Soulless Creatures of the Night

Chapter 1

To this day I can still see the faces of those boys standing in that back alley and it brings shivers to my core...When I was nineteen, me and a friend of mine Bobby got this bright idea to sneak my grandmothers car out and drive to Hollywood, California for Halloween. I thought, why not. I knew that my grandmother was going to be gone for a few days and we would have the car back before she ever noticed that it was gone.

When we got to Hollywood, I was in complete awe. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. You know the song 'The Freaks Come Out at Night?' Welcome to Hollywood California. Just absolutely awesome. But nothing prepared me for the darkness that lurked in the dark shadows of the town. A darkness so sinister that I have been running from Hollywood every since...Bobby and I arrived around 11 pm, parked the car and decided to walk the boulevard. Two wild eyed kids from Oklahoma in a new land. When we stepped out onto the boulevard Bobby said with excitement, "We defiantly are no longer in Kansas Dorthy."

I got a big laugh out of it. We were like two kids in a candy store for the very first time. The energy on that boulevard was accelerated. That was until reality sank in. The reality that know one knew we were there and that we could disappear and no one would not even know where to look for us. You have to understand, this was the 80's. We didn't have cell phones let alone access to the internet. Still in the dark ages as many put it so we were on our own which was cool until the situation in the alley, then I knew we were a long ways from home and the darkness had found us. We were walking along the boulevard when I noticed between two buildings a small cafe in the alley. Had the classic awning sticking out and all. At first I thought what an odd place to have a cafe but it was Hollywood so I figured this was probably the norm out there so I looked over at at Bobby and said, "how cool is that."

I grabbed him by the arm and we proceeded down the alley towards the cafe to get a coke. I thought it would be a really cool experience. This is stuff we saw only on the movies. It was great. While we were standing there ordering cokes something caught my eye further down the alley way. It was dark and there was steam coming out of a man hole. Just like an old black and white. As the steam twisted up into the cold night air I caught the eyes of three guys dressed in black. I remember saying to myself, "ok, cult 101."

One of the guys noticed that I was watching them and then they all looked over at me and Bobby. It completely creeped me out. there was something so sinister about the way they were looking at us. Eyes as black as coal. I remember that it totally creeped me out. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing up as if some kind of electrical current was flowing through my body. Bobby wanted to go up to them and hang out so we started walking towards them but all I wanted to do was get the hell out of there. As we approached them, call it an angel, call it that little voice that we get inside our heads sometimes that says danger ahead. I don't know, all I know is that as clear as I can hear someone when I am in a conversation, a voice came to me and said "leave now."

It sent shivers down my spine. Honestly, it scared the hell out of me. I grabbed Bobby by his arm and said, "lets go."

He hesitated to follow me. He was drawn up in the whole Hollywood mysteriousness and wanted to hang out and party with some Cali's so I grabbed his arm even harder and firmly said to him, "we need to get out of here now."

Then I dragged him out of there. As we were heading back out of the alley he looked at me angry and said, "what the hell Cindy, I was trying to hang out."

When we were back on the Boulevard, I looked back and the boys were gone. They didn't pass us by and as far as I could see, the alley was a dead end with a big brick wall that was too high to climb over not to mention, they wouldn't have had time to climb over it before we reached Hollywood boulevard. To this day when I am walking past an alley at night, I can see those guys glaring back at me with those black eyes so I will quickly walk past the alley in fear. I don't know if I believe in vampires or not, but there was something very sinister and dark about those guys. And the way that they just disappeared. It sparked the intrigue of the possibility of the existence of vampires in me. I don't ever want to see one again, but it makes me wonder about the true darkness and evil now that lurks in the shadows that we never see until we become a picture of one of those poor unfortunates on a missing persons flyer. Never to be seen again.

Chapter 2

"I want to suck your blood." was a famous line spoken by Count Dracula (meaning son of the devil or son of the dragon), played by Bela Lugosi, in the film Dracula in 1931. The traditional vampire. However, I'm sure that the monster is much darker and much more sinister that what Hollywood betrayed.

From the early thirties up into the mid forties, Hollywood brought us these fantastic black and white horror movies featuring some of the timeless monster icons of the 20th century from 'The Wolfman' to 'Frankenstein,' but none of them captivated a generation like 'Dracula.' The romance of the undead. A shiver down your spine as the fog rolled in and in the shadows, a figure of darkness memorizing its victim. But, in reality, the mythical creatures that we call vampires are anything but romantic. They are usually rumored being someone that was buried and coming back to feed off of the blood of the living. Decaying bodies roaming around drinking peoples blood is hardly a scene to romanticize about.

Although, Hollywood portrayed vampires as these extremely sexy mythical creatures with great powers, in reality, they are decaying corpses that thrive on blood to maintain life.

