“Vampire” as a formal term was
popularly known in 18th century from traditional eastern European
folklore. According to
some vampire myths, the original vampire named Cain, who is the elder son of Adam
and Eve. He was cursed by God and became the first vampire for the reason of
killing his own brother.
And the origin
of the feature of vampire relates to a disease Porphyria. People with this
disease are afraid of sun, their skin will be eroded and they need blood to sustain
life. In addition, according to Valerie L. Guyant,
to trace the classical connections among blood and sex which are the main desires of vampire, the very reason that the sucking of blood has sexual connotations
is because of earlier beliefs in the necessity of blood in order to procreate.
The ancient Greeks believed that blood created all body fluids, and early
Christians also believed a thought that the blood and the soul (or life force) of
a person were inextricably linked.
These myths
create the general image of vampire, and in 1897’s vampire novel Dracula written by Bram Stoker, the
vampire figure has a more specific description.
没有评论:
发表评论