Build Your Own Vampire Project - Take Me to Church

Team Name: Take Me to Church
Class Period: 1
Team Members: Duha Syar, Sabrina Tang, Hana Sucich, Jasmine Kaur, Da Sol Kim, Olivia Nasef
Student Blogger Email: jasmine.kaur@sitechhs.com

Duha
Vampire’s Ethnicity: Chinese 
Justification: 
Chinese vampires, the Jiangshi, are well known throughout East Asian countries as the “hopping vampires.” They are characterized by stiff outstretched arms, the result of rigor mortis, and often sport very formal and “stiff” attire. The legends of the Jiangshi arose during the Qing dynasty when the bodies of Chinese workers were returned to their home town for proper burial. Corpse drivers specialized in the trade of transporting bodies, often, in the dead of night. The coffins were attached to bamboo poles that would flex during the journey, giving the illusion of the dead bouncing on their own. As such, the myths say that Jiangshi only comes out during night time and sustain themselves by stealing the life source, or qi, of a living person. Very vampiric if you ask us.

Sources: 
DHWTY. “The Living Dead: Chinese Hopping Vampires.” Ancient Origins, Ancient Origins, 8 June 2016, www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/living-dead-chinese-hopping-vampires-006050.

Sabrina
Vampire’s Abilities:
1. He can access his victim’s worst fears via telepathy.  
2. He has the ability to morph his appearance every century. 
3. Our vampire is gifted with enhanced strengths and senses; for instance, agility and acute hearing. 
Vampires have night vision.  
Justification: 
1. In classic literature such as Dracula, vampires are telepathic and can control minds, thereby allowing them to prey on their victims. Rather than being able to read people’s minds though, our vampire can access an individual’s greatest fears for himself. He can conjure these thoughts and implant such fears within his victim’s mind. 
2. Classical vampires are known for their ability to transform into bats by will. But in the case of our vampire, we decided to grant him the ability to change his appearance (i.e. facial features) because it allows him to blend into modern society more easily. It would be suspicious for him to have the same appearance for centuries, not to mention the complications that could arise over passports, visas, and other required. At the same time, however, we acknowledge that this ability could be easily manipulated; therefore, he can only change his appearance once every turn of the century. 
The idea of vampires having enhanced senses and strengths is one that has existed since their conception. Even in Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire, vampires’ superhuman speed and hearing is noted by Louis and can be duly observed. These superhuman abilities distinguish vampires from humans and grant them superiority. 
3. Vampires have night vision, which is likely derived from historic folklore about their susceptibilities to daylight and their linkage to bats (nocturnal animals). Moreover, like most classical vampires, our vampire can only venture at night due to his weakness to daylight (elaborated further in ‘Weaknesses). That being said, it only makes sense for him to have night vision to see and prey on his victims properly. 

References: 
1. History.com Editors. “Vampire History.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Sept. 2017, www.history.com/topics/folklore/vampire-history.
2. Moonlight (Amanda). “Supernatural Powers and Abilities.” Vampires, Griffin Theme, 31 Mar. 2013, www.vampires.com/supernatural-powers-and-abilities/.
3. Vranich, Belisa. “Why We Love Vampires: The Psychology Behind the Obsession.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 25 May 2011, m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_655674.
4. Eldridge, Alison. “Vampire.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 13 Apr. 2016, www.britannica.com/topic/vampire.

Jasmine
Vampire’s Weakness(es):
1. Our vampire cannot see his own reflection in a mirror. 
2. He cannot consume the berries of rowan trees.
3. Our vampire can only go out into the world at night (works a night shift). 
Justification: 
1. The idea of mirrors functioning as apotropaics, or objects that ward off evil, dates as far back as Greek mythology. As we discussed towards the beginning of the year, in the story of Perseus, Perseus manages to slay Medusa by employing numerous gifts from Hermes and Athena, including winged sandals, an invisibility cap, and a polished bronze shield. This shield ultimately functioned as the greatest asset to Percy, allowing him to catch a glimpse of the gorgon/monster without succumbing to her lethal stare. Moreover, in the popular gothic novel Dracula, it’s a well-established fact that Dracula does not have a reflection in the mirror. In literature, a reflection is heavily intertwined with the idea of a soul, which is something that a vampire does not possess (or may not deserve) as a damned immortal creature who preys on innocent humans and their ambitions. A mirror’s reflective properties offer it the capacity to reveal all, including deep-seated, hidden secrets from the world. To keep his demon identity as under wraps and prevent a downfall from a mortal, our vampire steers clear of mirrors at all costs; despite wielding so much power, our vampire will never be able to discover how he appears to others, including his unfortunate victims. 
2. Rowan, otherwise known as mountain ash, has been placed on a pedestal in the British Isles, especially Irish and Celtic culture for its magical abilities. The trees possess distinctive red berries, with stalks greatly resembling pentagrams, which are five-pointed stars that relate to the human spirit and confer protection from evil in pagan religions. This is a likely reason that the rowan was also utilized as an apotropaic in a sense, known to safeguard individuals and animals from witchcraft and enchantment in that area of the world. Accounts of people carrying around pieces of rowan wood to protect themselves continued even into the twentieth century. Although the rowan is native to that region, our vampire must be on high alert in his abode in Hawaii, since most of the population is that of visitors (who historically have a tendency to accidentally introduce plants from home). To ensure that others keep rowan away from him, our vampire makes it clear that he has an extreme, life-threatening allergy to rowan berries.  
3. Prior to the advent of microscopy, modern medicine, or antibiotics, life expectancy was relatively low. It was not uncommon for people to face an early death due to the lack of a cure. It was through such cases that many of the characteristics of the modern vampire came about. For instance, porphyria is one of many disorders that may have perpetuated the notion of vampires. The disease involves issues with heme, a compound that is necessary to produce hemoglobin, an oxygen-binding protein in the blood. Symptoms of porphyria include extreme light sensitivity. Individuals afflicted with the disease experience itching, rashes, and blisters due to sunlight. In more rare cases, sunlight can cause receded gums and loss of the nose and ears, a likely inspiration for popular European vampires such as Nosferatu. Based on this, our own vampire is not immune to sunlight, which can result in immediate death, causing his flesh to burn and his organs to disintegrate upon contact. 

