could be called vampires since they kill and consume their victims’ flesh, while serial killers might be considered vampires due to their pleasure in the killing of their victims.
It is possible that cannibals, photophobia and serial killers were once called vampires. However, we humans still believe that vampires exist. Our society does not embrace the term vampire. Instead, we use different names like cannibal to describe individuals who exhibit similar behaviors to a vampire.
