In childhood, we hear of the monsters that come out at night. And for some reason, these monsters always prefer to come out at night, where they prefer the cover of darkness. And because of their predilection for the night, we must remain in the safety of our beds.
When we grow up, we forget about the monsters. We tell ourselves that the night is safe and that because we are adults, we can handle the things that go bump in the night. In doing so, we lose our fear and stay out later and later. In Seneca’s 122nd Letter to Lucilius, he talks about these people who sleep during the day and stay up throughout the night. Check out this description he gives of them:
Moreover, the bodies of those who have sworn allegiance to the hours of darkness have a loathsome appearance. Their complexions are more alarming that those of anaemic invalids; they are lackadaisical and flabby with dropsy; though still alive, they are already carrion. But this, to my thinking, would be among the least of the evils. How much more darkness there is in their souls! Such a man is internally dazed; his vision darkened; he envies the blind. And what man ever had eyes for the purpose of seeing in the dark?
From his words, you would think he is talking about vampires, the ones who drink the blood of their innocent victims. And these men who prey on the weak and the helpless, they are still men, though Seneca would describe their actions more closely to those of monsters.
When we read about vampires or watch them portrayed in movies, we learn some interesting facts about them.
- They come out at night. If we are not out at night, we drastically improve our chances of never seeing them.
- They cannot come into our homes unless we invite them in. This is a key step. We know vampires are evil, so why would we let them in? Yet somehow in the stories, they always get the invitation to come in. One would think this would be a good practice for any type of evil that exists in the world. We cannot invite it into our homes where it could work its destruction.
- They do not like holy water, crosses, wooden stakes, or garlic. Reminders of our faith is offensive to them. This first line of protection makes it harder for them to work their evil. And why the garlic? I am not sure, but a little extra seasoning never hurt.
If you do those three things, you might have a chance. Unless the vampires try to change the rules.
- A vampire that can come out during the day and tries to blend in is a very scary vampire indeed. I am reminded of the Blade movies where they experiment with sunscreen. A vampire that can come out during the day is a much greater challenge to overcome. We would really have to be on our guards against these wolves in sheep’s clothing.
- Equally dangerous is the one who can get into our homes without an invitation. Doors and windows are no longer the only access points to our homes. Now we have different gateways (television, phones, personal assistants that may be watching us and have access to the door locks and alarm codes, etc.) that need to be protected from evil.
- And let us not forget about the ones that can take away the reminders of our faith, that which keeps our minds on nobler things. We should think twice about the ones that say the Ten Commandments should not be taught, crosses and other religious items are offensive, and that traditional family values are archaic and no longer a necessity in our modern society. A strong family is one of the greatest protections against the spread of evil. To break it apart is to weaken it allowing the monsters a better opportunity to perform their nefarious deeds. Vampires do not go after the strong and prepared. No, they are like any other predator and would prefer to go after the weak and the frail. We would be wise to not give them that opportunity.
Vampires are supernatural beings found in the fairy tales. But all fairy tales have some form of truth about them. There are evil people in this world who are the real vampires and monsters. They may not have preternatural abilities, but they have evil within them. We must be vigilant and guard ourselves and our families against them. We must not allow the evil to come into our homes and into our minds perpetuating the cycle. We must prepare our children so they may have a chance against this evil.
Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker. -C.S. Lewis
It all starts within us and within our choices. If we lead by example, we can show others what a good life is. The 12th century abbot St. Bernard said idleness is the root of all evil. It starts by getting up early to do the activities of the day, staying productive, and wearing ourselves mentally and physically out in order to get a good’s night sleep.
But indeed to one who is active no day is long. So let us lengthen our lives; for the duty and the proof of life consists in action. Cut short the night: use some of it for the day’s business. -Seneca
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