Lusting for Bloodsuckers

So, this is actually inspired by several conversations with some awesome people on Twitter. It started as a question from @inkmuse about whether vampire fiction was over filled and should be laid to rest. Also, how we could revive it? This sparked a lot of opinions. My favorite was between @TheRaymondMRose, @peterdawes,  @ondinal_songs and myself. This got me thinking of vampire psychology and modern fiction.

Years ago, we had some decent vampire fiction. Anne Rice and even Laurell K. Hamilton's first few books were great reads. They let you view some vampire psychology and see how manipulative they can be. Then came Stephanie Meyer. I know, she's on everyone's lips. You either love her books or wish to throw them into the pit of fiery forgetfulness. Why is there so much hate? Well, I'm not going into all the reasons, and there are enough to make a mountain. Her books inspired a flood of vampire romance fiction. Along with the vampires came the werecreatures, the fairies, and *shudder* the demons.There is a big problem here.

These monsters are supposed to represent our darkest fears and emotions. Right now, I'm just going to stick with the undead. Vampires, at best, would be sociopaths bordering on psychopaths. Yes, there are perhaps some that would want to be good but their trying to to do so should be an enormous struggle. And what they consider good to them may not be good to others. Evil and good are relative, depending on your moral compass. A vampire who only hunts criminals is still killing and eating people.

This leads into the whole relationship thing. Sure, I can see the whole dark fantasy, bad boy thing, but these are creatures that want to eat us. We are food and pets to them. Would you want to date a cow? I know, cows can't hold an intelligent conversation. Then again, if you were centuries old, how intelligent would you view a 17 year old? The main point is that these are not healthy relationships. They will end badly. I'm not talking about crying into you half gallon of ice cream bad. More like, closed casket funeral.

So, what about you? Do you enjoy the undead romances? Or would you like to see more stories about the dark side of vampires again?