But in today's modern times, maybe the vampire has evolved form these decaying corpses that man would re-bury with wooden stakes driven through the hearts to an actual realm of creatures well groomed that walk among us. If in fact, the three boys that I saw in the alley off of Hollywood Blvd that night with Bobby were indeed, actual vampires, then the answer would be yes. So lets dig a little bit deeper into the origins of vampires.

Chapter 3

Many scholars believe that vampires are nothing more than a silly superstition; an old wives tale brought on by ignorance due to lack of knowledge of a disease that was contagious, nothing more, claiming that vampire scares came from people dying of a disease and others simply catching the disease and dying. A perfect example of this occurred in New England a century or so ago when a disease struck a small farming community. The farmers dug up their dead and desecrated the bodies in fear of them being part of the undead, in many cases, going as far as cutting out their hearts and burning them.

We no longer go to that extreme to destroy these so called vampires, not in America anyway and since we live in a time now where old superstitions and folklores' have been put rest with an unbelieving society, it probably opened the door for these creatures to thrive. So walk with me now into the world of the vampire and vampirism to see if there is any truth in the legends of these soulless creatures of the night.

A book written over 4000 years ago speaks of these creatures: 'The Holy Bible.'

There are those whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, they devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mankind (Proverbs 30:14.)

For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and beyond number; it's teeth are lions' teeth and they have the fangs of a lioness (Joel 1:6.)

Their hair like women's hair and their teeth like lions' teeth (Revelation 9:8)

If you know anything about the Jewish people, you will understand that they document facts in their history books. It also speaks of these creatures in the 'Quran' so we must recognize that there must be some truth to these writings. They say that every legend is based on a form of the truth. And you can't dispute the fact that there are things on our planet that just can't be explained even for the most straight laced of us...

And 36 years later, I still know what I saw 36 years ago in Hollywood as if it was yesterday. One of those, I know that I know that I know what I saw. No questioning...

Chapter 4

And since Werewolves and Frankenstein have been proven to to be true. Werewolves: Hypertrichosis, also known as Werewolf syndrome where hair grows over the entire body including the face and Therapeutic cloning, Known as embryo cloning known as the (Frankenstein Effect), which involves harvesting stem cells from human embryos to grow new organs for transplant within another human being. So, if werewolves and Frankenstein are non fictional beings, then why not vampires too? Maybe not in the sense as we think of them, the walking undead but as demonic creatures that manifest themselves in human form and suck the blood of their prey before killing them.

In Ancient Greece, these creatures were known as a Vrykolatios. Such cultures as the Romans, Ancient Greeks, Mesopotamians, and Hebrews told tales of these vampires that they actually referred to as demonic entities and blood drinking spirits. Did they know something that we don't. Could these truly be a type of demon that has plagued mankind since recorded history. A creature so hideous that lurks in the shadows waiting to devour it's next prey. There are nine orders of angels, each one with a specific purpose, so why not orders of demons that have specific purposes? A fear so deep in me now that I avoid any dark alleys, a fear that can only be captured in our nightmares waking to that strange noise in the house.

And yet despite the many occurrences of these vampire-like entities throughout the ancient civilizations until today, the popularity of the vampire that we know as the Vampire is more popular today in cultures around the world than ever before. In the late 17th-century to the early 18th-century Transylvania and surrounding areas were plagued with an overnight mass hysteria that caused the deaths of several hundreds of people during that time. The vampire was born. Anything that had to do with evil spirits, suicides, witches, or anything out of the norm was tied to being a form of vampirism. Coffins were being dug up all over Southeastern Europe exploiting the undead and mutilating corpses or nailing the corpses down and putting stones in their mouths so that they couldn't rise and feed on the living. And of course, this was the time that the fantastic creature Count Dracula came into play. The vampire of all vampires. And of course with all the hysteria, it was only fitting. A fantastic character brought to life by very gifted writers known as John Polodori and Bram Stroker.

Chapter 5

John Polidori was born on September 7th, 1795 in London.He lived to be only 25 years old but was responsible for creating the greatest monster that ever lived. The legend of the vampire. As a doctor of medicine, at age 19, he was invited by Lord Byron to accompany through Europe and to keep a diary of their travels.

While there, Byron suggested to a few friends that everyone write a ghost story. Byron had written and abandoned a story "A Fragment" which the main character was Augustus Darvell which Palidori used later in his book "The Vampyre." And the legend of the vampire was birthed. And even though the vampire was a very old creature mentioned in every culture since recorded history, it wasn't until the book "The Vampire" that the legend of the vampire truly came to life starting in Eastern Europe, spreading into Germany and eventually into England. What started as a simple ghost story spun an entire region into a frenzy. And of course it didn't help with the mass hysteria when the towns folk would dig up the bodies of the dead in fear that they were vampires and see a purge fluid leaking out of the nose and mouth as a result from internal organs breaking down and automatically assume that it was blood sucked from the living. This went on for a good century. Nothing but complete chaos. Every death and sickness was blamed on the vampire causing people to do horrific bloody violence against another if they were believed to be a vampire. The land bled red from it's victims. A time when people became more feared from others than the vampire itself.

