What Sociopaths and Vampires Have in Common (Explaining Cluster B Through the Lens of Myth)
Have you ever met a narcissist?
I don’t mean someone with a slightly inflated ego, I mean someone whose sole purpose is to suck the life out of others in order to fill the void in themselves. It’s a frightening experience, often they’re people we thought we knew, but after each accumulated red flag, you eventually realise you’re not dealing with a normal person.
It’s like a confrontation with a monster.
This isn’t just an analogy. What if I told you the origins of vampire myths go hand-in-hand with human psychology all the way to the beginning?
Myths aren’t just for fun
Why do we tell stories?
This question is tied with the function of all language. From warning other tribe members about a wolf deep in the woods, to telling friends about your holiday, all communication is an exchange of information. In a sense, all converse is the exchange of stories, we just refer to different types of stories differently.
A legal document is a story about what you allowed and not allowed to do.
A first date is two people exchanging the story of why they are attractive to each other.
A myth is a story that explains aspects of being human that are too strange to put into normal words.
Vampires are sociopaths
Why?
Because they’re the perfect representation of the psychology someone who doesn’t think or feel like the rest of us. For a vampire to hurt you, you need to invite it in, for a narcissist to inflict emotional damage, you have allow it into your life, your trust, your symbolical place of safety and rest.
For a vampire to live, it needs to feed on the blood of the innocent.
For one of these hollow people to survive, they need to live off the vitality of others, slowly draining them of life-force, until one day they become so biter and twisted they too need take from others to feel anything. Why do vampires do this? Because they’re not alive, they are walking corpses, animated by evil forces. Sociopaths are the same psychologically, walking shells of people, often very attractive, but underneath they lack the substance of life.
Like monsters, narcissists can only operate in the shadows, in ambiguity, and doubt.
This is where you are in danger, away from the light of day and clarity. The beast corners you, or bites when you are unaware (asleep). But if they come into contact with the light of day, with truth, with love, they are burned alive, their dark form is unadapted to goodness.
If you find yourself in the presence of a vampire, don’t alert him to your knowing. Remove them from your house with subtlety, put some garlic up, and keep the light on.
Yes, not only have I met a narcissist I have a couple in my family which makes life a challenge at times. My priority is to remove them from my life (any narcissist) but the key is to keep boundaries with them (family narcissists). It’s draining at times. Narcissistic abuse is the worst and is mainly mental, emotional and psychological but can include physical abuse. Gas lighting & constant criticism is the worst. To experience this as a child is horrible and overcoming it as an adult takes time and conscious effort. I do like your comparison to vampires because narcissists are not merely “selfish”; they are truly life, blood and energy sucking demons with human faces. I don’t care “why” they are that way, I don’t believe in “excuses” for bad, immoral, corrupt & evil behavior. These human faced demons in spite of being told “stop it” they never stop and take no responsibility for their actions. They refuse to change much less show remorse. Thank you for writing this piece.