The Highlander
Contributing Member
Hello, my name is Jack Van Helsinging. I am a reporter. My name may sound strangely familiar to you, as it bears a striking similarity to that of the infamous Van Helsing, the vampire killer. I can assure you that we share nothing in common when it comes to life callings, but we do share one thing in common; we have both encountered and interviewed a vampire.
Yes, you may be very surprised to know that they do exist and walk among us. Yet, you may also be surprised and astonished at where you will find them lurking. They are closer to many of you than you think, and already hold some of you captive under their enchanted spell.
Recently, I had the uncanny fortune of meeting a modern day vampire. He gave me an audience for the purpose of interviewing him in order that the public might more fully understand he and his kind. The following is a transcript of that time together. Read it, and ponder your own fate.
(For reasons of personal security, his name and place of residence will remain a secret. He will simply be referred to throughout the interview as, “Brother Alucard”)
JVH: “Brother Alucard, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me.”
BA: “You’re welcome Jack. I think that it is very important for others to know a little more about us; who we are and what we are all about.”
JVH: “I agree. I am sure that our conversation will uncover details of your existence that will be both enlightening and shocking to our readers.”
BA: “Of that, my friend, I am sure.” (He then broke into an eerie laughter. It made my hair stand on end.)
JVH: “Yes, well, let’s get straight to the point. Sorry, pardon the pun. How old are you?”
BA: “Old enough.”
JVH: “Okay then. Let me ask you, when and how did you become a vampire?”
BA: “I can only say that I felt that it was a calling of sorts. I always had a thirst for power and control, I just did not know how to channel or use it. Then, at the young age of 17, I was introduced to the order of vampires of which I am a part. An older, and much wiser, as well as persuasive vampire, turned me. He took me under his wing. He said he saw great potential and extraordinary gifting in me. All of the others in the order encouraged me to pursue my calling and develop my gifts. They said that I could become one of the greatest who has ever lived. Yet, they also told me that such potential must be honed and certain skills keenly developed in order to ascend the ladder of vampiric power. So, with all haste, they sent me away to be trained.”
JVH: “You gotta be kidding, right? A school for vampires?”
BA: “Oh yes! There are many of them around the land. They are staffed by some of the more crafty and academic of our kind. The purpose of the education was to train me in many of the finer arts of speech, manipulation, knowing the history of our order, understanding how to prey upon human fears for a greater goal of power and control. I learned how to fund our cause financially, and how to build greater edifices that would be used to cloak our activities in acceptable cultural garb. I must say that it was quite a heady experience, and the pride that I walked away with for our kind, fills me even to this day.”
JVH: “So, this vampire stuff has a lot to do with power and control?”
BA: “Oh yes, my friend. In my position, it is all about power, control, and manipulation. I have learned through years how to sway a human soul to do my bidding through the simple telling of the right story, at the right time, with the right voice, and the proper look in my eyes. The statement, “Look into my eyes”, means more than you know. Shape shifting is a specialty of ours. We can become whatever we need to be, depending on the crowd we are with.”
JVH: “Wait a second! Shape shifting? What do you mean?”
BA: “I mean that I can be whatever someone needs me to be or I need to be, in order to get what I want. If I am with politically conservative, white evangelical southerners, I can be their poster boy. If I am among the political left, I can say all the politically correct things that I need to in order to gain their trust. Right now, our order is making great advances among the more conservative wing.”
JVH: “Please continue.”
BA: ” I can produce tears when I must, and smiles when truly needed. I can instill terror and fear into the deepest recesses of the human psyche by painting exquisite portraits of eternal terror and present punishment. I know how to prey upon the weak, as well as divide and conquer the strong. I can exploit the ignorant with lies, and plunder the undiscerning in my greed. In fact, my heart has been trained in greed. To say that my eyes are full of adultery, both of the physical and of the spiritual sort, might not be far from the truth. And truth, well, let’s just say, that it is a matter of personal interpretation. After all, what is truth?”
JVH: “How do you sustain your life? Historically, it has been by the blood of others. Is that still true?” (Again he laughed. It was creepy).
BA: “Jack, Jack. That is so crass. Blood represents the life of another. If you are asking if I live by feeding on the souls of others, well, my answer is, but of course. Blood, no. Souls, yes. I crave their approval. I need their affection. I want their devotion and attention. I want them to honor me for who and what I am. I want them to come to me with their needs and offer me and our order their undying service and love. Loyalty to the order is crucial to our survival. The old ways must be sustained and preserved. New ideas must only be used for the express purpose of gathering more souls for our consumption.”
JVH: “Um, let’s see. Do you have any weaknesses? Is there anything that scares you?”
BA: “SONlight. We have a strong aversion to being exposed to SONlight for any period of time. We are only equipped to operate under the cover of darkness and deceit. SONlight is the death knell to our kind. The results of over exposure is certain death and transformation. Not something we are avidly seeking.
