Chapter 2: American Fascination with Psychoanalysis and Self-help

Over the last few decades, American culture has developed a dynamic relationship with psychological theory. These concepts have become an integral part of American identity. Though the genre has never had an historical connection with these ideas, one has developed in modern vampire media. In recent years, the vampire has come to reflect the American public’s knowledge of themselves and their psychological health.

Traditionally, vampires were peripheral characters in the tales that were told about them (Auerbach, p. 109). Bram Stoker’s Dracula is an excellent example of this characteristic. Stoker’s novel consists of a series of letters and diary entries. The vampire appears in relatively few of these. In response to this narrative structure, vampires remained securely defined by external judgments made about them rather than their internal processes. As such, they remained relegated to the categorization of the inhumane.

Another notable factor to the historic conceptualization of the nature of vampires is that psychoanalysis and psychoanalytical theory were not established until relatively recently. As such, these concepts may not been have recognized or understood by the individuals creating vampire media in previous centuries. This lack of knowledge is particularly important when considering eroticism or sexuality and their relationship with vampire media in the pre-Freudian era. Current theories insist that these concepts are integral parts of the vampire’s identity. However, this supposition is faulty.

Prior to the beginning of the twentieth century, the majority of artists creating vampire media would not have had any concept of Freud. In fact, people who knew Bram Stoker have said that they "doubt[ed] whether [he] had any inkling of the erotic content of vampire superstition" (Frayling, p. 420). This is not to say that sexuality or erotic content were excluded in vampire media during this time. However, it does mean that modern conceptions about sexuality and eroticism cannot be applied to the vampire genre in previous centuries with any degree of certainty.

In the Victorian era, the imputation of "eroticism was a punishment" (Gordon & Hollinger, p. 29). The vampire was confounding or horrifying because it had the ability to achieve the forbidden. For Victorian audiences, the "spectre of sexuality run wild" and the break with social propriety implied by these behaviors was disturbing (Heldreth & Pharr, p. 73). An excellent example of this characteristic of Victorian vampire literature can be found in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. In the novel, the title character successfully attacks both of the major female characters. What ensues is perhaps the most sexually graphic passage of the novel. Here, Mina Harker succumbs to Dracula and begins the process of turning into a vampire. This passage would have been disturbing to Victorian readers not only because of the implied rape, but because this unseemly behavior is occurring to a married woman, with her husband in the room nonetheless (Heldreth & Pharr, p. 40).

On the bed bedside the window lay Jonathan Harker, his face flushed and breathing heavily as though in a stupor. Kneeling on the near edge of the bed facing outwards was the white-clad figure of his wife. By her side stood a tall, thin man, clad in black. His face was turned from us, but the instant we saw him all recognized the Count . . . With his left hand he held both Mrs. Harker’s hands, keeping them away with her arms at full tension; his right hand gripped her by the neck, forcing her face down to his bosom. Her white nightdress was smeared with blood, and a thin stream trickled down the man’s bare breast which was shown by his torn-open dress. (Stoker, p. 249)

Just as the erotic and violent content of the previous passage was disturbing to Victorian readers, so too were the homoerotic relationships found in early vampire stories like The Vampyre and Carmilla. In both of these novels, homosexuality or a perceived deviance in sexual expectations was terrifying. In all of these cases, the threat of the breakdown of the traditional familial structure was at the heart of Victorian terror.

In the modern genre, the development and understanding of psychological theories have drastically altered the appearance of the vampire. Changes in the concepts of good, evil and personal responsibility have established an entirely new reality for these creatures. The evil they display has become more complex and harder to define. In some cases, it seems that they may not be evil at all, only misunderstood.

In the words of one scholar, Americans have come to live "in an age where metaphysical evil has been largely dethroned by notions of psychological dysfunction" (Simpson, p. 3). As we have come to understand some of the more complex workings of the psychological structures of human beings, our reliance and faith in the concepts of good and evil have been tested. We are no longer able to conclude that a vampire is evil based solely on his or her deeds. The line has become grayed.

In the novel Salem’s Lot, Stephen King discusses the Freudian concept of "evil with a small ’e’" (King, p. 303). According to Freudian theory, "the devil . . . would be a gigantic composite id, the subconscious of all of us" (King, p. 303). In this novel, the balance between the two primal forces of good and evil exists within each of us. We all carry some level of responsibility. There is no serpent crawling in the garden. King defines real evil as "bombers over Cambodia, the war in Ireland and the Middle East, cop-killings and ghetto riots, the billion smaller evils loosed on the world each day like a plague of gnats" (King, p. 304).

In addition to this new, amorphous concept of evil, modern psychological sciences have also established a connection between the vampire and mental illness. In the latter part of the twentieth century, the concept of clinical vampirism was developed. This behavior is described as "the act of drawing blood from an object (usually a love object) and receiving resultant sexual excitement and pleasure" (Dundes, p. 147). The condition is believed to be a rare form of schizophrenia and has been displayed by numerous serial killers, the most famous being Jeffery Dahmer (Dundes, p. 152). The sexual element of this disorder has become an inherent part of the modern notion of the vampire. In addition, the hyper-violent behaviors displayed by the most famous clinical vampires has also become a strong element of the genre.

As these connections were established, vampires began to hide behind the mask of serial crime. On the television series Kindred: The Embraced, one out-of-control vampire managed to hide his true nature by veiling his crimes through the mutilation of his victims. Similar behaviors were also seen on the television series The X-Files and in the novels The Tale of the Body Thief and The Hunger. Because these behaviors are now attributed to mental illness, it is far more difficult to rely on traditional concepts of good and evil to explain the actions of these individuals.

