Sexual Taboo: Vampire Myths and Stories

Abstract

The belief in vampires has been around for most of recorded history, dating back before the bible and Ancient Egypt to Babylonian demonology and very early Sumerian mythology . Although, it was never the mythology that we think of today; in those times it was a belief rooted just as strongly as their religion. For example, just as the Greeks worshiped Zeus, they had an equal fear of murderers of the night, who walked and spoke as if they were still alive. In these times Vampires were usually considered frightening, evil things but the modern stories of these creatures have evolved them into an over glorified synthesis of societies darkest taboos and desires. Today, Vampires are portrayed in various, sexual ways, and three major taboos are usually key, BDSM, homosexuality, and pedophilia.
Hollywood lately has taken to portraying Vampires as either Heroes or lovable Villains. There's the Blade series, Angel, Underworld, and the Dracula films. The vampire characters in all these movies share similar traits, aggressiveness, masculinity, and unconventional sexuality. There are huge raves of vampires in Blade pictured together in a wild, musical, blood drenched revelry, their act of feeding on blood becoming a sexual portrayal of dominance. When Kate Beckinsale shares her blood with Scott Speedman in Underworld is a very intimate scene, and brings to mind a typical sex scene from a love story while also making them seem more human.