Thursday, April 11, 2019

Count Chocula, Period 5: Build Your Own Vampire


Team 4 COUNT CHOCULA

Build a Vampire Project
Team Name: Count Chocula (Team 4)
Class Period: 5
Team Members: Alexander Barshaba, Edward Leibowitz, Victoria Isakova, Jaylen Gaither,
Jason Chen, Samuel Faynleyb
Vampire’s Ethnicity: Sinhalese (Sri Lanka)
Justification: In Sri Lanka, they have a demon-like creature called the Riri Yaka otherwise known
as the “Blood Demon”. This demon is local to that area and has some aspects similar to that of a
vampire, but many of its features put our normal rendition of a vampire to shame. The demon in its
primary form is described to be so large that he towers over his victims along with a horrifying face
which is blue and covered with splotches of blood. Other features of the head and face are: streams
of blood pouring out of his nose, smoking billowing out from his ears, and a putrid scent emanating
from the rotting human flesh inside of its mouth. In another one of its forms, he is described as being
a four-armed little man with a monkey-like face who haunts graveyards. In this form, he holds with
his four arms: a sword, a rooster, a parrot, and the severed head of a human all whilst riding a pig.
Those that are possessed by this demon will need the help of a kattadiya (witch doctor) in order to
exorcize the entity.



Vampire’s Abilities: 1)Shape Shifting- Can appear as anything it can fathom, whether from human
reality or monstrosity. 2) Soul/Life Absorption- When consuming a victim's blood, the vampire also
absorbs the number of years of life the victim had left, as well as the victim's knowledge and
individual soul. 3)SuperHuman Strength/ Reflexes- Contains the strength, speed, stamina and
reflexes of all the victims the vampire has consumed 4) Summoning Familiars-
Whatever being/creature our vampire defeats and if he chooses to absorb/consume the soul/blood
of that creature they can then summon them in a physical manifestation to do their bidding or fight
for them. Manifestations are not identical to the original form of the victim but rather a perverted
demonic equivalent. 5) Semi-Immortality- Not truly immortal, but under the right circumstances
he can be.
Justification: 1) In early Christianity, Vampire folklore was linked to the religion through making them
an antithesis of good just like the Devil. Since the Devil is able to take on many forms and
appearances, Vampiress which are considered the equivalent of the Devil also have this ability of
shapeshifting. 2) Throughout history there has always been consumption of blood in the sense of
gaining strength from it, blood being the physical necessity for life. Most important backing of this
ability is that Christians recreate the drinking of the blood of Christ during mass as stated: ”He that
eat my flesh, and drink my blood, dwell in me, and I in him”. But since the Vampire is depicted as the
devil, this being an unholy exchange of blood, it is the physical equivalent of giving your soul to the
devil. Rather than an equal exchange of dwelling our vampire keeps the victim's soul chained to his
having full control over it. 3) Just as explained before, blood was seen as the essence of life and
source of strength in a person. Through endless consumption of blood, our vampire is able to
stockpile the strength and physical abilities of those he consumes. 4) In Christianity’s fear of
Witches it was said that once a contract was formed Between the Devil and the Witch, the
Witch was given a demonic familiar in the disguise of a small animal in order to commit evil acts.
If our vampire is considered to be the Devil, it should have the ability to summon as many of the
souls it controls as familiars for its own evil use.5) An ability which is formed through the drinking of
blood, blood being an essence of life. The consumption of it results in the increased life span of our
vampire
Sources:
Visions of Witchcraft from the Cornell Collections.” The World Bewitch'd, 2017,
rmc.library.cornell.edu/witchcraft/exhibition/what/devils.html#modalClosed
The Vampire Myth and Christianity - Rollins College.” Scholarship.rollins.edu, 2010, scholarship.rollins.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=mls.

Vampire’s Weakness(es): 1) Loss of Lifeforce- When our vampire uses a familiar, and that familiar is
killed the life force gained from it vanishes as well, life force can also be lost due to injury given unto
our vampire.
2) Sunlight- Although not completely killed by it, our vampire is weakened by it.
Justification: 1) Since our vampire is able to gain life from the blood of others, it has the opposite
ability to lose life. For since its life is based on the consumption of blood, if it is used to summon
familiars or heal itself, its very essence of life is being given up in exchange for power.
2) This weakness is based on the chronic biological disorder porphyria.  It causes the person to
have a sensitivity to light, which leads them to stay out of it. Also backed by the reason that
demons/the devil emerge from and operate in “the darkest depths of hell”. Since our vampire's
abilities are based on the devil it would be logical that its abilities would be most powerful at night.
Therefore during the day with the “light of God” our vampire's abilities would be weakened.

Vampire’s Reproduction: Our vampire is able to reproduce by repeatedly feeding on his victims.  
In order for our vampire to successfully create a vampire, he/she must feed on the victim making
them weaker and weaker until they die.  Then the corpse turns into a vampire on the next day free
to start the process all over again.
Justification:  In the novel “Dracula” written by Bram Stoker Dracula continually feeds on Lucy
making her weaker and weaker each night.  Her friends are confused and believe that she has
fallen terribly ill. No medication is able to save her and after several nights she dies.  Her death
completes her transformation into a vampire. When her friends visit her during the day in the crypt
she is seen as a corpse, yet at night she transforms into a vampire and begins to prey on others.

Stoker, Bram. Dracula. Baker Street Press, 2018.

Vampire’s Camouflage: Man or disease
Justification: The Riri Yaka is said to have eight malevolent forms. One is a gravekeeper with a
distorted face that terrifies his victims. Also, being that Riri Yaka is legitimately a “blood demon”, it
is able to manifest itself as a blood-related disease and infect people, essentially like a virus with a
hive mind. Those infected are usually, pale and lose cognitive ability, similar to a zombie.



Vampire’s Home: The vampire lives on a cruise ship, as part of his own company which routinely
brings passengers to beautiful islands along the Sri-Lankan coast.  The ship is often filled with
young tourists, each with more than enough years of life left to provide the vampire with an
adequate supply of blood and life force. This allows the vampire to consume as few passengers
as possible to avoid arousing too much suspicion.
Justification: In Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire, Louis and Claudia, seeking answers about
their origins, board a ship to Europe.  During their days at sea, they feed on passengers, and the
resulting deaths are attributed to a sickness that was brought on board.
In the Universal Studios film Hotel Transylvania, a modernized and animated Dracula escapes
human persecution and builds a five-star hotel for monsters only.  This film, for our purposes,
proves that vampires can be successful entrepreneurs; contrary to this depiction of Dracula, our
vampire creates his cruise company to attract humans rather than escape them, generating both
revenue and a lasting supply of blood.


Tartakovsky, Genndy, director. Hotel Transylvania. Universal Studios, 2012.






Vampire’s Preferences:
Younger people, specifically women and children
Justification:
The drinking of blood in most lore is representative of sapping or taking in energy. The Sri Lankan
“vampire”, as well as vampires and demons from various other cultures, tend to prey on younger,
more vulnerable people. Our vampire isn’t completely immortal and must sap the remaining life force
out of its prey to add to its own life.
In Ancient Sumer, there was the story of Lilitu (the precursor to Lilith from Jewish mythology), who
would prey specifically on women and their newborn children. In Ancient Greek mythology, there
was Lamia, the daughter of King Belus and a secret lover of Zeus. However Zeus' wife Hera
discovered this infidelity and killed all Lamia's offspring; Lamia swore vengeance and preyed on
young children in their beds at night, sucking their blood.

“History of Vampires”, 18 March, 2009,

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1 comment:

  1. Lord MarkJuly 27, 2019 at 2:12 PM

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