Crosses, blood, eternal life; The Simplest Act

Last night and Sunday night, I watched "Salem's Lot" on TNT. Another production of one of Stephen King's books. And a re-make of a movie filmed about 20 years ago.

It was interesting to watch, but I never found it particularly scary. Have vampires lost their fright factor? They may be suffering from over-exposure. The number of movies devoted to them must be hugh. And then there's the good vampires of WB's "Angel." I would not even hazard a guess as to the number of books about them.

Odd this fascination we have for them. It may be that the mythology surrounding them is far richer than that for other creatures of the night. Crosses, holy water, sunlight, coffins, fangs, the need to be invited in, wooden stakes, blood, no reflections in mirrors, only coming out at night, superior strength, hynotic stare, garlic, eternal life, black capes. This certainly gives an author a lot to work with.

I also can not help but make a comparison between the lore of vampires and the traditions of Christianity. Crosses, blood, eternal life. Vampires need blood for eternal life. Christian sects rever the wine of celebration as the blood of Christ - "The Blood ... preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life." Catholicism imbues the wine with far more than symbolic significance; for through transubstantiation, it becomes the true blood of Christ.

There's an excerpt from an interview with "Dr. Jerome Motto, who has been part of two failed suicide-barrier coalitions..." He talks about a man who jumped in the seventies. "I went to this guy's apartment afterward with the assistant medical examiner. The guy was in his thirties, lived alone, pretty bare apartment. He'd written a note and left it on his bureau. It said, 'I'm going to walk to the bridge. If one person smiles at me on the way, I will not jump.' "

How easy to forget the impact of the simplest act. One that can save a life.

PAX!