Vampires and me

 Vampires

Ever since I was young I have been fascinated about vampires. 

I remember dressing up as a vampire for so many halloweens. 
These creatures that had superhuman strength and speedThe ability to shapeshift into different creatures of the night

They were like the Highlander only superhuman. 

It's unfortunate I don't have any photos to show of my youthful vampire outfit. 

It wasn't the most creative of course but it was my favorite.

I'd go through so many toy vampire teeth that my mouth would go sore trying to learn how 

to talk while having the awkward, saliva-inducing jaws in my mouth. 

I could have collected dna from the amount of saliva these produced

My favorite ones were the glow-in-the-dark jaws. I just loved walking soundlessly across the floor to sneak up on unsuspecting victims (usually my older sister or my mom) in the shroud of darkness only to open my mouth and snarl or growl while trying not to choke on my own spit but thinking I was the coolest and sneakiest vampire out there. Of course I'd get yelled at, punished, my teeth confiscated; but I'd always find them and get them back.
Much like my younger brother always seems to find his gameboy game or psp or candy whenever they are confiscated. Sometimes I wonder if all those years singing him to sleep passed my unique outlook of life and behavior onto him. 

I still to this day learn how to navigate every place I live in pitch black.
I still revel in the fact that I'm able to walk with just a whisper, usually without even meaning to. I've been called a ghost more times than I can count due to the fact that a roommate or friend jumps 5 feet into the air because I'm suddenly talking from right behind them. 

And you can add the unavoidable attraction to the night that seems to pull at me from the inside. No matter where I live, whatever timezone I always find myself naturally adjusting my time to be awake to make the most of the dark. If only I could have been blessed with good night vision, I'd be golden. Not silver, that can have a morbid effect. 

I remember back in high school I'd be in the computer lab with other people I knew, mostly the 'outcasts' and 'geeks'  I enjoyed talking to them about sci fi stuff, especially when it came to dragons, rpg's, or vampires. Except, they actually took it to the extreme where they thought they WERE vampires all because they took some online survey telling them what clan they belonged to.  The RPG game Vampire: The Masqueride comes to mind. 

Movies and tv series proliferated that made vampires become ever-popular. Who could ever forget our beloved Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Blade, Dracula (remake), and of course the film Interview with a Vampire with it's hedonistic image on sexuality and vampire-lore earning it awards while also marking it with the Rated R sign. 

 

Recently we have a reawakening of the vampire genre, igniting teen passions and making girls (and perhaps some guys) of all ages fall in love with the 'sexy vampire' image of broodiness and eternal loathing. We've now got the twilight series which I personally loathe due to it's innacurracy in following vampire folklore (since when do vampires sparkle in the sunlight?!) 

Not to mention it's just a teen melodrama with vampires thrown in to help throw in the 'love ever after' theme that teen girls and boys eat up like word-starved poets. 

But the movie that series I most fondly recall and which prompted this blog tonight is the UNDERWORLD. A movie that pits werewolves (lycans) vs vampires. It came out back when I was a freshman in university. I remember going to the theatre with my best friend Hatim. We were on the edge of our seats the entire time. After we left that theatre we were jumping around and growling all over the parking lot at the Wynnsong 12 Theatre on Edgewood Road, pretty much acting like we were eight years old again. 

This January a new edition to the franchise continues the great tradition starring Kate Beckinsale. In the earlier films lycens and vampires were the hunters, this one has them being the hunted. I can't wait.