An Open Invitation

A reader takes me to task:

I like your blog but you talk too much about pop culture and politics (especially vampire politics) and not enough about real practical tips for people who need help.

He urges me to remember the initial purpose of this website, which is to be a safe and reliable resource of information for those who are, or are dealing with, members of the preternatural communities. The recent vampire news is interesting, and politics affect us all, but I needed the reminder of what is really important to people.

To reiterate then from my first few posts nearly two years ago:

..preternatural communities tend to have a significant number of troubled individuals, and the prevalence of anxiety and mood disorders is appalling. In the absence of functional physiology, psychotropic medications are ineffective with the Dead, the Undead, or the Disembodied. So psychotherapy remains the treatment of choice. We work with the same issues that plague the human population, including depression, anxiety, identity confusion, and problems with interpersonal relationships.

....I'll answer questions and take comments. I'll share interesting items and information about the preternatural and links to sites on the web. You can reach me at

claire.rowan.wallace@gmail.com

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thoughts on the VRA

The other side of the argument is here.

More 'New Moon'

Here is another version of this popular vampire fantasy: Movie Review: The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

Fun With New Moon

Here is a comment on II of the Twilight saga of fanciful vampires, "New Moon."

ALICE: Bella, Edward thinks you're dead, and he's going to kill himself! It's just like the end of "Romeo and Juliet," which you happened to be reading earlier in the movie! Who could have foreseen that it would come up again??

BELLA: Well, you, with your psychic powers.

ALICE: Yes. Also, anyone who's ever seen a movie before.

ARO: Edward, your girlfriend knows too much. She must be killed.
ALICE: Wait! I had a vision! In the future, Bella is a vampire, too.
EDWARD: Spoiler alert!
ARO: Well, why didn't you say you were thinking of converting? That changes everything! Mazel tov!
BELLA: My parents will be disappointed, but it's for the best. Interfaith marriages are so difficult.

Sometimes nice to have a summary if you don't have time to attend the film.

Defend vs. Destroy

A reader writes in to ask how to defend against vampire attacks. I have mixed feelings about this, because too often "defense" morphs into "destroy," as in this excerpt from the Second Congressional Report:

Despite their Dark magic, or perhaps because of it, vampires are vulnerable to the more powerful forms of warding- and (less often) seeking-magic. They cannot be destroyed by magic, however. Well-made wards created by reputable magicians are generally sufficient to protect homes, modes of transportation, and places of business. Personal wards are somewhat effective but can be overpowered in a determined attack. Garlic and holy items (such as crosses) are only the most well-known or traditional elements of an effective ward. Nocturnal predators relying on secrecy, vampires avoid large groups and bright lights. Reports indicate that as more vampires hunt in packs, however, they are more willing to attack greater numbers of humans and in more exposed settings.

Defense against a vampire attack once initiated is much more problematic than the prevention or avoidance of such an attack. Silver bullets are only slightly more effective against vampires than are regular bullets (in contrast to their destructive effect on lycanthropes), unless directly striking the heart. Vampires are by nature so much stronger and faster than humans that staking is virtually never effective during the vampire's nocturnal phase, and attempts usually end in the death of the human defender. Vampires are able to heal quickly even from major wounds. Staking, beheading, or burning by fire or exposure to direct sunlight are the only ways vampires may be destroyed or reach "the final death," as some call it.

Vampire hunting, or deliberately seeking contact with vampires in order to destroy them, is extremely dangerous and should be engaged in only by trained, licensed law enforcement professionals or special military units.

I realize that vampires are dangerous, but it still seems that there must be a way for us to defend ourselves without destroying them. Surely some are worth saving.

Speaking of Demons...

Demons and Sorcery

I've been thinking lately about sorcery and demons.

According to most religions, demons are spirits who picked the wrong side in the primordial conflict, and who are now trying in their various ways to deal with their unembodied situation. Demons have always been problematic to the living. Some are relatively harmless, like one I've treated who lived long enough with its human host to absorb a moral sense and to develop a philosophical interest in its own predicament, as well as taking on components of its host’s identity. Some demons, however, are just out to do major damage to all things human, like their titular head.

The difficult thing with demonic possession is to be sure it really is OK with the host. I wouldn’t choose it myself, but hosts sometimes welcome their demons. The demonic dyad allows both human and demon to experience what neither is capable of alone: material, corporeal existence, however brief, along with shared consciousness and uninterrupted metaphysical memory from before the beginning.

Demonic possession of other living creatures is problematic as well. I know of one family whose dog made prophecies, all of which came true. Difficulties arose because the prophecies were things of interest only to a dog, such as that a troublesome cat would soon be moving into the neighborhood, or that there would shortly be a change in his brand of dog chow. The family found it disconcerting enough to get rid of the dog; with Humane Society help he was successfully (and usefully) placed with the owner of a kennel. Disembodied demons can haunt a place, and sometimes it is hard to tell if the haunting is demonic or ghostly. Ghosts won’t possess a person or anything else. They are usually just hanging around trying to get something finished before they move on to the next phase.

Demons are much scarier than ghosts. Sorcerers invoke the demonic by offering corporeality as the bait and then attempting to control the powers they call through black magic. It isn’t the only magic they use, but it is what makes them by definition sorcerers rather than simply magicians or wizards. Sorcery is extremely dangerous and unpredictable. A sorcerer might spend weeks or months calling a particular demon, only to have it, or another, respond unexpectedly. If the demon called is malevolent—and most are—sorcery lays the way open for it to enter the natural, material world and wreak havoc.

No wonder sorcery is illegal.