By Suzanne Carré
If you’re awakened in the middle of the night by a vampire hovering over your body, poised to bite, and all you can see is a flash of pearly whites, then take note because the fangs tell you a great deal about your nocturnal visitor. The shape of the fangs determine the gender and this reflects the intentions of the vampire. You could be lucky and have a hungry female just after a quick nibble. The chances are that after a quick donation you’ll never see her again. The only time you really have to worry is if you’ve attracted a male, because he’s after more than food, and one bite could be the start to your eternal life.
In the last segment of this series on the bite, I discussed the prelude to the bite with emphasis on the erotic nature of the bite ritual to include a preparation involving a kiss to the neck. Because the vampires define the bite as the ultimate kiss, using the lips and tongue before and after is common and expected. In both sexes, the fangs are erogenous zones, treated with care when used on a neck (or especially any other body part not so supple), and titillated with the tongue when involved with other kissing techniques. The teeth are only used in the partaking of blood and not in reddening the skin. Importantly, the fangs are regarded the only teeth suitable to inflict the bite, the very nature of the fangs allowing a non-destructive, albeit invasive, extraction of blood. Love-bites and other bruises we exhibit to show the good time we had last night, are derived using blunt teeth in mauling the way lower animals bite, and considered vulgar and unrefined by vampires.
Now back to the vampire you have leaning over your body while you sleep…the fangs are important and distinguish male from female vampires. Fangs are highly specialized teeth designed to extract blood not rip and tear flesh like animal canines. To puncture they are sharp, tapered, and have a leading edge, the inner margin acting like a knife blade to glide the fang deep beyond the skin. To encourage blood flow, the fangs have a single groove running the length and situated behind the leading edge, to ensure blood funnels into the mouth and the fangs easily pull away after feeding. Both male and female fangs have these physical properties in common, the shape and therefore the use makes the fangs gender specific.
Female vampires have straight fangs, aside from the natural taper, ideally suited for quick extractions of blood. This gives her the advantage of feeding often in one night so female vampires usually form the hunting parties to collect blood. Compared to males, their fangs are short and sweet, designed to bite easily with minimal damage, their cuts being so clean, little blood is lost and the wounds heal almost without scaring. Being so fine and slender, a slight pout of the lips covers the fangs so the vampire doesn’t look any different to the human female she imitates.
The male fangs are longer and curve backwards to form a slight hook. The reason is sexual, biting and drinking blood induce highly erotic effects on the male so he tends to linger and indulge in more than simply feeding. The curve means his exquisite fangs are pressured more than the straight fangs of a female during the bite and this propels his sexual appetite. The shape of his fangs also allows the male to hold while biting, and stay with his intended until the process of conversion completes. His propensity for seeking only one human per night makes the male dangerous for the donor and inefficient for hunting. The ever-present bulk of the fangs distorts a male’s relaxed lips, giving him a slightly cruel smile, and defines his intentions.
In my novel vampire Sexual Secrets, the fangs are one factor of Vincent that Marie finds difficult to accept and dominants the contention between the lovers. His fangs, and what he wants to do with them, creates tension when at first she believes he’s being unfaithful only to discover his requirement of sex every time he feeds. Having the large, curved fangs of a male induces fear and equally arouses Marie’s imagination with the promises by Vincent that because he excites sexually with the bite then so will she. The facts of their structure convinces her to delay her conversion but then it becomes the sharp fangs of the female vampires that haunts Marie in her erotically charged dreams.
Next, I will look at the actual bite, where the sexual impulse to use their fangs drives vampires, especially the males, to seek the neck for more than satisfying their hunger.
