I met my first vampire in New Orleans, just outside of the Dungeon. The Dungeon was and is a goth bar tucked away in the French Quarter. I had gone outside for a breath of fresh air when I noticed a man standing off to the side, obscured by shadows. Apropos of nothing, he asked if I believed in vampires. In retrospect, that does seem like the opening of a horror movie but I just laughed it off and said, no. He stepped into the light and smiled so I could see his fangs. He assured me that such creatures do walk the earth and that he, himself, was a vampire. I noted his pasty skin and if that were to happen today, I would probably recommend a quality vitamin D3/K2 combo. I realize most people would have walked back inside but I am a sucker(haha)for Anthropology and subcultures fascinate me. I dove head on into that conversation and was not the least bit rattled when he lifted his shirt to reveal small scars from razor blade cuts in order for other believers to feed. I was informed that those rituals were foreplay and then asked if I wanted to accompany him to just such a private party which is indeed a scene from a horror movie. I politely declined and went back inside. I danced until dawn and only walked home when the sun was high in the sky, lest vampires were real.
The concept of vampires is ancient. The Mesopotamians believed in creatures known as Ekimmu that could suck the life force out of humans. Sekhmet, an ancient Egyptian deity, thirsted for blood. The term “vampire” most likely originated from the Slavic borrowing of the Turkic, “ubir” which was one of the undead. Theterm “vampire” did not appear in print until the 1700s, in relationship to a Serbian man named Petar Blagorjevic. Upon his death in 1725, other members of his village rapidly fell ill and died. Before their deaths, they were reputed to have been visited by Blagorjevic. When authorities exhumed his corpse, they reported it to be “quite fresh” and that the blood “flowed freely” from the body. Tales such as these are prevalent throughout Europe and are often accompanied by graves where ant-vampyric precautions were taken such as mass post mortem decapitation.
The belief in such creatures most likely evolved out of ignorance as to how some diseases spread and may also have been used to describe symptoms of certain illnesses. Porphyria, for example, causes blisters when the skin is exposed to sunlight. No doubt, it was also influenced by a lack of understanding regarding the stages of decomposition. Rigor mortis and blood coagulation are temporary and would have been seen by superstitious villagers as evidence of the undead.
Vampires have been cemented in our cultural collectives as a result of countless writers such as Polidori’s 1819 novel, The Vampire and Stoker’s 1897, Count Dracula. These writers romanticized what had been ugly, terrifying creatures. They transformed them into seductive beings, wooing men and women with the lure of immortality. Later, Hollywood projected those imaginations onto the big screen. In the 1990s, the obsession with vampires reached something of a fever pitch. Countless people joined covens to live as the undead, going so far as to consume blood. It is worth mentioning that clinical vampirism(aka Renfield’s Syndrome) is classified as an eating disorder centering on the consumption of blood and/or live animals. Those afflicted often derive sexual pleasure from the act and even report feeling sick if deprived of blood. This subculture attracts people from all walks of life.
Vampire covens exist in most major cities so New Orleans is not unique in having such an underground. What is different about New Orleans is that she does not try to hide it. We put our darkness on display. We market it as evidenced by countless ghost and vampire tours. We earn our living off of nightmares. Anne Rice recognized that and found New Orleans the perfect haunt for her Vampire Chronicles that lured countless would-be Lestats to the mysterious streets for the French Quarter. Rice’s trilogy inspired a 1991 tabletop game called Masquerade that included the city as one of its many settings. Today, the city continues to be synonymous with the undead or at least that is what our travel brochures would have you believe. The Dungeon is still operational at 738 Toulouse Street. Once you make your way up the narrow stairs, a very loud/goth dance club awaits you. If you want a quieter scene, there is Potions lounge at 733 Bourbon street. It is a somewhat hidden vampire themed speakeasy where one can imbibe such intoxicating elixirs as the Blood Moon and Blood Drop Martini. If food calls to you then drop by the Vampire Cafe at 801 Royal Street. They have steak tartare, blood orange creme brulee, blood bag drinks, and even afternoon tea leaf readings. Afterwards, you can join one of our ghost tours. Just remember not everything is as it seems here. Yes, we sell you the darkness but that does not mean the night is not real. You just might come face to face with the undead.
