Werewolves, vampires, things that go bump in the night, and fighting our passions

©Novawuff, http://novawuff.deviantart.com

The trend in much fantasy writing today (especially in steampunk) is to show werewolves and vampires who are not controlled by their passions, but rather control their passions and—particularly in steampunk—manage to behave as civilized ladies and gentlemen. And, yet, their passions are always drawing, pulling, fighting them. The bloodlust is always below the surface. In many writings, those who are moon-touched are particularly prone to have to have themselves locked up as the full moon approaches lest their passions lead them to kill someone. Often there is a contrast drawn between those creatures who manage to maintain control and those who are considered evil because they have lost their self-control. Many of the story lines revolve around this type of contrast. To add drama to the story, it is a normal plot item to show even the good creatures being allowed to let their passions go somewhat, but only when they are forced to defend someone, some concept, etc. It is not the having of passions that makes one a true monster. It is how one handles their passions. And, is that not the way in which real life works? In the King James version, we are told to mortify the flesh. That is precisely what is pictured in many of these stories. Letting yourself be locked up. Letting yourself be bound with silver. Refusing to take blood from anything but animals—or extremely willing humans—while not killing or overly debilitating them are examples of personal self-control.

I used to be horrified by this change in the accepted canon. Vampires were supposed to be always evil. Werewolves were supposed to turn into out-of-control killers every full moon. More than that, their predilections meant that even when they were not hurting someone, they were planning to hurt someone. That is, a vampire or a werewolf or other such creature was simply and purely evil. But, this created a couple of problems. Problem one is what happens to the person who is made a vampire or a werewolf against their will? The received canon makes them liable to hell through no fault of their own. Is that really what we want to say? You are bitten by a vampire or a werewolf and heaven is forever closed to you? That type of universe is not a moral universe. It is a universe which has a god who is not God. It is a universe in which the innocent victim is punished for eternity. It is a universe with no forgiveness and no opportunity for redemption.

There are only a very few stories that attempt to deal with this discrepancy while maintaining the “received” behavior of vampires, werewolves, and other equally unsavory creatures (such as rusalka, etc.). Some stories openly say that those who are so damaged are indeed damned. There is no hope for them. But, another group of stories picture the changed as not being truly the original person, but either a simulacrum who carries on or a demon-like something that is not related to the original person. The first group pictures a rather horrible view of God. Sadly, there are all too many old writers who see no discrepancy in damning a person for no other reason than being bitten or … . At least the second explanation exonerates the person who is traumatized by simply saying that a “something” who is not the original person is now in control of the body.

But, really, werewolves, vampires, etc., are an excellent picture of what we are like as people infected by sin. The newer conception of those creatures are a good reflection of what has happened to us as a result of our infection by sin. As Saint Paul says, “I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” And, just like Saint Paul, those werewolves and vampires sin and lose control even though the majority of the time they are striving to behave correctly. The difference is that when a vampire or werewolf fails to control themselves, someone is hurt. Meanwhile, there are many sins that you and I can hide though they may be nearly as bad as the sins that are committed by vampires and werewolves.

So, I have become a great fan of the revised canon. Often it pictures real life better than the old canon. So, bring on the new werewolves, vampires, rusalka, etc. They are merely a picture writ large of the struggles that all Christians undergo every day. If we were willing to admit our sin, we would realize that we are often every bit as bad as those whom we call “monsters.”