The Verity of Vampires, Part 1

Greetings!  I hope that you accepted our apologies for the absence; I truly did know better, especially since we only had heavy whipping cream and not freshly obtained sheep's milk.  But as they say, it's water under the bridge.

I have received several emails asking me the origin of vampires.  I will be quite frank, even we do not know with a great level of certainty how we came to be.  In truth, this is one of the few questions that garner a great deal of speculation (and possibly less that peaceful discussions) and few concrete answers.

I asked the Vampire Kings if I could present  you, the readers of the Handbook, with the current belief systems.  They readily agreed, so for the next few weeks I will tell you the legends among us as to where we came from.

The first two stories come from Christian mythology and the Old Testament.

The first story begins in Genesis.  After Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden, they had several children, the first two being Cain and Abel.   Cain grew jealous of his younger brother, and murdered him.  As punishment, God made Cain immortal, never to grow old, never to die, never to go to Heaven, never to see his brother to ask for forgiveness.

Cain lived as such for centuries, before asking God for mercy.  God granted Cain mercy, but with a price.  God told Cain that he could never again see the sun, never again break bread with his neighbors, never again be a part of human society.  Cain agreed to the terms, and God removed the vestiges of his humanity, creating the first vampire.

But God took pity on Cain, and granted him the ability to create others like him, so that he would not be lonely during his everlasting unlife.

The second story again involves Cain and Abel, only after Cain murdered Abel, Abel's spirit spoke to God, asking for more life.

"I cannot give you more life," God replied, sighing heavily, "but I can give you the ability to extend your own life."

God raised up Abel's body, and allowed him to take life from others through drinking their blood.  God also gave Abel the ability to cloud the people's thoughts, so that no one recognized him or remembered him.

Abel lived as an outsider in society for many centuries, before he beseeched God once again for mercy.

"Please, Lord, I am lonely.  For everyone I meet, everyone I love, they die.  And the more I love, the more it hurts when they die."

God once more took pity on Abel, and so granted him the ability to change others to be like himself.

Next week, I will present you with one more Christian origin story, before continuing on to other religious myths.