It was this time that the legend of Count Dracula was born through a very talented Bram Stroker.

Chapter 6

Bram Stoker's Dracula was based off of Vlad the Impaler. Vlad Tepes got his name Vlad the Impaler because he would impale his enemies on wooden stakes while they were still alive. Vlad was born in December of 1431 in Romania and was known as one of the bloodiest leaders of man kind. Vlad's father was called Dracul which meant son of the dragon or son of the devil which took true form in Vlad. It was rumored that he would dip his bread into the blood of his victims and that he would prowl the country side at night looking for victims to satisfy his thirst for blood.

When the Turkish attacked and took over the Poenari Castle in 1462, the true castle of Vlad, it was rumored that while Vlad was trapped in the castle ablaze, it was the Arefu villagers that helped Vlad escape through tunnels underneath the castle. Rumor had it, that it was on that night that Vlad made a pact with the devil that he would not rest until all of his enemies were slain. Hence, starting the legend that Vlad walked among the undead seeking out his enemies and destroying them by draining the blood from their bodies.

Many centuries went by after the so called death of Vlad until the book Dracula by Bram Stroker. Bram was intrigued with Vlad and with the character "The Vampyre" by Polidori, Bram couldn't resist in merging the two monsters together creating the birthing of one of the most fantastic creatures of the twentieth century. The vampire of all vampires. Count Dracula. And of course, even in today's age with technology and all, the legend of the vampire is still very much alive. To this day, when you travel in many parts of Eastern Europe, Germany and England you can actually buy vampire kits to travel with that have everything in them from holy water, to crosses, to wooden stakes, vials of garlic, and coffin nails. And of course in America, there are underground goth nests carrying on the belief and practices of true vampirism in every states, with New York having the most members and number one vampire fan club. But, Hollywood had a biggest roll in the birth of vampires in the United States with movies such as Nosferatu and Dracula...

Chapter 7

On June 3rd 1929, a German impressionist released Nosferatu. A silent movie with one horrific looking vampire. Soon afterwards, Hollywood produced another vampire film called Dracula. This 1931 film starring Bela Lugosi performing as the vampire, Count Dracula was widely acknowledged as the portrayal of the character and legend, who first appeared in Bram Strokes novel of the same name. And Dracula was born, America now had it's iconic monster that would grow into a vast belief of thousands of Americans to the point of frenzy in the shadows of the streets. Bodies were starting to show up with puncture marks on their necks with their blood completely drained. And the more that Dracula spread across our country, the more vampirism hit the streets. By the 60's, bodies were popping up everywhere with their blood drained. One particular story of a nurse that had been found dead in the early 70's with two puncture marks on her neck and her body had been found completely drained of blood. Today, there are over five thousand self-identified vampires and thousands of vampires in the United States.

Just to be clear though, these aren't people that possess the supernatural powers that we associate with Dracula. These are individuals who claim to have a medical condition called Renfield's Syndrome, which is named after a character in Bram Strokers "Dracula," that requires them to drink blood in order for them to stay alive. They have even been known to file their k-nine teeth down to a point. Scary thought but in actuality, they are quite harmless.

And then you have your Gothic American vampires. These are the ones that you should fear. These are individuals that dress and live as actual vampires. These cults have been known to be connected with unexplained deaths and disappearances of children. And then of course the supernatural that lurk in dark and lonely alleys. A real bloodsucking demonic creature that has walked among us since the beginning of man, prowling the night for it's victims turning them into the undead. And even though there hasn't been actual proof of these undead beings you still have to ask yourself with all the rumors and written documents of these creatures since recorded history including mention of them in the bible, there has to be something to this. Something more evil than we can possibly imagine.

Maybe Susan Walsh could tell us, that is, if she can be found. Susan was a journalist in New Jersey, like any other reporter, looking for that one big scoop. Something that would put her on the map. Then she stumbled across what looked like the story that was going to be her big break: a network of genuine blood-drinking vampires. One day she left her keys and purse in her home along with her 11 year old son David. Said she was going outside to meet up with a man, I'm guessing her lead, and she never returned. She just vanished off of the face of the earth. To this day, they still have no idea what happened to Susan or if she is dead or alive. You have hundreds of stories like this across the country including the one of a reporter being found dead and skinned alive in a bathtub in Louisiana after researching a story about vampires in New Orleans. All I know, is that there are many unexplained disappearances every year where people literally disappear without a trace and we have to acknowledge this. Maybe you yourself have lost a loved one without a trace. It's a terrifying thought that normal, everyday people like Susan can simply walk out their front door never to be seen again. So if you are curious about vampires of the supernatural or natural and decide to go hunting for them, be extremely careful and don't be surprised what you might find or should I say, what might find you after all, who truly knows the evil that is out there lurking, waiting in the shadows.

The End