How has the ghoulish become genteel? Why is our culture awash in entertainment based on the exploits of the formerly cursed undead? These are not idle questions. For Christians, this trend should be disturbing. Vampirism, which has become so appealing that it’s spawned an active and growing subculture (that sometimes insists on the alternate spelling vampyre), is nothing less than an absolute mockery of the central tenet of the Christian faith: salvation by the shedding of blood.

The transformation of the vampire from monster to hero reflects the gradual decay of the Christian faith into an anemic shell of its former self. The critical role of the blood shed by Jesus Christ for the redemption of our sins has been replaced in many churches today, either by an emphasis on our own works, or by a kinder, gentler Jesus for whom the greatest sin is being untrue to our innermost desires.
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First: the vampire represents the polar opposite of Jesus Christ. Simply put, Jesus shed His blood so that others may have eternal life. The vampire sheds the blood of others so that he can have eternal life.

Second: the eternal life promised by the vampire is a cheap imitation of that offered by Jesus Christ. The vampire lives in eternal darkness, fleeing the light, always seeking new victims to prolong its dark and bloody half-life. Those redeemed by partaking of the shed blood of Christ drink from “living water” and their thirst is eternally quenched (John 4:14).

It will be difficult to convince girls who have been drawn into the story of Bella and Edward that their fantasy love-interest stands diametrically opposed to God, but in very basic terms, it’s true. Similarly, adults eagerly awaiting the next episode of True Blood may be unwilling to give up their weekly dose of vampy titillation. Nosferatu has been replaced by sexy sanguinarians to a growing audience of vampire romance fiction—and a shadowy subculture of those who emulate their literary heroes.