Vampires and Narcissists: What they have in Common
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Vampires are the ultimate narcissist characters. They are the best representative of “the malignant narcissists” as we understand it in psychology today. The narcissist, as we have seen in previous posts, exerts an immense attraction over their victims just like vampires do. This is clearly seen in the allure of the central character of the above depicted film, David. He is a perfect mix of bad boy narcissist /vampire clan leader–played by Kiefer Sutherland in “the Lost Boys.”
Among vampires, however, there is one that stands out: Dracula. The Count is the epitome of the malignant narcissist. He is the Master Vampire, the Devil incarnate. In fact, the word “Dracula” means “Dragon” as well as “Devil.” In “the Lost Boy,” this “father figure” behind the entire brotherhood is Max, played by Edward Hermann. He is the apparently harmless, and uncanny, pater familias behind the entire tribe.
The Devil’s origin as a “Fallen Angel”
The story of the Devil in Christianity refers to “a fallen angel.” He was known in the Heavens before the creation of man, as Luzbel, “the Giver of Light.” This Hebrew name became Latinized as “Lucifer,” which has the same meaning. In pagan mythology, “Lucifer” was the name given to the planet Venus, which is the brightest star in the morning sky. In those times, Venus was associated with “the fallen star” or the Luci-fer. This was due to the fact that the planet appeared as a bright star over the horizon in the morning giving the impression that it would “fall” over the horizon.
The Hebrew Bible, in the King James Version, called Lucifer “Satan” (which is the Hebrew for “the Enemy” or “the One who Opposes”). Lucifer, is the original name assigned to Satan, also known as “the Prince of Evil.” As per the Biblical account, he was originally the most beautiful “Angel of Light.”
From this Biblical description, we could say that Luzbel was “the Narcissus of Heavens.” Later on, after his rebellion against God, he became the Master Demon—or “the Prince of this world” according to the words of Jesus in the Gospel. In this way, Lucifer “the fallen angel of light” became “Satan,” “the Rebellious,” “the Enemy,” the Demons’ Headmaster of Darkness.
The angels that rebelled and followed Lucifer in his rebellion against God became known as “demons.” But, the paradox of this biblical story is the fact that it connects the Ultimate Evil with the Brilliance of Narcissism.
“Lucifer” literally means “the Shining One.” Light shines; and things that “shine” captivate our attention. Beauty and light are deeply connected in the human mind:. We associate them with attraction and goodness. While we associate darkness with evil and fear. In psychoanalytic jargon, these brilliant objects are called “Phallic.” And because of this intense “brilliance” they become highly desirable. This aspect of the biblical tale is ironic as the Devil (Satan) is called–just as Dracula–“The Prince of Darkness.” So, the brightest–most beautiful Being in Heavens–came to be the darkest most defiled Being in Hell, “the Father of All Lies and Evil:” the Devil.
How we got from “The Angel of Light” (Luzbel/Lucifer) to “The Prince of Darkness” (Satan/the Devil)
As I explained above, the biblical stories and the Christian tradition describe Luzbel as the most beautiful, most powerful–and the brightest of all the angels in Heaven. He is described as God’s favorite angel (which is the hallmark of the narcissistic child who is usually his mother’s favorite). But, so much beauty, power, and intelligence got to Luzbel’s head.
In his narcissism, Lucifer eventually wanted to be worshiped just like God was. He was not satisfied with being “special” in the eyes of God, but he aspired to make himself equal to God, i.e., to be a God himself. The rebel’s ultimate desire was taking God’s place and commanding worship like the Creator. In order to get worship from his fellow angels, he decried God’s truths: he opposed them and told them lies accusing God of lying. In the process, he incited a rebellion of angels in Heaven against God by spreading distortions and by promoting opposition against God’s rule.
How Satan became involved with humans
The story goes that after Man’s creation, Luzbel refused to bow to God’s creation. Once again–in his egotism–he refused to bow down to creatures he considered his inferiors. He disobeyed God’s commandment to humble himself and do it. As a result of this rebellion, Lucifer got expelled from God’s presence. He was punished because of his unrepentant hubris and his contemptuous attitude towards humanity. Lucifer was chastised for his narcissistic oppositionality against God’s authority and his commandments.
As we see, from then on, Lucifer became “the rebellious child of God”, “the Enemy.” He is the child who got so spoiled that he forgot that he was just another creation–and not the Creator Himself. Even when banished from Heavens, he was still allowed to come down to earth because he challenged God and his creation.
