paw in claw, forever?

and no shape-shifters or zombies, please

In modern literature it is rare to find vampires without werewolves close at hand.  They both very strongly capture the essence of our fears.  But what characteristic of vampires and werewolves led them to be grouped together? Has this always been the case?  Trying to answer this question will lead us to some of the strongest arguments that the rabies virus is a central factor in understanding, in realising, rage.  In order to answer why these two creatures are so closely intertwined we can compile a list of reported characteristics.  Surprisingly, although vampires and werewolves are presently almost always discussed together, their origins have almost nothing in common.  Only the similarities of certain behaviors and outcomes tie them together; similarities that will lead us directly to rage, rabidity, and rabies.  Perhaps it is the vast differences in the origins and presumed roles of these two species that have led most modern sagas, Twilight, Underworld, Becoming Human, to mention a few, to present them as enemies.  By themselves, humans are no match against vampires or werewolves.  The only realistic contest is for these two extra-ordinary creatures to vie with each other.

Some narratives regarding vampires and werewolves extend to shape-shifters, generally referred to as lycans, humans who can change into animals through will and ritual.  We will only very briefly touch on these notions here.  In the present investigation, werewolves and vampires are solely a result of an uncontrollable change of humans into animal-like behavior, not the conscious action of presumptive lycans.  We ground our investigation in those scenarios that natural biology can accomplish and forego the incredulous.  It is intriguing enough to uncover what biological vampires and werewolves can do without invoking mystical ones.  There will be enough left unexplained to fuel the supernatural anew for those who feel the need for it. 

Zombies will also be left to others.  Their behavior may take some clues from a particular form of rabies, so-called dumb or paralytic rabies, but, for the most part they do not inform about our own urges.  More telling is that many modern zombie stories invoke infection as the agency for turning people into zombies. Still, the zombie is presently only a victim, dumb as dumb can be. Its motivations, its emotions, are dead ("Warm Bodies" notwithstanding) .  Until their condition becomes cyclical, like our emotions, they don’t help us deal with our own inner lives.