A Hero's Shadow: Vampires in Literature

Throughout the hero's journey, the shadow seems to be a constant companion; a force in which the hero can neither ignore nor abandon, yet in regards to the vampiric hero, the shadow is not only the monster he is, but the monster he is attempting to flee, i.e. himself. Victoria Lynn Schmidt clarifies the essence of the shadow as stating it is the dark side in which "he has to face his faults and fears around him" (Schmidt 186). However, with the vampire, the shadow is at once inside and outside of him; he is the monster which is capable of taking a life, yet it is the fear of being alone which propels the vampire to seek out companionship. The dichotomy is perplexing and unnerving to the vampire; yet, the vampire is simply a fictional character, placed into a very real, psychological world.

While most audiences will find the vampiric character to be one who is blood thirsty, lustful and dangerous, the truth about vampires is that they are misunderstood souls, haunting the night in search of the one thing that will fill them up: companionship. "But most of these individuals are troubled people who have been attracted by the cultural myths about the vampire: supernatural powers (because they feel powerless), overwhelming sexuality (because most of them have sexual issues and no true relationships), immortality (because they fear aging and death)" (Arthen). Vampires have deep psychological needs in which the act of drinking blood or absorbing another's energy fulfills within them. The vampire is his own shadow, particularly if he is conflicted such as Louis in Interview with a Vampire: "The Shadow can cause conflict for the hero...by being a force equal to or greater than the hero so he can put up roadblocks until the hero acknowledges him" (Schmidt 187). Louis was forced into a vampiric lifestyle, where he finds himself not only the hero, but the shadow which causes emotional turmoil. Louis's guilt over killing created dramatic conflict for the need he has to feast; he was psychologically and physiologically torn between the two extremes. It is this which generates both hero and shadow within the vampire.

Yet, in reality, a vampire is nothing more than a person who is an empath, and can be emotionally draining. While most cultures still believe in the myth of vampires, most accept that they simply do not exist, at least, not in the literary and film sense. However, vampires are very real; most people can attest to knowing one, maybe two, individuals that are too draining to be around. They are called psychic vampires, feasting on the "pranic energy (life force)" of others (Arthen). They are the embodiment of the vampire: night dwelling, photosensitive, and draining; though, they do not drink real blood. Though it does beg the question: if vampires are real, do they sense the hero and shadow within their own being; are they at odds within their own souls, as their literary counterparts? Is it a physiological or psychological need that they fulfill when they absorb another's energy? There may never be definitive answers to these questions, which may be why the vampiric myth continues on through generations.

Works Cited

Arthan, Ianna, "Real Vampires", Fireheart Magazine, A Journal of Magick and Spiritual

Transformation. Volume fall/spring. Boston: The EarthSpirit Community, 1988. http://www.earthspirit.com/fireheart/fhvampire.html

Rice, Anne, Interview with a Vampire. New York: Random House Publishing, 1997.

Schmidt, Victoria Lynn, 45 Master Characters. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books, 2001.