Lucifer’s challenge to God was this: “These humans you created will turn away from You and disobey your Commandments. And they will worship Me instead.” (This, by the way, is a re-edition of what he had already done with the angels in Heavens before Man’s creation).
Adam, Eve, and the serpent in paradise
According to the Old Testament, Satan then showed up in paradise in the form of a serpent. He tempted Eve first to eat “the forbidden fruit” from “the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.” When the serpent suggested to her that she should try this forbidden fruit, she initially replied that “God told them not to do it.”
The sly serpent then went on to tell her that “the real reason” why God did not want them to try it was because, if they did, they would “become like God.” So, the Devil’s temptation is the allure posed by the ultimate narcissistic desire. The Devil offered humans total Knowledge and Power. The promise is one of Narcissism—a promise of ultimate grandiosity. The acquisition of this knowledge would give humans the completeness that would empower them to be worshipped like Gods.
Once again, Satan accomplished two things in this move. He spoiled God’s creation by taking revenge on them, and he got back at God for His punishment and banishment from Heavens. He accomplished this feat by spreading “a Big Lie” (any resemblance with current political figures is just a product of chance). And this event caused the so-called “Fall of Man” described in Genesis that caused human eviction from Paradise. So, now, not only do we have “fallen Angels” but “fallen humans.” It was the reason of our paradise lost.
“The Original Sin’s” origin
So, what was the origin of the so called “original sin” then?
The answer is simple: Oppositional Malignant Narcissism. This is what in Christianity is called “the original Sin.”
Historically, this “original sin” has often been misinterpreted as Adam and Eve having sex. So, the temptation would have been “sexual” and the ultimate human problem would have been “lust”–and not narcissism. This is a puritanical interpretation of the biblical story. But, it simply does not coincide with the Biblical narrative. This idea of “lust” as “the original sin” was implied by the fact that the woman was tempted first; and that she then proceeded to tempt Adam. And they both ended up feeling ashamed of being naked after trying it. However, the assumption that sex was “It” was a mistaken one.
Well, sex cannot be the “original sin” as God himself put Adam and Even in paradise naked and said to them: “Grow and Multiply.” The only way in which humans can do that is “multiplication” is through sexual activity. So, sexual activity could not have been “the Original Sin” as sexuality was–not only allowed–but was mandated by God. The “Original Sin” then is believing oneself to be God and the resulting belief that our own Ego should be the object of worship.
The malignant narcissist and his relationship to the Father and the law
Oppositional and uncaring self-centeredness is the hallmark of the malignant narcissist personality. In him, we see the resistance to accept the law of the Father and of society. He does not put himself under the law. Because of his special status he believes to be himself above it. If he were around today, he would pardon himself.
Being egocentric, opposed to the law, to rules, to morals–and to the authority of the Father–are all the malignant narcissist characteristics. If you pay attention, you will notice those same egomaniac traits in every autocratic leader in human history. They all share one thing in common: They have all been oppositional malignant narcissist. From Attila the Hun, to Caesar, from Hitler to Mussolini, from Stalin to Mao….. and the list is much, much longer–to the current president of the US in the XXI century.
This type of narcissist wants to occupy the place of the Father. But it is the not a type of just Father as the Heavenly Father, but a primitive father of the horde described by Freud–the Urvater. This “father” is the unrestricted orangutan that can have access to all the women and do whatever he pleases without any limit or respect for the law above him.
The two lives choice
According to the Bible, there are two ways in which a person can lead his/her life. Either one leads a narcissistic self-centered life, pleasing only his/her Ego and his/her personal desires, or one chooses a God-centered life in which God’s Will comes first. In this second stance, the person humbles himself before God and the rest of society by taming his/her Ego.
In the God-centered life, the desires of the individual are still taken into account, but they are regulated. Desires are guided and limited by the commandments of God’s law. So, in the God-centered life, humans have freedom; but–it is not the unrestricted narcissistic freedom to do whatever they please. It is the freedom to do that which is right. This is the kind of freedom described by Paul in the New Testament.
The connection between Vampires, the Devil, and the malignant narcissists
Dracula is described in Stoker’s novel as “an incarnation of the Devil himself.” He is as evil as the Devil and completely self-centered. He does not respect anything, and he enjoys desecrating what is pure and holy. And what is even worse, he will stop at nothing to please himself.
