The Modern Myth

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 421.

A survey carried out by the California State University revealed that more than 27% of people believed in the existence of vampires. If asked what they thought a vampire would look like, they described the creature as it was portrayed in the 1897 novel 'Dracula' written by Bram Stoker. They depict him as a handsome aristocrat, who is sexually attracted to both males and females. He sleeps by day in his coffin, then awakes at night to take flight and find his unsuspecting victims whose blood he drinks. Despite these super-human powers, the vampire is scared of crosses, garlic and light.

Despite the beliefs, there have developed over the years two different types of vampire. The folklore vampire is the one that seems to have been around for longest. These creatures have been reported for centuries by villages who claim to have been victimised by the vampires. The big difference between the two types of vampire, are, the folklore vampire would never stray far from his village. He would not live in a coffin, but would occupy the graveyard and select a local victim. The media version is depicted as most people understand the word 'vampire' to mean. An aristocratic man with special powers. This kind of depiction has been the result of numerous films and novels, whereby the author depicts the vampire in to this fictional character. The folklore vampire has been around for at least two centuries. People's ignorance to the body's decomposition resulted in a myth being born.

Today science can fully explain the nature of a decomposing body. It is now known that after death the body begins to decay. This process includes the body swelling to a size the person would never reach in life. In the male, the genitalia would swell to an abnormal size. The body as it decomposes would produce gases. To a person two hundred years ago these effects caused them to believe that the body was actually producing gas and the person was breaking wind. The man's erect penis would be seen as a sign of sexual arousal and that they were excited in some way. The swelling was seen as a confirmation of the body's healthy state.

The main method of destroying the body they believed to be a vampire was to drive a stake through its heart. This would then cause the bodies gases to escape causing a sound of breaking wind, and in some cases, a groan. If they suspected that the vampire was still alive they would cut the heart from the body and burn both body and heart separately. This type of behaviour was commonplace at this time, with vampire hunters exhuming many bodies they suspected had been cursed by a vampire. They even went as far as to burn the bodies of animals.

Because of the lack of knowledge concerning sudden deaths from unknown infectious diseases, an outbreak of a disease would cause an outbreak of vampires, thus a legend was born and when anybody died from a disease or died because they had contact with a diseased person, the locals would believe they had been a victim of a vampire.

It is pretty easy to understand in those times how a mistake of this kind could be made. The lack of scientific knowledge would lead them to think that disease, decay and all the other mistaken signs were in fact, something quite sinister.

C Answer the following questions:

1. Which image of vampires emerges in folklore, fiction and movies?

2. Which signs are believed to be seen in the vampire's exhumated body?

3. How does science explain the nature of vampirism?

4. Which knowledge should the hero of a vampire-story possess: a) to tell a vampire from a normal human being; b) to protect himself from the forces of evil; c) to destroy the vampire's body?

5. Why did so many people believe in vampires in the Middle Ages?

6. Why do you think the modern myth still exists?

A Strange Host

D Listen to this extract from a well-known novel. Which novel is it from? Answer the following questions with a phrase or short sentence using your own words.

1. Why was Jonathan so surprised to see the Count?

2. Why did he cut himself?

3. What did he say to the Count?

4. How was the Count affected by something Jonathan was wearing?

5. Why did the Count open the window?

6. Why was Jonathan annoyed?

7. Where is the castle situated?

8. Why can't Jonathan leave the castle?

9. What unusual characteristics does the Count have?

E The following terms are often used in such a fashion that they really mean nothing at all. Can you match these terms with their definitions?

Grammar: use and used to, relative pronouns