As a writer, I love words. As a vampire fan, I write about vampires.
It seems natural to combine it all into one post; and so, I bring you
words about vampires…
Related: “Sanguisugent” (adj), blood sucking or blood thirsty.
Wikionary says “sanguisuge” is obsolete, but I think it’s due for a
comeback.
I’ve written about revenants, if you’re curious to find out more. The word itself was coined in 1814 by Laetitia Matilda Hawkins in Rosanne:
“‘Well, but what is it? What do you call it in French?’ ‘Why, revenant, to be sure. Un revenant.'”
“Philosophy will clip an Angel’s wings,
Conquer all mysteries by rule and line,
Empty the haunted air, and gnomèd mine—
Unweave a rainbow, as it erewhile made
The tender-person’d Lamia melt into a shade.” -John Keats, “Lamia”
Fun etymology: Lamia literally means “swallower, lecher,” from laimos “throat, gullet.” (Source). Read more about them in my post here.
The first use of “undead” was c. 1400, but its use as a noun to mean vampires and other creatures dates from 1904. (Source)
“It’s a reflex. Hear a bell, get food. See an undead, throw a knife. Same thing, really.” -Ilona Andrews, Magic Bites
I know the word exsanguinate from the X-Files episode “Eve,” but it was first used around 1800, coming from the Latin exsanguinatus, meaning bloodless or deprived of blood.
“My first word of the new year was ‘exsanguinate.’ This was probably not a good omen.”
-Charlaine Harris, Dead to the World.
And of course, we can’t forget the word that all the others relate to:
The earliest form of the word “vampire” dates to only 1734, although
stories of monsters that rise from the dead and attack the living can be
found even in ancient times. The idea of blood-gorged walking corpses
goes back to at least the 1100s. There’s some debate as to where the
word comes from, but it most likely has its roots in the Old Church
Slavonic “opiri.” (Source)
“It was too much, the weight of it all was too much. Maybe that was
why emotions were deadened in vampires; the alternative was to be
overtaken by them, crippled, left stranded and isolated and trapped by
unbearable sensation. How could they hunt if they felt sympathy,
empathy, love for their prey? How could they —how could she —live with
themselves?” Aspasía S. Bissas, Love Lies Bleeding
Yes, that’s a quote from my own book (I’m sneaky that way). Get my books to find even more words about vampires:
If you prefer a good paperback to an ebook, use this link to order Love Lies Bleeding from Bookshop – a portion of each sale goes directly to independent bookstores, as well as to myself. Thank you for supporting indie! ♥
Did I miss your favourite word about vampires? Let me know in the comments…
But first, on earth as vampire sent, Thy corse shall from its tomb be rent: Then ghastly haunt thy native place, And suck the blood of all thy race; There from thy daughter, sister, wife, At midnight drain the stream of life; Yet loathe the banquet which perforce Must feed thy livid living corse: Thy victims ere they yet expire Shall know the demon for their sire, As cursing thee, thou cursing them, Thy flowers are withered on the stem.
Lord Byron, 1812 (published in 1813)
In this post I'll be exploring the life and work
of George Gordon Byron, better known as Lord Byron: poet, adventurer,
freedom fighter, the original celebrity, cursed soul, granddaddy of
goths, and the first modern vampire (probably not literally).
If you weren’t aware, vampires weren’t always the charismatic, sexy,
human-seeming creatures we know them as these days. The vampires of
times past were generally monstrous, charmless, and often more like
zombies than what we now consider vampires to be (take a look at my post
A Further 5 Vampires You May Not Have Heard Of). That all changed with Lord Byron.
When Byron was born in 1788, he had a caul
over his face. There are many superstitions about cauls. Some believe
being born with one is lucky and the child is destined for greatness,
some believe the child will have second sight. In Romania the belief is
that those born with a caul become vampires after death.
Byron’s childhood was fairly traumatic by any standards. His father
was rarely around (and when he was, his presence didn’t improve
anything), his mother was an alcoholic, and his governess abused him. At
age 10, he inherited the title Baron Byron of Rochdale, along with the
family’s ancestral home, Newstead Abbey, which incorporated the ruins of
a Gothic monastery. At some point he found a human skull in the
building and took to drinking from it in front of friends, who he’d then
dare to do the same.
Portrait of Lord Byron by Théodore Géricault, 1811
As his popularity grew, Byron cultivated a “cult of personality”
based on his invented romantic and heroic image. He had portraits
painted of himself as different characters: Le Corsair, Scottish sailor,
Egyptian bandit. He adapted his personality, his clothing, and even the
way he spoke, to suit the occasion or who he was with. He presented
himself as a tragic outsider with a mysterious past, a character out of
his own books, and made sure never to let the persona slip.
Byron was one of the first to write about vampires in English. In his
poem”The Giaour” (quoted above) he tells of a man cursed to become a
vampire and destroy his own family. In notes with the poem, Byron
comments on the belief in the Levant, Greece, and Hungary of the Vroucolachas
(or Vardoulacha). After its publication, some expressed fear about
Byron’s hypnotic, or vampiric, ability to control his admirers with his
poetry.
This image Byron created of himself as the archetypal “Byronic Hero” would influence future literary characters such as Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights), Count Dracula, Batman, and Severus Snape, to name a few, as well as real-life celebrities and rock stars like Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain.