Dracula cannot think of anything else but to satisfy power drive and his craving for blood. But it is important to realize the fact that he, as a vampire, reproduces by biting, draining people’s blood, and killing them. In the novel, Dracula moves to England to form a legion of followers, subject vampires. These “converts” to vampiric life are necessary for him to establish a new “Kingdom” of Evil over which he will reign.
In this obvious malignant inversion of the Christ’s story, Dracula does not make his disciples by “preaching love,” but by preying on them and killing them. And, after their “conversion” to vampiric “undead life,” they must follow his commands. As a result, these legions of new vampires–or earthly demons that will take over the earth–becomes subservient to him as “subjects to an Emperor.” And of course, they are–not just supposed to follow and obey him–but also to admire him, fear him, and worship him.
Dracula has no law above himself. He dictates his own law to everyone else. And the law he “dictates” is that of his own whim. This is the hallmark of the malignant narcissist autocrat relationship with the law.
From a Freudian perspective, Dracula is the epitome of pure instinct: an animalistic blood-thirsty beast. For this reason, he–as all other vampires– cannot be anything but self-centered, aggressive, destructive–and lustful. These four traits are the basic components present in what I have described in my previous post as what makes the psychological makeup of the malignant narcissist. And they are also the cocktail that causes the “Jouissance” in people that I have described in previous posts.
Malignant Jouissance in the vampiric theme
So, this malignant “Jouissance” stems from the pleasure experienced in the mixed emotions that include pain and suffering. It means extracting pleasure from inflicting suffering on others. This is the source of the sadist’s pleasure. The best example of which in history was the Marquis de Sade’s himself after which this perversion was named.
This strange form of enjoying oneself derives from the intertwining of the Life and Death Drive. It is the result of the power of experiencing pain-in-pleasure and pleasure-in-pain. This form of “jouissance” is seen in real life in sadists and masochists individuals. And its main source is the transgressive excitement that goes beyond the pleasure principle and that leads to eventual annihilation and death.
The archetype of “Jouissance” would then be the tension of sexual arousal but without the orgasmic discharge. A deeper and darker aspect of Jouissance is the bitter-sweet tension that aims to a return a state of cero tension–Death. And that is exactly what is described by the victims of the vampire in novels and films. This is the odd kind of feeling–Jouissance–they get while they are being drained of their vital fluids.
Keep in mind that for vampires, biting and draining their victims is not just the way they feed, it is also the way they reproduce. Sucking their victims blood is both their sexual life and the satisfaction of their hunger and thirst at the same time. This is the reason why vampires bite and suck their blood slowly from victims over a period of time. They gloat over them. They prolong the process rather than cleanly extracting their blood with a knife and keeping it in a fridge for a rainy day, which would be much more convenient. Moreover, biting and killing is at the same time the activity through which they satisfy their predatory instinct both at the same time.
The attack of the vampire is then a form of perverse rape and murder: It mixes sensuality, the total control of the victim as a pure object, with aggression and death.
What to take away from this post:
These types of “vampiric” traits are seen in malignant narcissists of all ilks and you should be aware of them
- Malignant narcissists share many traits described above for the vampire character and demonic figures.
- In fact, in today’s world, some malignant narcissists actually practice vampirism.
- The malignant narcissists may not drain their victims of their blood, but they will drain them of other precious things such as love, attention, money, resources–and even their lives.
- Narcissists in general are “psychic vampires,” which is another way of saying that they are “attention hogs.”
- Narcissists consider themselves “Special” and thus demand to be obeyed, admired, and worshiped.
- The narcissist could care less about the wellbeing of others and their suffering, although they pretend to.
- The narcissist always comes first. He always has to win and does not tolerate losing and admitting it. He will throw his followers, friends, and allies under the bus if necessary.
- And, just like vampires, narcissists do not empathize with their victims. Other people for them are just objects to be used for their own pleasure and benefit.
In the next post, I will continue to examine the appeal of the vampire on young audiences and the transformations of this character in the last six decades. If you liked it or benefited from the content of this article let others know by giving it a “like it.” As always, don’t hesitate to ask a question or leave a comment. If you are interested in mental health matters and in becoming a part of this community of readers, you can sign up for this blog for free. Enter your email address below after pressing “like.”
I hope to see you in my next post,
Dr. T