posted on Oct, 9 2008 @ 11:59 AM
You guys are rediculous. For Pete's sake, if you're going to quote evidence for a true version of a legend, don't use a Hollywood movie!
Now, from what I can gather, you all believe something romantic like "Vampires are poor souls that have been infected by some disease" which leads
to "A conspiracy theory" and then the inevitable "They're from Mars."
Seriously now... Legends of Vampires exist in almost all cultures around the world. That shouldn't be very surprising, after all, humans are the same
species, so it makes sense that we should think generally the same.
This is my knowledge of Vampire legends:
Before science became advanced, people used mythical ideas to explain away the things they don't know. Now, there has to be some basis for this
because people don't just make things up off the top of their heads, they use things from the world around them.
I studied death by tuberculosis as one theory for Vampirism. The victims of tuberculosis slowly waste to death as their lungs and insides deteriorate
(I'm not exactly sure what TB does). They often cough up blood when they sleep, so that means, when they wake up, they're covered in blood. They
become jaundiced, or lose a lot of color and become yellowish. Their eyes become sensitive to light because they are very sick. Their skin sinks in so
fingernails, teeth, etc look much longer, leading to the theory of growth. Then they may look dead and wake up again.
That's only one theory, that common incurable illnesses led to myths of Vampires.
There are hundreds of other reasons. I'm not completely discrediting the myth, but I'm reminding everyone that the answer is often simpler than you
think. So for everyone that thinks it's a government conspiracy/aliens...please. Go back to kindergarten.
As quoted from Holly Black's "Ironside": "A surfeit of ballads makes for odd ideas about romance," please do not rely on fictional accounts
(books, movies) for "evidence" of Vampiric activity. Even, though it's a very slim chance, if the authors are writing from "known fact" or
"personal experience" they are going to add in a large amount of dramatic, romantic effects to make their book/movie more enjoyable. So no, I
personally do not belive that Vampires are hotties like Edward Cullen in Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight".
Nature is very surprising and, at the risk of personification, clever and unexpected. There are plenty of undiscovered species in our world, including
thousands that go extinct before we ever find them. Before you jump to conclusions, look around you, think about the "facts" that you know, and use
common sense.