JVH: “How about crosses? Do they bother you?”
BA: “The cross is so repugnant and repelling to us! It means we must die. To apply it to ourselves means that our greed, our lust, our thirst for control and power, our agendas, our very selves must be put to death! No! No! This cannot happen. We run from the cross. Once again, to embrace it means certain death and transformation. As I said, these are not things that we are looking to experience.”
JVH: “And mirrors?”
BA: “Can’t use them. We cannot see ourselves because of what we are. Where there is no life, there is no reflection.”
JVH: “Are you a religious man?”
BA: “Yes Jack. VERY, VERY religious. In fact, I, well, WE, love religion. You could say it pays the bills.”
JVH: “So I suppose you want your kind to multiply?”
BA: “But of course! We will travel to the far corners of the earth just for the chance to reach one who is willing to be turned. Our zeal knows no boundaries, and cursed be any who get in our way!” With that outburst, I knew that our time was growing short. He was getting a little testy, and his eyes were getting a strange red look to them. I figured that I had better wrap this interview up.
JVH: “Well, Brother Alucard, I really must be going, but before I do, I would like to ask you one final question. IS that alright?”
BA: “Certainly Jack. What is it?”
JVH: “All of us have to make a living to survive. I am a writer. Would you mind telling me what you do?”
BA: “Not at all my friend. Maybe you will know by my title. Some call me Doctor. Others call me Reverend, and some just call me Pastor.”
When he spoke those words, he had a slight smile, and behind the smile, I saw the faint glimmer of fangs. I knew it was time for me to leave, and I did.
Remember, Jesus said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, “I am He,’ and, “The time is near.’ DO NOT go after them.” (Luke 21:8) There are still plenty of “Dung dealers and poo-poo peddlers” (Philippians 3:8), among us today, who are preaching and peddling a works based, man centered, fear instilling, graceless and merciless gospel. They are seeking to suck the life out of unsuspecting souls. Like a vampire, they prey on the innocent and desire nothing but control and power. The gospel they preach is one that leads to bondage and death. They do not seek to feed the sheep, but fleece them. They do not care to protect the sheep, only to plunder them. I am afraid to say that their kind is increasing, and more are waiting in the wings to be turned. Like Brother Alucard in the fictitious interview above, they are working in many unsuspecting places. If you happen to run into one of these modern day religious vampires, expose them to all the SONlight you can, and hold the cross before them at all times! Who knows? You just may be used of God to restore a man to what God intended him to be all along…a human being fully alive!
Grace and Peace,
The Highlander
Ps. Yes, I did make up the interview.
Yes, you may be very surprised to know that they do exist and walk among us. Yet, you may also be surprised and astonished at where you will find them lurking. They are closer to many of you than you think, and already hold some of you captive under their enchanted spell.
Recently, I had the uncanny fortune of meeting a modern day vampire. He gave me an audience for the purpose of interviewing him in order that the public might more fully understand he and his kind. The following is a transcript of that time together. Read it, and ponder your own fate.
(For reasons of personal security, his name and place of residence will remain a secret. He will simply be referred to throughout the interview as, “Brother Alucard”)
JVH: “Brother Alucard, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me.”
BA: “You’re welcome Jack. I think that it is very important for others to know a little more about us; who we are and what we are all about.”
JVH: “I agree. I am sure that our conversation will uncover details of your existence that will be both enlightening and shocking to our readers.”
BA: “Of that, my friend, I am sure.” (He then broke into an eerie laughter. It made my hair stand on end.)
JVH: “Yes, well, let’s get straight to the point. Sorry, pardon the pun. How old are you?”
BA: “Old enough.”
JVH: “Okay then. Let me ask you, when and how did you become a vampire?”
BA: “I can only say that I felt that it was a calling of sorts. I always had a thirst for power and control, I just did not know how to channel or use it. Then, at the young age of 17, I was introduced to the order of vampires of which I am a part. An older, and much wiser, as well as persuasive vampire, turned me. He took me under his wing. He said he saw great potential and extraordinary gifting in me. All of the others in the order encouraged me to pursue my calling and develop my gifts. They said that I could become one of the greatest who has ever lived. Yet, they also told me that such potential must be honed and certain skills keenly developed in order to ascend the ladder of vampiric power. So, with all haste, they sent me away to be trained.”
JVH: “You gotta be kidding, right? A school for vampires?”
BA: “Oh yes! There are many of them around the land. They are staffed by some of the more crafty and academic of our kind. The purpose of the education was to train me in many of the finer arts of speech, manipulation, knowing the history of our order, understanding how to prey upon human fears for a greater goal of power and control. I learned how to fund our cause financially, and how to build greater edifices that would be used to cloak our activities in acceptable cultural garb. I must say that it was quite a heady experience, and the pride that I walked away with for our kind, fills me even to this day.”
