As reported by Fox News, Lyle Monroe Bensley is a 19-year old Texas teen who reportedly believes he is actually a 500-year old vampire. Bensley is accused of breaking into a woman’s apartment wearing only boxer shorts. Upon entering the woman’s apartment Bensley is accused of making growling and hissing noises and biting and hitting the woman while in her bed. Bensley has a mental health hold on him as well as a $40,000 bond.
Top News reports of another teen accused of claiming to be a vampire in Dec. 2010. This time we have reports of a 17-year boy claiming to be a vampire before sexually assaulting several girls and drinking their blood. Matthew Lovrine is the name of this accused vampire.
Are vampires real or are they fictional characters in movies such as “Twilight”? Bensley and Lovrine possibly believe vampires are real as do many people around the world.
Sanguinarius.org for Real Vampires is a web site that provides information to vampires on how to safely feed and obtain blood. The site also offers information on bloodletting devices and obtaining blood from animals. The world seems to be obsessed with vampires and the proof is in the many books, web sites, and movies about vampires.
Do movies such as “Twilight” give hope to some of becoming a vampire themselves? Movies such as “Harry Potter” detail spells and while some viewers will watch such movies for entertainment purposes others will decide to try a spell themselves.
It makes sense that movies such as “Twilight” can have the same impact on people. Some people will watch vampire movies and view them as mere entertainment while some want to take it farther and become a vampire themselves. Is there a place where fantasy meets reality? For some this seems to be the case.
I believe that others believe vampires to be real and that there are people that actually believe they are vampires. In their attempt to be a vampire they act as a real vampire would therefore making them a ‘vampire’ in a sense. In conclusion, I believe vampires exist because people in the world believe they are vampires and therefore act as vampires do by drinking blood, avoiding light, and behaving in other ways vampires are known to behave. Just as we are surrounded by witches who do spells we are surrounded by vampires who drink blood. Sometimes reality is in the eye of the beholder.
Sources:
Fox News, “Texas Teen ‘Vampire’ Bites Stranger, Says He ‘Needed to Feed’”, Fox News.
Raman lyer, “US teen who sexually assaulted girls, drank blood claims he was a vampire”, Top News.