Saturday, May 28, 2011

Do vampires make good heroes?

I have been wondering about this lately because I am working on something new and might want to draw a link between vampires and werewolves. So I started comparing the two to see which would make a better hero.

The oldest vampire myth, which is Sumerian, talks of a horrible creature called the Ekimmu, a vampire-like creature that resembled a reanimated corpse. Souls that died in a violent way in ancient Sumeria were believed to come back as vampires to torment the living.
twightlight_vampire
Modern romance novels paint vampires in a much different light and I don’t know if I’m buying it. Sure, these modern vampires are a lot better to look at than their ancient, hideous counterparts, but maybe it’s an illusion so they can easily lure their victims. In Twilight, 200-year-old Edward pretty much stalks teenage Bella. That’s kind of creepy. Vampires are undead, natural predators and they are loners who prefer to hunt and live alone. Is that the essence of a hero?
jacob_werewolf
Werewolves are human for the most part and they are alive. Wolves are social animals, run in packs and they mate for life. If I were a Twilight fan, I would have been in the Jacob camp. He just seemed like a better match for Bella and made a more believable hero.

Which one makes a better hero? Vampire or Werewolf?
Kelley Heckart
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The vampires in these teen books aren't vampires. The vampire is a legend and to create characters based on that legend, to be true to it, vampires are:

1) Dead from an attack by an already existing vampire
2) only drink blood
3) unable to survive in sunlight
4) garlic will repel them
5) they can't cross the threshold of a church and crosses will repel them too
6) they can only be killed by a wooden stake through the heart.
7) to travel they need some soil from their 'home'
8) they can't enter a residence unless they are invited

Maybe a modern day vampire doesn't have to have all those traits, but when you break almost all of them, you don't have vampires.

Kimberly Krey said...

You make some great points. I'm a Twilight fan - Team Edward all the way. But I can definitely see the draw to Jacob as well.

Dragon Lady said...

Not a real Twilight fan, but all my daughters are. Only the oldest is the real Edward fan, the rest of us, me included, are Jacob fans.

Vampires have always seemed....cold. At least with a shifter, they are WARM, have a heartbeat (all the time, not just when feeding), and can be with you when EVER! Hell, I am even in the were camp in the Underworld series of movies. I also cried when Lon Chaney Jr.'s character Lawrence Talbot, died in The Wolf Man!

I have to say, tho, that Bianca D'Arc blends vampires and were as well as Fae in a HOT way. I found her books over at Samhain Publishing.

Over all, for ME, shifters are the way to go.

Btw, ever check into the Chinese zombie/vampire legends? We have seen a few movies of such and they are weiiiiiiiiiiiiiiird!!! They HOP!!!!! LOL!!!