Weymouth mom falls under the spell of vampire tales

By Nancy Harris

As the sunlight disappears earlier and the smell of falling leaves and decaying apples fills the air, our literary appetites often turn to something darker.

With Halloween looming ahead, I found Elizabeth Wegner of Weymouth ostensibly searching for a spooky tale to read aloud with her second grade son, to encourage his reading skills. But Wegner, a part-time paralegal, quickly added, ’’It’s kind of embarrassing because I’m also looking for a good read for myself about vampires. Ever since I found Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga in 2005, I’ve been kind of obsessed with them.’’

Elizabeth is not alone by any stretch of the imagination.

I became hooked on vampire literature by a gothic soap opera called ‘‘Dark Shadows’’ way back in 1967, when a darkly mysterious vampire named Barnabas Collins stole the storyline in what became a hugely popular TV series.

I remember running home after school to watch the melodramatic performances of a 200-year-old vampire, who brought terror to the town of Collinsport after he was released from his coffin. But what kept me coming back was his romantic obsession with a local waitress whom he believed to be his long lost love.

For many of us, it’s this very notion of secret obsession and romance in a world of characters that constantly struggle with their strange appetites and impulses that draws us in.

Meyer picked up on this theme with her debut novel ‘‘Twilight,’’ and her subsequent novels about the dark prince charming named Edward and his moody, beautiful girlfriend Bella became a teen love story to rival that of Romeo and Juliet.

‘‘It was the romance and the suspense of would they or wouldn’t they ever get together that kept me enthralled with Meyer’s series, rather than the hint of preternatural violence and the body count,’’ says Elizabeth Wegner.

What she doesn’t realize is that much of Meyer’s popularity was clearly not limited to teens.

More mature women across the country became intense fans of the Twilight Saga because it had the uncanny ability of inviting readers of all ages to relive both the intense joy and pain associated with infatuation and first love.

Speaking as a psychologist, it seems that one of the best explanations for our fascination with vampires is that they are the personification of the darker side of human nature. From a Freudian perspective, the unconscious mind is the repository of man’s aggressive and sexual impulses, which are felt by us to be shameful. With vampires, we see these long-repressed impulses become not only visible, but freely acted upon in a way we humans are not free to do.

Vampires also give expression to both our dread of death and our death wish, which Freud believed to exist side by side within us. What better way to give free reign to our fear of dying, than to immerse ourselves in the world of vampires, where immortality is readily achieved?

Authors were dealing with these themes long before Edward and Bella entered our lives. I reminded Elizabeth of a series known as ‘‘The Vampire Chronicles,’’ written by Anne Rice. These books also have a huge mainstream and cult following and continue, even now, to enthrall readers.

Rice, the author of 28 books, had her first novel, ‘‘Interview with the Vampire,’’ published in 1976, and it went on to become one of the best-selling novels of all time. The complete series involves colorful, complex characters and dramatic storylines that readers can really sink their teeth into.

With loving attention to historical detail, Rice introduces us to her brood of vampires that struggle with the very same human issues we all struggle with, such as love, loss, and survival of the soul. In their individual voices, Rice follows the transformation of her characters from mortal to immortal, and in doing so shares their angst as they pursue their quest for either revenge or redemption over the centuries.

Yet, as riveting and powerful as Rice’s anthology is, I also felt obliged to share with Elizabeth the writings of another equally prolific vampire lover, Laurell K. Hamilton.

Hamilton’s best-known character is Anita Blake, who has chosen a career as a court-appointed executioner of vampires in a time when vampires are protected by law...unless they get too brutal and nasty.

The stories follow this tough, sassy, and sexy heroine through the streets, back alleys, and cemeteries of St. Louis as she battles all sorts of fiends from vampires to werewolves and zombies, in a classic struggle of good versus evil.

Hamilton’s novels are simply action packed, page-turning guilty pleasures about a feisty heroine who is more afraid of love and intimacy than she is of any vampire lurking in the night.

These vampire tales are quick reads and are filled with chills and suspense for those dying for pure reading escape. However, they aren’t meant for underage readers, because along the way, our fictional heroine also engages some attractive, powerful male vampires who clearly want more than just a bite out of her, even if they are 300 years old.

When we finished our discussion of these vampire classics, Elizabeth leaned in and asked in a slightly mischievous voice, ‘‘Why should my son have all the fun this Halloween? Since I shouldn’t eat all the Snickers bars, I think I’ll grab one of Hamilton’s books instead!’’

I couldn’t agree more.

Nancy Harris, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist with practices in Wellesley and Norwell. She can be reached at dr.nancy23@gmail.com.