dubiously sane vampire ponderings
Feb. 14th, 2008 06:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ontologyInterestingly, in all of the vampire stories I have come across, in whatever medium, none of them have ever given any thought as to why Christian symbols -- crosses, holy water, often churches themselves -- ward off vampires. To be fair I don't recall any scientific explorations of the fending-off power of garlic or silver or stakes (wooden or iron) or why vampires can't cross the threshold of a house uninvited*, either, but they don't have the same sort of -- hmm, significance. And I've never come across any stories in which a vampire recoiled from the Koran, or a Hindu idol, or the Star of David. But then there are also very few vampire stories set outside of a Western aesthetic.
* And because I think far too much, I keep thinking about how the particulars of that rule work. Vampires tend to make homes in abandoned buildings (all right, sometimes their own seemingly abandoned homes), and if the building is abandoned, does that stop the whatever-it-is that requires an invitation? What if someone's crept off the street to sleep in an abandoned building for a night, and a vampire attempts to enter? Does the building or house have to be specifically in someone's possession? And what sort of buildings can't they enter? Homes, all right, absolutely; and usually churches, too, but for different reasons. But what about businesses? If a vampire took a notion to attend the theatre, would he have to finagle some way of being invited inside? Most of the stories that mention the invitation requirement stop with houses and don't seem to give a thought to other buildings, so presumably the rules are different, but how, and why? Can vampires enter the homes of other vampires without being invited? How does one, or can one, un-invite a vampire? (When Angel went evil, they changed the locks, but I'm not sure that fits in with how I see magic, as such, working.) At what point does spending a great deal of thought on the inner workings of fictional universes border on getting one institutionalised? Is there any hope for me? Will I ever run out of question marks? Is it less mad if it can count as novel research?
* And because I think far too much, I keep thinking about how the particulars of that rule work. Vampires tend to make homes in abandoned buildings (all right, sometimes their own seemingly abandoned homes), and if the building is abandoned, does that stop the whatever-it-is that requires an invitation? What if someone's crept off the street to sleep in an abandoned building for a night, and a vampire attempts to enter? Does the building or house have to be specifically in someone's possession? And what sort of buildings can't they enter? Homes, all right, absolutely; and usually churches, too, but for different reasons. But what about businesses? If a vampire took a notion to attend the theatre, would he have to finagle some way of being invited inside? Most of the stories that mention the invitation requirement stop with houses and don't seem to give a thought to other buildings, so presumably the rules are different, but how, and why? Can vampires enter the homes of other vampires without being invited? How does one, or can one, un-invite a vampire? (When Angel went evil, they changed the locks, but I'm not sure that fits in with how I see magic, as such, working.) At what point does spending a great deal of thought on the inner workings of fictional universes border on getting one institutionalised? Is there any hope for me? Will I ever run out of question marks? Is it less mad if it can count as novel research?
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Date: 2008-02-17 10:47 pm (UTC)That makes sense, especially on the outside of the stories, but I find it weird that nobody ever discusses it within the context of the stories themselves. Other than the whole "Christianity is silly" bias, I suppose. (And Remus is offended, because werewolves generally have no choice in being turned and are often created by accident.)
Now, like Charis said, more modern bits of folklore have focused on the psychic defense raised by the person's faith in the symbol and not the symbol itself.
That's an interesting idea, although it seems too easy to me (and I don't know if I entirely agree with the ideology behind it; bit New Agey) -- I mean, it doesn't make for as good a story, in a way, if anything you happen to feel particularly strongly about can ward off a vampire. Though The Historian, as I recall, had a similar idea, only it wasn't something you could use deliberately, or at close range, more of a general talisman -- the doing of normal things, immersing oneself in some kind of -- interpersonal-ness, or community, or love, it at least kept you a little safer, and my explanation of it was completely rubbish, but there you go.
I really like the threshold concept, and it seems to fit very well with what I know of Evangeline and her universe and the sorts of themes I like to play with, wot.
Yay, researchy books! I tried looking on Amazon for things to get on loan, but Amazon is just too big and full of reviewers with no sense at all; it's impossible to gauge what might be useful and what won't be.
Ooh, and you should definitely look at tvtropes.org, very addictive site...they'll have a page on vampires in movies and TV.
...I would like the last two hours of my life back now. :p