Emily Monette

Mrs. Redding
English 1101
4 march 2016
Vampires vs. Mermaids

The two essays I have chosen to compare and contrast are essays that explain logic and
origin of the purpose of the monsters. These two authors tell the mythical fiction stories and
relate them to our reality making us feel so extremely intrigued. When you hear about mermaids
and vampires do you think about how they are actually similar creatures, and how they are
different? Although Sky Alexanders Mermaids Attributes, Behavior, and Environs essay and J.
Gordon Meltons Sexuality and the Vampire essay both relate sexual and share mythical ways,
the difference lies in the outlook of their appearance and behavior, which bears examination
because of how they relate and make us feel and how the creatures intrigue us.
J. Gordon Meltons article Sexuality and the Vampire focuses on the individual sexuality
of a male vampire and how understanding the appeal of the vampire is its sexual nature. A
Vampires image as seen today and years ago has a thirst for human blood, stays in the shadows,
has pale white skin, and is immortal. Gordons supports his writing by discovering the origin of
the myth. He talks about how the story Dracula started it all, but today it is hidden from literature
about what the meaning behind the vampire really means. The male vampire was believed to
have such an intense sexual drive that his sexual need alone was sufficient to bring him back
from the grave.(Gordon 204) This quote explains to readers how the appearance of the male
vampire is so dominate, that one touch irresistibly consumes the preys body. Like the vampire a

mermaid uses a siren song to lure men in. The mermaid and vampire I have learned are not so
much different as they are alike. A mermaid doesnt have sharp strong teeth like a vampire and a
vampire doesnt have a long scaled tail, but what these two creatures have in common is the
ability to love. Gordons essay shows his audience the evolution of the vampire era and how the
sensation of the thrill came to be. From Dracula, modern time, to the era of love the vampire to
Gordons point of view is dramatic and relatable to his readers. Making us imagine the story
created by each induvial author of the story. Gordon relates his article by giving an example
using the story Hotel Transylvania by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. St. Germaine emerged not as
monster but as a man with moral like humans St. Germaine was portrayed to be intellect, and
to have captivating sensuality. St. Germaine could fall in love. Now the truth is I felt
unaccountably toward the beautiful stranger. I did feel, as she did, drawn towards her, but there
was also something of repulsion. In this ambiguous feeling, however, the sense of attraction
immensely prevailed. She interested and won me; she was so beautiful and so indescribably
engaging. ( Le Fanu 205) This quote shows how the vampire is so in love with human being
proving that love goes beyond death. Like humans Gordon explains how the evolution in the
appearance of vampires evolved to be more like us. The vampire became unhidden from the
shadows and was known to be a beautiful majestic creature. Like the vampire mermaids over
time came to be less frightful creatures making them capable of emotions making them more
human and relatable. Their behavior was mysterious, making its victims so interested in
knowing more about the creature, while stories were told to stay away from the siren of the
mermaids or you would meet death. What I expected to learn from reading this essay is why we
were so sexually drawn to these creatures, Gordon brought detail and evidence to his article so
well that his point was clear and my questions were answered.

Compared to J. Gordon Meltons essay Sky Alexanders essay Mermaids Attributes,

Behavior, and Environs focusses on the symbolism of the mermaids, the good or evil and fortune
or misfortune. Alexander describes the mermaids to have a unique mythical appearance.
Compared to vampires mermaids are envisioned to have long fishy tails and human torsos. The
origin of the mermaid came to be by the trade routes expanding and seaman journeyed far and
wide, sharing fish stories all over the world. Immigrants coming here and there made the
mermaid story a legend. The Mermaids Alexander describes were beautiful like the vampire but
were not immortal and did not have pale skin. The Mermaids ate fish or other aquatic creatures
and lived their lives in water, and didnt have the thirst for human blood like the vampire. In
Gordons essay the vampire cannot see his reflection in the mirror while a mermaid is said
devote a lot of time to personal grooming. Mermaids, it seems, are as changeable as the sea
serene one moment and tumultuous the next. (Alexander 233) Alexanders writes the tale of evil
and the good qualitys a mermaid is believed to have. Mermaids are said to have mesmerizing
singing that sailors who hear it go wild with delight and jump from their boats into sea and
drown. Like the vampire mermaids have their way of luring their prey by a sexual sense the
victim has when possessed by their sexual powers. The odyssey is an example that alexander uses
to support his writing. Odysseus is warned about the sirens powers, but then finds himself to his
ships mast and his sailors put wax in their ears to avoid the enchantresses songs. The mermaids
werent seen to be killing monsters in the Caribbean the people there believed the mermaids to
be good fortune. Stories were told how the mermaids had the ability to heal the sick. Alexanders
purpose to writing his essay was clear and understanding. I learned that stories were told about a
good fortune people believed to be mermaids to be when I thought they just were a symbol to
scare the sailors. I learned between both essays that vampires and mermaids are both mythical

creatures whom are valued by us because they each have never ending imaginable stories that
have been written or still being written.
The mermaid and the vampire both are creatures that we humans find interesting. They
both relate to us but we make them a creature that we fear, but over the years made their stories a
little less frightful. Although Sky Alexanders Mermaids Attributes, Behavior, and Environs
essay and J. Gordon Meltons Sexuality and the Vampire essay both relate sexual and share
mythical ways, the difference lies in the outlook of their appearance and behavior, which bears
examination because they relate and make us feel deeper emotions that intrigue us. Gordon and
Alexander both talked about how these creatures evolved from being a monster to a creature that
is more relatable to our reality. The Little Mermaid and Twilight are my examples of their belief.
I agree with the both them. They are both creatures now capable of love. The greatest influence
in life is love I believe, and both authors shared examples to the audience to help them
understand the evolution of both creatures. Both essays relate sexual and share mythical ways,
the difference lies in the outlook of their appearance and behavior and both authors I feel did a
great job in portraying their each purpose. The vampire and mermaids share the same behavior
when it comes to their prey through sexual appeal, but the outlook we have seen for years is
changing on how we understand these mythical creatures, because they are becoming less
frightful creatures.

Work Cited
Monsters, Andrew J. Hoffman , San Diego Mesa College (ISBN 978-1-4576-9030-3)