AtoZ Day 2: B is for Blood, Baobhan sith, Byzantium

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Blood

There are many type of vampire and some feed on life energy, but when most of us think of blood sucking when it comes to these fiends of the night.

It is possible that the belief in the dead coming back to drink blood is actually caused by normal signs of decomposition. Some people were seen as being vampires because after death there was seen to be fresh blood on their nose and mouth. This is perfectly normal. When a dead body rots it swells because of gasses created by the decomposition and these are  forced into the torso, which in turn causes pressure and blood to ooze out of the nose and mouth.

Everyone knows that the dead do not bleed, so when staked a dead body should remain inert, right? Not the case if decomposition is under way because the same gases will force blood through the wound and even cause the corpse to make noise. Hence blood is probably the cause of many vampire beliefs.

Of course it's also incredibly sexy to think of a handsome man or beautiful woman nibbling on your neck, so there is that as well.

What is your favourite blood drinking scene from any vampire film, book or TV show? I have to say, for myself I find the scene in Fright Night (1985) where Gerry drinks from Amy to be incredibly intense.

Creature Feature:

Baobhan sith

This lovely lady is a blood sucking fairy from Scottish mythology. According to Wikipedia she is usually in a white or green dress and uses her beautiful appearance to lure unwary travellers into her trap. Then she uses her talons to pierce her prey's neck and drink their blood.

According to The Spooky Isles, however, these ladies are nastier than that. Unless you can protect yourself with iron they'll do more than drink you're blood, they'll dismember and eat you as well.

Then The Vampire Underworld gives more details, saying that she rises from her grave once a year to feed on young men. She can also appear as a raven or crow, so she's a tricky creature.

Movie Recommendation:

Title: Byzantium
Rating: 15
Summary: Clara and Eleanor are mother and daughter and vampires, in fact they are vampires that other vampires want to kill and they always run and hide. This time they take refuge in a small seaside town where Clara earns their keep the only way she knows how, with her body, much to the disgust of her daughter. Of course they cannot hide forever.
Why you should watch this: This isn't high budget and it's not fast paced, but it's still brilliant. The characters and the plot drag you in and refuse to let go. The vampire lore is new and interesting and beautifully committed to film. The actors are also superb. I reviewed it in detail over here when I saw it in the cinema: Review: Byzantium

The Taste 

(#2 in The Diverse Life of Ianthe Jawara, Vampire)

by Natasha Duncan-Drake

There was nothing quite like the taste of blood for a vampire. Other food was still good, even exquisite given the right chef, but it could not compare to blood. Ianthe bought most of her blood in bags from the local hospital trust. She was registered as having a condition which required it and it set her up quite nicely. She wasn't the only one surviving in such a way, modern society being so vigilant for unusual things, but most of her brethren would have denied it to their dying day, which was a very long time for a vampire.

Ianthe didn't care.

However, it was never quite that simple. Bagged blood was to normal food what feeding from a living donor was to bagged blood. There was nothing like it. Just occasionally Ianthe let herself indulge.

"Well hello, Precious," Grant greeted as she walked into his restaurant; "it's been a while."

"Too long, Mon Cher," she replied and smiled as he kissed her on the hand.

Grant wasn't even close to French, but he managed a very upmarket French restaurant and when she had mentioned she was from French stock he had started to play the game. He never seemed afraid of her, even though he was only human and his playfulness was fun. The establishment was owned by one of the old vampires in the area and it was where everyone came when they wished for a certain kind of company.

"Lauren," Grant flagged down one of the waitresses, "please show Miss Jawara to one of the back booths."

"Yes, Sir," the young woman said politely; "if you would like to come this way, Miss Jawara."

Lauren made sure she had everything she needed including the menu and a very nice glass of champagne before leaving her in the dimly lit, high sided booth. She perused the menu until Grant reappeared with a completely different one designed only for his special clients.

"I'll give you a few minutes to make your selection," Grant said, "just wave when you are ready."

"Thank you," she replied and flashed her eyes at him.

He inclined his head at the show of trust, clearly pleased. A vampire revealing themselves in any way to a human other than during feeding or attacking was a sign of respect.

The new menu was full of pictures of people. Everyone at the establishment was a volunteer and there was a club below through a very thick floor where potential donors waited and enjoyed Grant's hospitality. Never let it be said that the vampire community was not prepared. Hiring a donor wasn't cheap either and she knew for a fact a good percentage went to the one being hired. Most of the ones Ianthe had used did it because they enjoyed it rather than for the money, but she assumed it was a silver lining.

She perused the images and read the short bios that went with them.

A vampire couldn't taste race in blood other than if the individual stuck to cultural dietary norms, but they could taste sex. Due to hormone levels the blood of women did taste different than the blood of men. It was also very sexual so some vampires had preferences. Ianthe didn't, but she wasn't sure what she was in the mood for.

Most of those in the menu were pretty or handsome young things, all bright eyed and clearly lively, but Ianthe wasn't feeling the pull. Then she turned the page and knew she had found the right one. The women looking back at her from the picture was somewhere in her late thirties by Ianthe's guess (the bio said twenty nine, which was a complete fabrication) and she had an interesting face. Given that Ianthe enjoyed conversation as well as blood she was sure this was her choice.

Grant was by her side before she even had to lift her hand to call him.

"Oh yes," he said as she indicated the woman she had chosen, "very you."

Sipping her champagne, she waited for her companion to arrive.

"Good evening," an alto voice greeted a few minutes later.

"Hello," she replied, looking up at her choice, "my name is Ianthe, please, have a seat."

"Jane," her companion replied, "thank you."

As soon as she sat down Jane politely offered her wrist. As with all things vampire there were protocols and Ianthe took Jane's wrist gently in her fingers. There was no point in continuing if she didn't like her companion's taste and so as etiquette dictated she allowed her fangs to lengthen and took a tiny bite. It might have been small, but as soon as the blood hit her tongue she knew she had chosen well and pleasure flooded her. She did not skimp ofn echoing the sensation back to Jane either, after all, it was only polite.

Jane gasped quietly, flushing as Ianthe watched through her eyelashes. With a flick of her tongue she sealed the small puncture and allowed Jane to take her arm back. The woman appeared somewhat surprised, but pleased and Ianthe knew they were going to have a good time. With any luck they would both end up having a really good time.

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A few of us discovered that we all had supernatural themes for the AtoZ so we got together and did a mini list. If you also have a supernatural theme (ghosts, monsters, witches, spells etc), please feel free to add yourself to the list.

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