This has become eerie. If you remember from a pre-vacation post (did that confuse anyone else?), I listed an article about a Russian boy who had been found living among wolves, feral in all his mannerisms, and who escaped from the center in which he was being tended…presumably to return to the wild.
Now, not only that, but there’s this: Lured Into Darkness
LaCallia Wiggins was a 15-year-old prodigy at Drury University when she was approached at a library by a band of self-styled vampires who claimed they could tell she was a vampire queen in a previous life. She was royalty to them, and so, on their invitation, LaCallia visited the group’s hideout beneath the city, watched them drink each other’s blood and otherwise saturated herself with vampire lore.
Other interesting elements rose: This gang claimed there was a war coming between good and evil (where have we heard that before?). They planned to awaken LaCallia’s vampire heritage in a bloody Halloween ceremony, but when LaCallia’s mother couldn’t reach her daughter, she filed a missing person’s report, and LaCallia was picked up by the police. When she returned home, however, she acted liked a different person–calling other people “humans” with disdain, hissing like an animal, and so on.
After some counseling, it seems LaCallia has returned to reality, but other troubles have risen up in the form of death threats, being approached by strangers saying she’s going to die, and more. She’s dropped out of school to keep from being harassed and to protect herself. A nasty situation for anyone to be in, much less a 15-year-old girl.
This is a smart girl. A prodigy, by all accounts. She read lots of fantasy as a child, and it’s this facet of the story that struck me most: when explaining why she eventually went along with the group’s vampire fantasy, LaCallia said, “You always wish things in books could come true. “These people make it seem like those things are true. You have to tell yourself it’s not real.”
Wish fulfillment. Stories coming to life. What writer doesn’t sit down and dream about a world, a style of magic, or some amazing legacy that they’d love to possess? Thing is, for a writer, it’s easy (relatively speaking) to channel all that desire and imagination into the page, into that character who does become the vampire queen, who does become a central figure in the fight between good and evil. These are common elements in fantasy, and a lot of people are extremely familiar with them to the point that we know mythology and superstition more thoroughly than the laws and political systems that govern our modern reality. I’ve seen the Internet forums where people claim vampire lineage, or some other supernatural creatures, and they are entirely serious. It has become a lifestyle for some that consumes all aspects of their life.
I’m not sure if I’m presenting any kind of problem/solution here. I just wanted to raise this story to people’s attention and see what you think. How do the boundaries between the storytelling type of fantasy and the fantasy that consumes the mind break down? Would you consider it healthy for someone to indulge in this kind of roleplay (or realplay, in their minds) if it boosts their confidence, so long as they never went overboard with it? Where are the lines drawn, or are there any lines to be drawn in the first place?
I’m glad to know LaCallia made it out of her journey into the darkness somewhat safe and sound, if a bit mentally battered, but what about all the others who are still down there?
Do I see a smile?