References:
1. Abigail, et al. “The Myth of Perseus and Medusa.” Greek Myths & Greek Mythology, 3 Nov. 2010, www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/myth-perseus-and-medusa/.
2. Beyer, Catherine. “Images and Meaning of Pentagrams.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 24 Sept. 2018, www.thoughtco.com/pentagrams-4123031.
3. Dowling, Stephen. “Future - The Real-Life Diseases That Spread the Vampire Myth.” BBC, BBC, 31 Oct. 2016, www.bbc.com/future/story/20161031-the-real-life-disease-that-spread-the-vampire-myth.
4. “Mirror Superstitions - Superstitions Related to Mirrors.” Mirror History, www.mirrorhistory.com/mirror-facts/mirror-superstitions/.
5. “Rowan.” Trees for Life, Trees for Life, treesforlife.org.uk/forest/mythology-folklore/rowan2/.
6. Tanasa, Adrian. “Count Dracula.” Dracula between Hero and Vampire, Dracula.cc, dracula.cc/count_dracula/.

Da Sol
Vampire’s Reproduction:
1. Biting from the neck or wrist 
2. Every other full moon
3. If more than 5 ml of saliva enters a human body
Justification:
1. The bite on the neck or wrist is the classical method for the vampire. The neck is a very vulnerable spot on the human body because it contains a lot of major arteries and blood vessels. For example, the carotid artery is located in the neck. This artery is a major blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain. In order for a vampire to reproduce, it would need to “kill” the human aspect, and the brain is one of the most important and vital organs. The neck also contains the external and internal jugular veins, and these veins pump and flow blood to the heart. The wrist contains two major arteries, the ulnar and the radial. Both of these arteries meet up in the wrist to supply oxygenated blood to the forearm. The neck, in addition, is one of the most vulnerable parts of the human body and is associated with eroticism and sexual desires (vampirism=sexual desires). In general, the wrist and the neck were chosen because many major arteries are located, and both parts are very vulnerable.  
2. The full moon was also chosen because vampires can be related to werewolves. Both monsters belong in the category of monsters and many of these creatures are written in gothic novels. In many ways, the werewolf relates to vampires because both share many characteristics and attributes. Werewolves are beasts that can not control their lust for killing and slaughtering. Similarly, vampires need to kill humans in order to survive and live. Werewolves were also thought to be real because many medical conditions revealed the traits of werewolves. Such conditions include rabies, lycanthropy, hallucinations, hypertrichosis, and food poisoning. Vampirism had a lot to do diseases too, such as cholera, porphyria, and tuberculosis. Our group also chose to relate to werewolves because one of our vampire’s ability is shapeshifting, and shapeshifting is common in werewolves.
3. The last way our vampire can reproduce is related to the spread and the presence of bacteria. In order for vampires to reproduce, bacteria from the vampire must be present in the human. According to UBiome, 20 million bacteria are present in the mouth alone, and kissing can transfer up to 80 million bacteria. In addition, UBiome mentioned that oral bacteria is one of the fastest transferring bacteria, so our group decided that saliva contains a lot of bacteria. Therefore, we made saliva transfers a method of vampire reproduction.