Some scholars also believe that vampires may symbolize "oral sadists" who were either "overindulged or deprived of the maternal breast" (Dundes, p. 167). This certainly seems possible in the case of Anne Rice’s infamous vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, the central figure of The Vampire Chronicles, who has a rather enigmatic relationship with his mother, Gabrielle. Gabrielle is trapped in a loveless marriage and is withdrawn from everyone. She does not like to be spoken to or touched (Ramsland, p. 154). After Lestat changes Gabrielle into a vampire, he spends a lot of time hoping to establish a lasting relationship with her. Unfortunately, he is doomed to failure, as Gabrielle is far more interested in exploring the freedom afforded her by her status as a vampire than in developing her relationship with her son (Ramsland, p. 155). Thus, Lestat experiences a second deprivation of the maternal in his life. This theory also seems to be supported by the actions of several other Ricean vampires. In the novel Interview With the Vampire, Louis de Point du Lac relays the experience of feeding on a victim. The following passage shows remarkable similarity with the act of breast feeding:

the sucking mesmerized me; the warm struggling of the man was soothing to the tension of my hands; and there came the beating of the drum again, which was the drumbeat of his heart — only this time it beat in perfect rhythm with the drumbeat of my own heart, the two resounding in every fiber of my being, until the heart began to grow slower and slower, so that each was a soft rumble that threatened to go on without end. I was drowsing, falling into weightlessness. (Interview, p. 27)

As American culture’s relationship with psychological theory developed, vampires became more complex. Ricean vampires are the best example of the complexity that has developed within the genre over the last twenty-five years. They simply cannot find satisfaction in anything. They struggle with concepts of self and morality. They toil with the realities of loneliness and exclusion from society. They are social outcasts. Vampires are not allowed to share in human joys, tears and triumphs because they are no longer truly human. They bear the brunt of immortality and it isn’t pretty.

With the removal of the absolutes of good and evil from their preconceived notion of identity, vampires are left with few certainties. Their lives are open to a larger range of possibilities. They may be lovers, parents and outcasts. They may kill. They may give the gift of everlasting life. In the face of all of this uncertainty, authors of vampire media have begun using the genre in a new way. One of the most significant accomplishments of this change in the genre has been that authors are now able to use their work as a tool for dealing with their own psychological issues. At times, this allows for the development of a more intimate connection between author and audience, thus creating a deeper, more long-lasting impression in the mind of the spectator.

Anne Rice’s novel Interview With the Vampire was written in the aftermath of the death of her daughter, Michele, in 1972 (Smith, p. 3). Rice used her novel to explore the feelings of sadness and despair that accompanied her loss. In addition, the creation of the novel also allowed her to reckon with the addiction, alcoholism, that she had lapsed into upon her daughter’s demise (Smith, p. 3). She used the novel to find answers to the doubts and fears she experienced and credits it with allowing her to move beyond her grief (Smith, p. 4).

Similarly, the creation of the groundbreaking vampire novel The Gilda Stories, by Jewelle Gomez, allowed the author to explore her feelings about being treated like an outcast within her own culture (Gordon & Hollinger, p. 86). Gilda is both a black woman and a lesbian, making her unique in mainstream vampire media. Gomez used the expanded life expectancy of the vampire to illustrate the experience of the black American female in a number of times and places, beginning in the midst of the Civil War. Through Gilda’s eyes, we see what it means to have to create an identity in the face of a culture that does not wish to allow you to have one. Here, the psychological turmoil of racial identity, gender identity and sexual identity combine in the form of a vampire, to illustrate what it means to be excluded from many facets of society.

In response to the inclusion of psychological theory in the works of the genre’s most famous authors, a new classification of vampire developed. The psychological vampire first made its appearance in the 1970s and has come to be the most common variety of vampire in the modern era (Wolf, p. 67). Unlike clinical vampires, these creatures do not need to feed on blood. Instead, they often prefer to consume energy or vitality from their victims.

Thomas Harris’s character Hannibal Lecter from the novels Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal is one of the most famous psychological vampires of the last twenty-five years. He is a particularly good example of the way that psychological theory has impacted the modern day vampire. One scholar has said that Lecter "is not evil incarnate but a representation of the evil of psychology; his influence [working] across discourse, bodies, and minds, across behaviors, actions, and passivities, across systems, bureaucracies and institutions" (Halberstam, p. 177). In short, the power and scope of these new vampires may be limitless.

These vampires are unique because they display no outward signs of the reality of their nature. The only fangs they possess are the metaphoric variety. And it is unlikely that they will be found drinking blood from a cooling corpse. Many, like Hannibal Lecter, are quite adept at manipulating situations to meet their needs. In many instances, this type of vampire may go completely undetected. Even more frightening, their charismatic nature may lead their victims to them without much effort on the part of the vampire. Public response to the film Silence of the Lambs is an excellent example of this. When the film was released, it met with an unexpected audience response to the character Hannibal Lecter. Many people found him to be alluring, strangely sexy (Silence). Though some of the public’s response can be attributed to the potent delivery of Anthony Hopkins’s portrayal of Lecter, it is the character that is powerful and alluring.

The addition of psychological theory to this genre has caused many changes in the lives of the vampire. In the case of Anne Rice’s vampires, they have become more human. Meanwhile psychological theory has allowed Thomas Harris’s vampire to become only more chilling. Vampires no longer need to lurk in the twilight hours, evading the sun. They could be your quiet, unassuming next-door neighbor. Vampires may now be anyone.