Gothic Charm School (13 page)

You don't have to look very closely to see marks of the vampire scattered all throughout Goth culture. Coffin-shaped accessories, a fondness for bat motifs, clothing and makeup specifically designed to make us all look like we've risen from a well-appointed grave—is it any wonder that, to an outside eye, we just might look like we think we are those creatures of the night? Or at least desperately hope to become them?

Wanting to be a vampire is, of course, one of the classic fantasies. The power to compel people to do your bidding and use unnatural strength to vanquish your enemies with no pesky thoughts of mortality to trouble you is beguiling. There's also the flip side, the allure of being chosen the victim of a vampire. Not the sort of victim who is drained and abandoned in an unmarked grave, but someone with whom the vampire feels a strong connection. Someone who is so special that the vampire cannot bring himself to kill you but is still driven to feed from you and leave you swooning.

(Yes, Snarklings, most vampire fantasies
do
have a strong erotic thread. Why do you think there's been such a boom in the “preternatural romance” genre of late?)

The idea of being the special and cherished vampire victim ties directly into the idea that a vampire is the ultimate “bad boy” or
“bad girl,” someone with an exciting air of danger who everyone else misunderstands and avoids, but who is different with you. You have a connection with the vampire because you're different from the others and see through his tough façade. Only you can understand him! The Lady of the Manners has been involved in discussions with other fans of vampire fiction about the quintessential “bad boy” appeal of the vampire, and the thing that all of us agree on is this: the personality traits that make a fictional vampire so interesting would
not be so exciting to deal with in real life. In the real world, brooding types only you can understand, who hide their gentler, tender emotions from everyone but you (you special and magical creature, you), eventually will start treating you the same way they treat everyone else. Which means somewhat poorly, to say the least.