Conclusion

What is left, then, of the classic vampire? A figure far removed from its original function in human thought, certainly… It is as a glamorised and glorified noble rather than the foul and putrefying body of an unsatisfied peasant that the vampire is perceived today. Only the thirst for blood (often translated into a strongly sexual metaphor) and the association with death (in a bewildering twist that finds death attractive) remain.

Are there real, supernatural vampires among us? Have there ever been? The evidence suggests not… but that there are humans who exhibit vampirism in a physical (not supernatural) way is clear. Almost invariably, this behaviour is deliberate – but when it is involuntary and compulsive, the question arises: why? Why do blood and death fascinate any man to the extent that he will cut himself, drink his own blood, exsanguinate others, and even kill to achieve blood-satisfaction?

Whatever the cause, it seems clear that humans are sometimes fascinated by the very things they fear. From the rich and often dark imagination of man comes a clear, consistent image that represents common humanity’s common fate. At the heart of the vampire lies always the corruption that gave birth to it. Human fear of death, human fear of an invisible and inexplicable enemy – there is the real landscape wherein the vampire took its first steps, and it remains the undiscovered country which exerts so powerful an influence over all mankind.