Sources: 
Editors, History.com. “Vampire History.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Sept. 2017, www.history.com/topics/folklore/vampire-history.
Sifferlin, Alexandra. “Women's Erogenous Zones, Ranked By Science.” Time, Time, 13 May 2014, time.com/98088/the-most-erogenous-parts-of-the-female-body-ranked-by-science/.
“17 Surprising Facts About Your Body's Bacteria.” UBiome, UBiome, 31 Aug. 2015, ubiome.com/blog/post/17-surprising-facts-about-your-bodys-bacteria/.
“Illustrations of the Blood Vessels.” Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, 7 Aug. 2018, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/17061-blood-vessels-illustrations.
Jr, William C. Shiel. “Definition of External Jugular Vein.” MedicineNet, MedicineNet, www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=9202.
Editors, History.com. “Werewolf Legends.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 23 Aug. 2017, www.history.com/topics/folklore/history-of-the-werewolf-legend.

Olivia
Vampire’s Camouflage: Doctor
Justification:
Our vampire is a doctor working night shifts and long hours in a hospital, allowing him to feed on blood from blood transfusion bags and slowly dying patients in order to fulfill his bodily needs. Since his coffin is disguised as a supply closet, working long hours into the night and resting in the morning allows him to sleep in plain sight and avoid the sunlight. By simply plastering on a hazard sign onto the closet, our vampire’s colleagues never suspect a thing. He blends perfectly into society while maintaining high status and a steady cash flow to spend on a luxurious vacation home near the volcanoes, caves, and seaports in Hawaii should he ever need an escape route.

References:
Pennington, Rosemary. “Doctors Accused of Being Vampires Attacked in Malawi.” National Vanguard, National Vanguard, 15 Dec. 2017, nationalvanguard.org/2017/12/doctors-accused-of-being-vampires-attacked-in-malawi/.

Duha
Vampire’s Home: Hawaii
Justification: 
Hawaii is an island in the Pacific Ocean with a majority immigrant population stemming from East Asia and its surrounding Islands. Our vampire arrived in Hawaii with the first few waves of Chinese immigration aboard the Elenora where he posed as a crewman. Hawaii, while far from home provided the isolation and the community to feed upon and prosper with. In 1882 when nearly 49% of Honolulu’s population became Chinese he sought a residence there in order to blend in with his plantation working countrymen. While Honolulu soon became known as “Chinatown”, many were suspicious of his ongoings and almost succeeded in killing him during the great fires of 1886 and 1900. However, the current tourism gives his food some variety and effectively manages to keep suspicion off him back as tourists encounter many “diseases and plagues” in his hometown.

References:
“Hawaii’s First Chinese.” Hawaii's First Chinese - Hawaii History - Chinatown, Info Grafik, www.hawaiihistory.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ig.page&PageID=544.

Hana
Vampire’s Preferences:
1. Emotionally vulnerable- because they died violent deaths- tries to make them sad; vengeance 
2. Sleeps in a coffin (disguised as a supply closet) 
Justification:
1. Jiangshi died violent death or suicide— Our vampire’s emotional vulnerability and vengeance reflect off of his violent death. When a Jiang-shi is created, they usually suffer through murder, hanging, suicide, drowning or suffocation. In addition to this, it is most common that their burial was postponed after their death. As a result, their goal after death is revenge.
2. Confinement (gothic) -- For vampires, coffins can be a source of protection during the day. Our vampire is vulnerable to daylight, which means he will need to shelter himself from the sun at all times. As a result, the best place for him to sleep is in is his coffin. Even when he is fast asleep and susceptible to an attack, the coffin will be a major advantage because people are most likely unwilling to open a coffin, out of respect for the deceased.

References:
1. Helsing, Kyle Van. “The Jiangshi.” The Jiangshi, Kyle Germann, 1 Jan. 1970, demonhunterscompendium.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-jiangshi.html.
2.“The Sleep of the Dead.” Van Richten's Guide to Vampires - The Sleep of the Dead, UCoz Services, voltor.narod.ru/vr/vr01_09.htm.

Olivia
(Optional) Add Your Own: Vampire’s Appearance
1. Retractable long nails
2. Pale 
3. Widow’s peak
4. Retractable fangs 
5. Attractive, middle-aged (30s) —> respect, trustworthy face 
6. Short, black hair—grey eyes. 
Justification:
A widow’s peak points towards dark eyes with illuminated irises. Unblemished pale skin stretched over sharp bone structure and red lips with retractable white fangs graced our vampire’s face. On first sight, he appears as a fortunately attractive middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair and a saccharine smile. However, once patients come closer they see the unnaturally pristine skin, asking him for his skin care routine and complimenting his beautiful eye color. Though they feel slightly uncomfortable with his slightly sharp fingernails when doing their blood work, they never speak out since they are consumed with their own pain to focus on how odd the “doctor” looks. With his high status as a doctor, reminiscent of his status as a vampire, he blends into society with not a single person batting an eye. Looking like the paler and younger version of George Clooney, he can easily lure his victims and lull them into a false sense of security, making it easy for him to suck their blood while they’re gravely ill and sick. 

References:
Warner Bros. The Vampire Diaries. The Complete First Season. [Burbank, Calif.] :Warner Home Video, 2010. Print.