In his unfinished work “Fragment of a Novel” (also known as “A
Fragment” or “The Burial: A Fragment) from 1819, Byron’s character,
Augustus Darvell, brings vampires into the modern age. Darvell is
wealthy, attractive, and blends easily into human society. Although
Byron never completed the story, according to a letter by his doctor and
‘frenemy,’ John Polidori, Byron was planning on having Darvell’s friend
bury him according to strange and ritualistic instructions, only to
come back later and find Darvell alive and wreaking havoc (including
seducing and killing the man’s sister).
Speaking of Polidori, Byron didn’t just write about vampires. he was
portrayed as one in the works of others. Polidori’s story “The Vampyre”
was strongly influenced by Byron’s ideas for the continuation of
“Fragment of a Novel” (Byron was also wrongly given credit for “The
Vampyre,” and Polidori struggled to correct the mistake). Besides
Byron’s influences, the main character “Lord Ruthven” was an
unflattering and exaggerated portrait of Byron. Ruthven is a sexual
predator who is calculating and cruel. He revels in sin and degradation.
Although he looks sickly and cadaver-like, he’s also compelling and
hypnotic. In the end Ruthven gets away with everything, while those
around him suffer.
Lady Caroline Lamb, a married woman Byron had an affair with and then ignored, got back at him through her novel, Glenarvon.
Again, a barely disguised Byron is portrayed as a vampiric (and
somewhat ridiculous) character, howling at the moon and dressing as a
monk. He seduces and ruins every woman he meets and betrays everyone
close to him. Unlike Ruthven, he gets his comeuppance when he’s
confronted by the ghosts of all the women he’s destroyed, and then
throws himself into the sea out of remorse. Lady Caroline is credited
with describing Byron as “mad, bad and dangerous to know”.
Byron and Polidori transformed vampires from the grotesque undead to
attractive and charming almost-humans. Bram Stoker was likely influenced
by Byron when he wrote Dracula, and ever since, vampires in
both print and onscreen are overwhelmingly “Byronic”: tragic,
mysterious, dark, brooding, and embodying (or inducing) lust. Literary
critic Tom Holland wrote in his 1999 essay “Undead Byron” that “vampires
remain recognizably Lord Byron’s descendants.” He also comments, “…the
modern genre of vampire fiction may be seen as perhaps the most vital
and enduring of all the varied expressions of Byronism.” As violent and
bloodthirsty as the modern vampire can be, fans are under their spell,
as much as Byron’s fans were under his.
Even in his own time, it didn’t go unnoticed that Byron had more than
a few vampiric qualities. People around him complained that he was
draining the life from them, and overshadowing them with his “almost
supernatural magnetism.” Critics claimed he hypnotized and subjugated
his followers. Byron himself felt he was cursed, pointing out that many
of the people closest to him suffered misfortune, or died tragically.
Amelia Opie, a woman Byron had charmed, claimed he had “such a voice
as the Devil tempted Eve with; you feared its fascination the moment you
heard it.”
And like a true vampire, Byron was immune to conventional life and the rules and judgments of polite society.
He was seductive and insatiable, not unlike vampires, although his
appetite was for sex, not blood. He was openly bisexual and had a
particular taste for married women, but not so particular that he didn’t
also sleep with admirers, servants, prostitutes, and his half-sister.
It was rare that anyone turned him down.
In a letter from 1819, Byron claimed to have no interest in vampires:
“I have besides a personal dislike to ‘Vampires,’ and the little
acquaintance I have with them would by no means induce me to reveal
their secrets.”
Reading this, I can’t help thinking that “little acquaintance” indicates that there was some
acquaintance. And what secrets of theirs was he keeping, exactly? It’s
not difficult to imagine that as he toured Europe and came into contact
with many of the cultures that had strong vampire folklore, he might
have encountered a creature that wasn’t quite human. At one point in his
travels, he was claiming that “spies” were following him through Geneva
and Flanders. Were they journalists looking for hot gossip to publish,
or maybe something more?
In 1823 Byron went to Greece to fight for Greek independence from the
Ottoman Empire. He spent 4,000 pounds (equivalent today to about
477,000 USD or 382,000 GBP) of his own money to refit the Greek naval
fleet. He also took command of a Greek unit of elite fighters.
Unfortunately, he fell ill with a “fever” on 15 February 1824.
Ironically, doctors bled him to treat the illness, which most likely led
to his death.
Byron died on 19 April 1824, aged 36. Some say his heart was cut out
and kept in Greece, where, to this day, he’s a national hero. In any
case, his body was returned to England. He was supposed to be buried in
Westminster Abbey, but the Dean of Westminster refused on the grounds of
Byron’s “questionable morality.” (They did add a memorial plaque to
Byron in 1969.) He was instead buried in the Church of St. Mary
Magdalene in Hucknall.
His death didn’t end the vampire rumours about Byron. Because people
kept insisting that his coffin was empty, in 1938– more than a century
after his death– the vicar of Hucknall agreed to open the casket. Byron
was inside, naked and well-preserved, The vicar stated:
‘Reverently, very reverently, I
raised the lid and before my eyes lay the embalmed body of Byron in as
perfect condition as when it had been placed in the coffin … his
features and hair easily recognisable from the portraits with which I
was so familiar. The serene, almost happy expression on his face made a
profound impression on me … I gently lowered the lid of his coffin – and
as I did so, breathed a prayer for the peace of his soul.’
And so Lord Byron rests in peace…or maybe not.
What do you think? Did Byron become a vampire, or just play one on the page? Share in the comments…
Celebrate Byron's legacy with some new vampire books:
If you prefer paperback, use this link to order Love Lies Bleeding from
Bookshop – a portion of each sale goes directly to independent
bookstores, as well as to myself. Thank you for supporting indie! ♥