JVH: “So, this vampire stuff has a lot to do with power and control?”
BA: “Oh yes, my friend. In my position, it is all about power, control, and manipulation. I have learned through years how to sway a human soul to do my bidding through the simple telling of the right story, at the right time, with the right voice, and the proper look in my eyes. The statement, “Look into my eyes”, means more than you know. Shape shifting is a specialty of ours. We can become whatever we need to be, depending on the crowd we are with.”
JVH: “Wait a second! Shape shifting? What do you mean?”
BA: “I mean that I can be whatever someone needs me to be or I need to be, in order to get what I want. If I am with politically conservative, white evangelical southerners, I can be their poster boy. If I am among the political left, I can say all the politically correct things that I need to in order to gain their trust. Right now, our order is making great advances among the more conservative wing.”
JVH: “Please continue.”
BA: ” I can produce tears when I must, and smiles when truly needed. I can instill terror and fear into the deepest recesses of the human psyche by painting exquisite portraits of eternal terror and present punishment. I know how to prey upon the weak, as well as divide and conquer the strong. I can exploit the ignorant with lies, and plunder the undiscerning in my greed. In fact, my heart has been trained in greed. To say that my eyes are full of adultery, both of the physical and of the spiritual sort, might not be far from the truth. And truth, well, let’s just say, that it is a matter of personal interpretation. After all, what is truth?”
JVH: “How do you sustain your life? Historically, it has been by the blood of others. Is that still true?” (Again he laughed. It was creepy).
BA: “Jack, Jack. That is so crass. Blood represents the life of another. If you are asking if I live by feeding on the souls of others, well, my answer is, but of course. Blood, no. Souls, yes. I crave their approval. I need their affection. I want their devotion and attention. I want them to honor me for who and what I am. I want them to come to me with their needs and offer me and our order their undying service and love. Loyalty to the order is crucial to our survival. The old ways must be sustained and preserved. New ideas must only be used for the express purpose of gathering more souls for our consumption.”
JVH: “Um, let’s see. Do you have any weaknesses? Is there anything that scares you?”
BA: “SONlight. We have a strong aversion to being exposed to SONlight for any period of time. We are only equipped to operate under the cover of darkness and deceit. SONlight is the death knell to our kind. The results of over exposure is certain death and transformation. Not something we are avidly seeking.
JVH: “How about crosses? Do they bother you?”
BA: “The cross is so repugnant and repelling to us! It means we must die. To apply it to ourselves means that our greed, our lust, our thirst for control and power, our agendas, our very selves must be put to death! No! No! This cannot happen. We run from the cross. Once again, to embrace it means certain death and transformation. As I said, these are not things that we are looking to experience.”
JVH: “And mirrors?”
BA: “Can’t use them. We cannot see ourselves because of what we are. Where there is no life, there is no reflection.”
JVH: “Are you a religious man?”
BA: “Yes Jack. VERY, VERY religious. In fact, I, well, WE, love religion. You could say it pays the bills.”
JVH: “So I suppose you want your kind to multiply?”
BA: “But of course! We will travel to the far corners of the earth just for the chance to reach one who is willing to be turned. Our zeal knows no boundaries, and cursed be any who get in our way!” With that outburst, I knew that our time was growing short. He was getting a little testy, and his eyes were getting a strange red look to them. I figured that I had better wrap this interview up.
JVH: “Well, Brother Alucard, I really must be going, but before I do, I would like to ask you one final question. IS that alright?”
BA: “Certainly Jack. What is it?”
JVH: “All of us have to make a living to survive. I am a writer. Would you mind telling me what you do?”
BA: “Not at all my friend. Maybe you will know by my title. Some call me Doctor. Others call me Reverend, and some just call me Pastor.”
When he spoke those words, he had a slight smile, and behind the smile, I saw the faint glimmer of fangs. I knew it was time for me to leave, and I did.
Remember, Jesus said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, “I am He,’ and, “The time is near.’ DO NOT go after them.” (Luke 21:8) There are still plenty of “Dung dealers and poo-poo peddlers” (Philippians 3:8), among us today, who are preaching and peddling a works based, man centered, fear instilling, graceless and merciless gospel. They are seeking to suck the life out of unsuspecting souls. Like a vampire, they prey on the innocent and desire nothing but control and power. The gospel they preach is one that leads to bondage and death. They do not seek to feed the sheep, but fleece them. They do not care to protect the sheep, only to plunder them. I am afraid to say that their kind is increasing, and more are waiting in the wings to be turned. Like Brother Alucard in the fictitious interview above, they are working in many unsuspecting places. If you happen to run into one of these modern day religious vampires, expose them to all the SONlight you can, and hold the cross before them at all times! Who knows? You just may be used of God to restore a man to what God intended him to be all along…a human being fully alive!
Grace and Peace,
The Highlander
Ps. Yes, I did make up the interview.
