How to Become a Vampire

Being human is great and all, but it can get a bit boring at times, to the point that you need a change of scenery, habits, friends, and diet.  Maybe you want to become a vampire, where the creatures of the night and fresh human blood are a far cry from 9-5 jobs and TV dinners.  If you’re interested in vampirism, or if you’re bored enough with your life to seriously consider vampirism, here are some ways for you to become a vampire.

What are Vampires?

Vampires are revenants; undead, nocturnal creatures who rise from their grave to strike fear into the hearts and souls of the living.  The unique trait of vampires is that they feed on blood.  Most vampires subsist on human blood.  Most cultures believe that vampires have fangs that dig into the necks of their victims, literally sucking the life out of them.  Dark, brooding vampires are favorite subjects in movies, books, and many TV series.

Vampires at Birth

In medieval times, many traits and physical features of babies at birth were considered signs that the infant will grow up to become a vampire:

• Teeth
• Growths of fur or hair at the front or the back of the infant
• A protruding tailbone
• Cleft-lip, harelip, or cleft palates
• Romanian legend has it that the seventh child in a family will become a vampire.

Many people believe that when a werewolf dies or is killed, the spirit of the beast is carried over to the spirit world, and will return to the Earth as a vampire.  Legend also has it that people killed by werewolves will rise from the graves as vampires.

The Path to Sin

Vampirism and Christianity have a very strong connection.  During the Middle Ages, the Church needed to keep believers in the fold.  Legends of vampires were used to will the people into accepting the doctrines and teachings of the Church:

Blasphemy, Heresy, and Black Magic

Heretics, blasphemers, witches, soothsayers, and believers of the occult were outcast and shunned by the Church.  Many punishments exist for them in the afterlife.  When the prospect of burning in Hell for all eternity was not enough, many believed that those who sinned against God will turn into blood-sucking corpses who will stalk the Earth for all eternity.

Suicide and Sacraments

Christians believe that death will result in people returning from the dust from which they came from.  People who commit suicide have not repented for their sins, and suicide itself is a mortal sin that nobody in the Church can forgive.  People who have not completed the Blessed Sacraments are also not in a state to return to dust.  Suicide, or not receiving the Blessed Sacraments, was long believed to turn people into vampires when they die.

Vampire Kisses

Legend has it that the most common way to transform a human being into a vampire is for him or her to be bit by a vampire during the night.  The story of male vampires falling in love with beautiful damsels and turning them into vampires is a common theme in vampire fiction, although there are also stories of female vampires biting female victims.

Vampire costumes last for only a short while, but vampires stalk the Earth for all eternity.  If you want to shake the very souls of the living all night long, then the rest of eternity as a vampire may just be for you.