Vampires are probably more popular today than at any other time in history. And they continue to get more glamorous and sexy, thanks to TV series like “True Blood” and the BBC’s Being Human, and of course the Twilight series of novels and movies. We are a long way from Nosferatu, and old horrors like the blood-sucking ghoul of south-eastern Europe the Greeks call the vrykolakas. So it’s not surprising that vampires feature in plenty of dreams, and not only the dreams of teen girls – especially when we remember that Stephanie Meyer’s inspiration for the Twilight came from a dream. As she recalls, the dream was so juicy she had to stay in and write it all out, though she was supposed to go somewhere with her kids, and later used her dream report as a first draft for a chapter in the first of her vampire books.
Just now I was reflecting on a report from a mature woman who dreamed she was back in school, where the teacher was reading a love story in which she was a leading character. In the story, she falls in love with a vampire. She kisses him, then runs away, then kisses him again, and takes off again. The teacher stops reading the story in the middle. The kids in the class moan, “Oh no, we want to hear the rest!”
I commented that if this were my dream, the fact that I am back in school would suggest that I am being offered a life lesson, something I need to know now. I’d think back to the times when I was seduced by someone – or a series of someones – who turned out to be energy vampires. Rather than seeking to know the end of this kind of love story, I would want to avoid repeating it.
Energy vampires are for real, and the transaction involved is far from glamorous. We can all think of people who tend to drain our batteries. Sometimes it’s so obvious you can sense them trying to suck you dry, slurping away, as if with a straw.
What do you do to stave off the energy vampires in life? Another woman dreamer I know came up with a fabulous solution. In her dream, Janice was being kissed on the neck by a vampire. She found this very seductive and sensual. But her dream protectors didn’t let it go too far. They conjured up a “vampire chastity belt” that fitted her neck perfectly, frustrating the vampire’s efforts to suck her blood. I think there might be quite a market for vampire chastity belts if some savvy entrepreneur wants to produce them!
I’m not attracted to the vampire craze, at all, but I confess I have a soft spot for one vampire. He is Count von Count, and my daughters and I watched him on “Sesame Street” with eager delight when they were very young.
posted August 28, 2011 at 2:46 pm
Hi Robert.
Intriguing post. I’m not a big fan of vampires or zombies either. I have nothing against a well told chiller, or a movie version, as there have always been scary stories…but the infatuation with vampires and zombies is telling of modern society.
If the world is a forest of living symbols, and the mass media is a projection of our own collective consciousness, what does it say about the state of human affairs if people are so latched on (like a lamprey) to these particular motifs? In my mind it must mean there are a lot of energy vampires out there, of the kind you described in this post, and we need to protect ourselves from them. As for the zombies, well, I think you would agree that the time is always Now for people to stop sleepwalking, like the undead, and wake up to Living Dream!
posted August 29, 2011 at 2:05 am
Thank you a lot for sharing.
The post is great and dream reports are intriguing for me, so just a few ideas whirling in my head at the moment:
The mature woman´s dream: If it were my dream I would probably ask two questions: What part of me likes to be in an abusive situation? What part of me wants to abuse someone? (I apologize for the second question, might sound rude and insensitive, still I find it complementary to the first and important); I would also like to contemplate Edvard Munch painting “Vampire”, originally titled “Love and Pain”, it reveals something about ambigiousness of some close and out of balance relationships. Last thought relates to Othello and Desdemona. It´s not exactly to the point but there is a common topic of an “innocent” victim. I agree with the idea of one scholar that Desdemona wouldn´t have to be stabbed if she hadn´t had mentality of victim and sufferer. I guess women or men who tend to fall a victim to “human vampires”, should consider why some part of them wants to be hurt. It´s a bit like with certain people falling ill, there are hidden advantages.
Janice´s dream: with one sentence: If it were my dream I would feel very grateful and would like to express my gratitude in some generous and beautiful way.
The way of protection she is offered in dream also reminded me of “Fivefold Teachings of Dawa Gyaltsen” presented by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. Only brief information: he talks about three methods of working with negative emotions. The first is rejection, by which he means protection Janice´s dream), for example putting dangerous stuff out of reach of small children. The second is transformation of negative emotions into positive, with the proper knowledge the poison can be turned into the medicine. The third is “leave it as it is”. None of them has special priority, they are used according to the actual situation.
Thank you once again and best wishes to all.
posted August 29, 2011 at 10:42 am
He was one of my favorite characters, and I loved his sense of humor!!! I watched him avidly when Noah was young and we were going through a painful divorce. An HEALING vampire.
posted August 30, 2011 at 9:15 am
This is such a strange media for me. I have a young sister, dear to me that slips in and out of depression who has read so many of these vampirish sex novels. I think they’re gross, draining on her, and I hate the combination of vampire and sex. I don’t use that word hate too often. Now humor and vampires doesn’t sound so draining and I agree that the writers of Seasame Street trump Twilight any day.
Patty