vampirism
The vampirism generally refers to a affinity suck blood - in literature and history usually meant literally, but also to be understood figuratively: as the gains of (mostly supernatural) strength by sucking foreign energy sources. There are also terms such as emotional or political vampirism (a frequently cited example of this: “bleeding out” the occupied territories during colonial times ).
mythology
Even if the myth of the vampire , which has preoccupied people for thousands of years, evokes horror in most (and can therefore be sold well), very human needs and desires contribute to his fascination : give and take (the vampire takes his Sacrifice blood and gives him - at least in many adaptations of the material - a certain masochistic lust ), dying and giving birth (the victim of the vampire loses his mortal life as a result of the bite and rises again as the undead ), Eros and Thanatos ( love and death , a synthesis of great tragedy and drama , which also describes the eternal dilemma of the undead, who inevitably brings death with an erotic encounter - as the bite or kiss of the vampire can be understood).
The history of this mythology goes back to the beginning of the Old Testament : the first 'undead' in history, named in writing in the Kabbalah (the script for the Jewish secret doctrine of the same name ), is Lilith , Adam's first wife. After her expulsion from Paradise (she had disobeyed Adam), she visited the young community as a 'night spirit' and stole small children. Since then, the vampire has been almost omnipresent: In ancient Transylvania , which is often referred to as the country of origin of the vampire saga, the belief in revenants (undead) and after-eaters (dead people who rise to feed on the living) has been part of popular culture for centuries. The myth of the revenants was also known in Germany, and it flowed into the mass hysteria at the time of the witch hunts . As mentioned above, vampirism also often serves as a parable for unequal relationships in the interpersonal and especially the political sphere. In the entertainment industry, the vampire is a 'long runner': Nobody embodies the tragedy of love and dying, the connection between sex and crime as real as the erotic, powerful figure (often portrayed by beautiful young women or charismatic men) who is only death keeps their victims alive. The fascination of the vampire is based on sex appeal and power - so it is not surprising that some people emulate him and practice drinking blood consensually (see entry below).
The vampire as a pathological figure and the synchronicity of wolves
Aside from erotic games, vampirism has also inspired people to commit terrible crimes:
Ceaușescu , a former Romanian dictator , was often referred to as a vampire or called 'wolf' because of his cruelty, as was Adolf Hitler or the German serial killer Fritz Haarmann , the werewolf or vampire from Hanover . The Hitler biographer Joachim Fest pointed out that Hitler could “refuel” from the crowd that was banned by his appearance. Fest attributes the physical decline of Hitler during the war years to the fact that hardly any mass rallies took place. Significantly, Hitler had the "programmatic" first name Adolf, the short form derived from Adalwolf . Richard Wagner's grandchildren called him “Uncle Wolf” and next to the largest Führer headquarters Wolfsschanze there was Wolfsschlucht 1 , Wolfsschlucht 2 and Wehrwolf . Logically, but not causally, the fictional character of the novel by Dr. Mabuse to the pathological vampire figures who calls himself a werewolf.
It is no coincidence that the vampire is often compared to the wolf , or rather the werewolf : both are creatures of the night, have psychic powers and kill innocents night after night in order to survive. The popularity of the vampire arises from the fact that he is more similar to humans and in his beauty, power and cunning - and not least in his immortality - can in a certain sense be seen as a ' superman '.
Sexual component
Some vampirists get sexual pleasure from biting the neck and possibly drinking small drops of blood. This can, but does not have to be, associated with a vampire aesthetic that is perceived as erotic.
Vampirism in the sexual area is considered a rare paraphilia with a proximity to sadism . Vampirism is often referred to as a form of sexual fetishism , but this is generally incorrect: only if the blood alone and not primarily biting and sucking off causes sexual arousal, classification as a fetish is justified. In the vampire scene, however, fetishism shows itself more than material fetishism (leather clothing, etc.). This can also lead to confusion, because fetishism in the original, non-sexual sense is often widespread in vampiric scenes .
