Vampire Girl

Presents Vampires will adore

I’ve been feeling in the Christmas spirit lately. No big surprise considering it is December and Christmas is now just two weeks away. The world always seems to enter a surreal phase during this time for me: Christmas carols are playing on every radio station, I see commercials for all types of products on TV and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was just on last night. Everything is just so sweet and sappy.

… I love it.

Anyways, I’ve been looking into Christmas gifts for some friends who are fans of Goth culture. This kind of Christmas shopping is always the most fun because of all the intriguing gift items I come across. This year, I get to add a couple more friends to my dark Gothic gift list since a couple of them who would previously have nothing to do with anything vampire-like are now Twilight converts. So I’m going to humor their new obsession with vampire paraphernalia. They’ll probably hate the gift because it won’t have a picture of Edward or Jacob on it – oh well. (Speaking of… has anyone seen this ridiculous Twilight “Edward” holiday stocking on Amazon? The price tag of this oversized sock with Edward’s blown up face is outrageous.)

On sale for only $99.95... wait, what?

So here I am sharing some lovely vampire-inspired gift ideas that are suitable for any diehard Twilight shipper, Goth vampire wannabe or real vampire. Some are kooky, but they’re definitely all fun gifts for the holidays.

“Sealing wax”

Instead of signing and sealing in blood, you can use a dark crimson wax instead – it lends the same luxurious effect. In the past, lovers’ words were sealed this way to symbolize a passion meant only for the recipient. The prettiest seal I’ve seen is a stamp of a rose in dark glittering burgundy.

“Chalice”

Everyone should have at least two Gothic chalices to use when the mood strikes. They are sure to add elegance and color to any meal. They’re also very useful for intimidating dinner guests.

“Vampire perfume”

Aka. Bouquet du Vampyre… custom-created by a perfumer in New Orleans, it’s been known to be a scent that attracts vampires. The aroma is a blend of oils and ingredients from all over the world, but primarily the rose. Vampires adore the intoxicating fragrance of the rose which has a deep, sophisticated and musky smell. Purchase this brand of vampire perfume here.

“Poison pendant”

Small necklace with a compartment that opens to carry poison of your choice. Needs no further explanation on how useful this is.

“Gothic hourglass”

Black sand, fifteen-minute timer gives the perfect measurement time for ¼ of an hour. And it’s just so beautiful to admire.

Finally, this last gift idea is more suited for those who detest the vampire craze and are just waiting for the fad (and vampires) to die off:

“Vampire hunting kit”

Good ones should come with a couple wooden stakes, a vial of holy water, garlic powder (good for savory dishes as well), silver bullets, a revolver, and a holy cross as starter package. More vampire killing items can be acquired at a later time.

**Note: All of these lovely items (including the vampire hunting kit) can be purchased online at Boutique du Vampyre.

Tags: gift, gothic, gothic jewelry, morbid, Twilight, vampire hunter

How to become a Vampire

With the recent vampire obsession, I suppose it’s expected that I receive this question sooner or later from friends and others who are wondering how they can become vampires. Most of them ask me in jest, others are confused by the different and conflicting methods on how to turn offered in folklore and film, and still some others actually want to become real life vampires. The most interesting conversations have been spurred by this initial question.

In European folklore, when demons possess a person’s body then that individual becomes a vampire. It seems that the transformation process has become more elaborate than those days. I’d like to clarify and go over different myths by which vampires come to “life”:

1. Via a vampire’s kiss (otherwise knows as the bite)… this is the method that the Twilight family adopts. Some other popular vampire fiction also cites this method for turning (like Blade, Dracula, From Dusk ‘Till Dawn). The basic idea is that any individual who is bitten by a vampire will ultimately become a vampire – they don’t even necessarily have to be drained of all their blood. The rationale is once you’re bitten, you’re infected with the vampire virus and eventually it will take over your body and turn you. And then the thirst begins. I’ve always found this theory for turning into a vampire too outlandish since all vampires have to feed and if just one bite will do the trick, then the world would experience a rapid exponential growth of the vampire population. Since this never happens, this biting business can’t be right. Plus vampires would have to be really picky with choosing their meals… which just doesn’t seem practical.

2. Via a blood transfusion… which basically means an exchange of blood between the vampire “sire” and the human “childe”. This is how vampires are made in Buffy, True Blood, the Anne Rice ‘verse, etc. This is what I live by as the “official” method of becoming a vampire. Vampires can then feed on a regular basis and not worry about producing all kinds of strange and non-worthy offspring. The vampire chooses which human they would like to sire. (Understandably it’s a big decision considering this person might be with you for all eternity.) After draining the human of almost all their blood, the vampire can make a cut on their own body (usually the neck, chest or wrist) so that the near-death human can drink some of the vampire blood. In doing so, said individual will wake up next as an immortal vampire childe. This method of siring also provides a hierarchy to the vampire community since all members would have a sire and mentor. Bonds between a sire and childe are also the strongest since they share a blood line; you can share thoughts and emotions with each other beyond words.

3. Via awakening… for those who believe they are real life vampires. This process requires that the human wake up and realize that they are of another kind. You can awaken during any stage of your life. The two primary types of real vampires are sanguinarian (blood-drinking) or psychic (energy-drinking) vampires. This explanation is most intriguing. The awakening process will naturally come for those destined to be vampires. It’s impossible to resist the change even if you don’t want to become one. Read more about real vampires here.  

P.S. For a morbid take on how to become a vampire, follow this link. But let’s be clear that these methods don’t work. So please don’t try them.

Tags: awakening, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, demon, morbid, real vampires, siring, vampire's kiss