Vampire-Human 'Twilight' baby has origin in folklore

Say what you will about the Twilight Saga (and there is admittedly a lot to be said), but you can't dismiss that Stephenie Meyer's epic does get a few things right about vampires. In fact, Twilight has some support from none other than that high-brow institution, the National Geographic. 

Depending on how well you know you're Twilight, you may be aware that the new film Breaking Dawn, Part 1 has heroine Bella getting preggers with vamp Ed's undead spawn, and culminates with her having a gruesome birth. Well, after speaking with vampire expert George Gutsche of the University of Arizona, Nat Geo reveals that folklore from the Balkan region of southeastern Europe spoke of vamp-human offspring.

Gutsche says kids with vampire baby-daddies do possess some supernatural powers, but they are not vampires themselves, and have no more affinity for the night than normal humans. Then again, early vampires myths never said the undead couldn't hang out in the day anyhow, although there isn't any talk about lame sparkling in the sunlight.

Also, the children of vampires are typically male -and are carried to term in a normal manner - but some folklore about female kids exists.

So there you have it: Vampire children are people, too. And we can all learn a little something from Twilight - beyond the fact that Jacob is really opposed to wearing shirts.

Twilight Breaking Dawn Red Carpet Premiere

Tune in at 8 p.m., EST, to watch the eight-camera livestream setup of the red carpet premiere of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, brought to you by ParanormalPopCulture.com in partnership with Yahoo! Movies

'Vampires Suck': Bring on the 'Twilight' spoofs

It was only a matter of time before a movie came out that spoofed the Twilight Saga films. There was already Nightlight, a book by the Harvard Lampoon that goofed on Stephenie Meyer's tweeny sacred texts. Now comes Vampires Suck, a Scary Movie-esque parody that aims to poke fun at the sparkly vamps crowd.

Based on the trailer and scene below (both embedded for your enjoyment), the targets for Suck (not to be confused with that other vampire movie, Suck) are fairly obvious and cheap. Biting satire, this is not. Yet, there is something about Vampires Suck that has me grinning. I think it may be that the dialogue, formula and visual aesthetic of the Twilight flicks are so hackneyed and pre-packaged with sliced cheese that it's almost a parody of itself already.

Also, I've got to handle it to the filmmakers for casting the spoof with actors fairly indistinguishable from the serious flick (the Kellan Lutz "Emmet" stand-in who looks like James Van Der Beek notwithstanding)

Anyhow, Vampires Suck opens Aug. 18. check it out. Or shall I say, suck it up? No, I shouldn't.

Paranormal Pop Passion: 'Eclipse'

Each week paranormal romance author Caden Leigh gives her take on love and sex in both mainstream and supernatural entertainment. The Florida-based scribe of The Silver Septagram, published by Captiva Press, always has an opinion on what's hot - or not.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

After it has made a bundle of money after two weeks in theaters (released June 30), what more is there to be said about Eclipse.  Well in one word, the movie can be summed up as: Teasing. But since my editor won't settle for one word, I'll give you a few more.

When we last left the town of Forks, Wash., in New Moon, Bella (Kristen Stewart ) was “technically” with vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson). She went to Italy and back for her man, so you’d think shapeshifter Jacob (Taylor Lautner) would take the hint, right? Nope, and he’s not entirely to blame. Bella does love him, and in Eclipse, the boundaries of that love are tested.

Meanwhile, bad girl vampire Victoria is bent on revenge for the murder of her mate James. Scheming for months she finally puts her plan into action, and begins stalking her prey in nearby Seattle. Her first victim (or more likely, coerced enlistee) is Riley Biers, a former residence of Forks. Victoria convinces Riley of her love for him and he joins her in plan to create a vampire army to destroy Bella and the Cullens. Unfortunately for the pair, their actions don’t go unnoticed. Both the Cullens and the Volturi have begun to track the vicious murders and rise in missing person reports.

Oddly, neither act on their hunches - which sums up much of the movie. There is a lot of promise of action, but nothing quite moves when you want it to.

Now what are Edward and Bella doing? Living the dream of two love stricken teenagers: dating, planning for their future and debating on how, or if, Edward should turn Bella into the glistening undead. Bella is blissfully unaware of Victoria’s plan for her demise. Jacob decides to tell Bella of all the recent activities that have occurred. And as any smart woman would do, she confronts the man she loves.

This is where her torture begins. Does she stay with the man who thinks she is weak and needs to be protected or go with the one who has never lied to her and has confidence in her strength?

Coming Distractions

Stephenie Meyer fans who've wandered out of Forks, Washington, and into her world of adult fiction via The Host will be happy to hear the book picked up a script.

Shocking, right? 

The Host jumps para-genres, switching out vampires for "compassionate" aliens (What is with Meyer's bent on sissifying everything we love to fear?) called "souls" who've taken over Earth by catching a ride on the brain waves of every human who walks the planet ... except for one, natch. The heroine, Melanie, battles the soul who tries to take over her body, and the two beings settle on sharing. (We wonder who gets the good parts.)