Mark Benecke quotes from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychological Disorders - Volume IV that hematophilia (lit. "blood love "; from Greek "haemato" = blood and philia = love ) is a disease in which the person concerned turns to blood feels attracted that these are: "Over a period of at least six months recurring intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexually urgent needs or behaviors that (in this case) relate to blood." However, he points out an important limitation for him, the the DSM-IV states: “The person has acted on these sexually urgent fantasies or needs with a person who is incapable or unwilling to consent, or the fantasies, sexually urgent needs or behaviors cause suffering or impairment in social, professional or otherwise in a clinically significant manner important functional areas. "
literature
- Thomas M. Bohn: The vampire. A European myth. Cologne, Weimar, Vienna: Böhlau Verlag, 2016. ISBN 978-3-412-50180-8
- Norbert Borrmann: Vampirism or the longing for immortality . Kreuzlingen and Munich 1999, ISBN 3-424-01351-X .
- Massimo Introvigne : La stirpe di Dracula. Indagine sul vampirismo dall 'antichità al nostri giorni . A. Mondadori, Milan 1997.
- Lee Byron Jennings: An Early German Vampire Tale: Wilhelm Waiblinger's "Olura" (first published in 1986) . In: Stuttgart work on German studies. No. 423, Verlag Hans-Dieter Heinz, Akademischer Verlag, Stuttgart 2004 [2005], pp. 295-306, ISBN 3-88099-428-5 .
- Gerhard Katschnig: The phenomenon of finitude: vampirism . In: Imaginations des Endes (Warsaw studies on cultural and literary studies, vol. 6). Edited by Aneta Jachimowicz, Alina Kuzborska and Dirk H. Steinhoff. Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2015, pp. 289–304. ISBN 3631656580 .
- Jean Marigny: Vampirism et initiation . In: Ésotérisme. Gnoses & [et] Imaginaire Symbolique. Mélanges offerts à Antoine Faivre . Edited by Richard Caron, Joseclyn Godwin, Wouter J [acobus] Hanegraaff & [et] Jean-Louis Vieillard-Baron. (Leuven <Belgium>, [Paris] :) Peeters (2001) (Gnostica. Texts & [et] Interprétations. Edited by Garry Trompf, Wouter J [acobus] Hanegraaff, 3). Pp. 639-652.
- Brother Mordor: The Book of Noctemeron. The essence of vampirism. Bohmeier Verlag, Lübeck 2003, ISBN 3-89094-399-3
- Britta Radkowsky: Modern vampires . UBooks-Verlag , 2005, ISBN 3866080069
- Michael Ranft : Nicolaus Equiamicus: Treatise on the chewing and smacking of the dead in graves 1734, German translation from Latin 2006 by UBooks-Verlag . ISBN 3866080158
- Laurence A. Rickels : Vampirism Lectures . Brinkmann & Bose, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-922660-60-6
- Patricia L. Skarda: Vampirism and Plagiarism: Byron's Influence and Polidori's Practice . In: Studies in Romanticism. Volume 27, 1989, pp. 249-269.
- Augustin Calmet: Scholarly negotiation of the matter of the apparitions of spirits, and of vampires in Hungary and Moravia . Edition Roter Drache, 2007. ISBN 978-3939459033 - Edition Augsburg 1751: Digitized
- Konstantinos: Vampires: The Occult Truth Llewellyn Publications, US 1996 ISBN 1-56718-380-8
- Hagen Schaub: Vampires. On the trail of the myth. Marix Verlag, Wiesbaden 2011, ISBN 978-3-86539-255-8
- Norbert Borrmann: Vampirism. The bite to immortality , Diederichs, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-424-35055-5
- Mark Benecke: vampires among us! Volume I Rh. Pos. , Edition Roter Drache, 2009, ISBN 978-3-939459-24-8
- Mark Benecke: vampires among us! Volume II Rh. Neg. , Red Dragon Edition, 2010, ISBN 978-3-939459-42-2
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Joachim Fest : Hitler. A biography . Frankfurt a. M., Berlin 1973. pp. 922-923
- ↑ Norbert Borrmann: Vampirism or the longing for immortality . Kreuzlingen and Munich 1999. p. 111 and p. 171–172.
- ↑ Mark Benecke: Vampires Among Us! Volume I Rh. Pos. , P. 54, Red Dragon Edition, 2009, ISBN 978-3-939459-24-8