Essay On Vampire And Werewolves

Samantha Carletta

Comm. 100

March 13, 2009

Origins of Vampire and Werewolf Myths

I. Intro

A. "I could feel the soft, shivering touch of the lips on the supersensitive skin of my throat, and the hard dents of two sharp teeth, just touching and pausing there.

1. I closed my eyes in a languorous ecstasy and waited – waited with beating heart."

2. Everyone knows of the famed Dracula, if only in passing

B. Like most people, tales of vampires and werewolves have always fascinated me.

C. I began to wonder just when, how and why these tales came about, so I did a little research.

D. Today I’m going to tell you about the origins and basic beliefs of vampire and werewolf myths and the medical conditions thought to be at the roots of them.

1. Let’s begin with the undead.

II. Body

A. The exact origins of the term ‘vampire’ are unknown as is where exactly the myth originated, but in almost every country, there are legends of these ‘Blood-sucking monsters.’

1. Although, the specifics about vampires vary from place-to-place, when one thinks of the term ‘vampire’ it is the image depicted by Bram Stoker in Dracula that usually comes to mind.

2. A vampire is a person who has returned from the grave and steals the life force from a living creature in the form of their blood.

a. A person can become a vampire they are: criminals, witches, the seventh son of a seventh son, or bitten by another vampire.

b. Vampires can be recognized by their aversion to sun light and fire; they have no reflection or shadow; and in some tales they can shape-shift into a bat, a wolf, or mist.

1.) Physical characteristics are deathly pale skin, lithe build, ‘fangs’ or very long upper canine teeth, they do not age, and often posses an unearthly beauty.

2.) Most importantly,...

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...mal, usually, although not always a wolf.

3. Rabies is an often-fatal viral disease that affects the central nervous system of mammals.

a. It is transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal.

b. Soon after being bitten, a person goes through a period of tiredness, headache, fever, cough, and sore throat, followed by extreme irritability, inability to sleep, depression, and hallucinations.

c. One form of rabies called, ‘Furious rabies,’ results in strange behaviors, such as restlessness, aimless wandering, biting other people and an uncontrollable fear of water.

III. Conclusion

A. Tales of vampires and werewolves have been around long before most recorded history and modern medicine is barely staring to uncover the mysteries behind them.

B. As Bram Stoker puts it, “There are mysteries which men can only guess at, which age by age they may solve only in part.”